As housing prices rise, Sammamish attempts to address affordable housing
Sammamish’s growth, since incorporation in 1999, has focused primarily on single family homes, leaving few other housing options. The housing shortage in King County and surrounding areas has led to a significant increase in housing costs. This has made it a focus for the current City Council and key topic in the upcoming election.
According to the Sammamish Municipal Code (SMC) 21.08.080.A.2, “affordable housing, or ‘low-income housing,’ means residential housing that is rented or owned by a person or household whose monthly housing expenses, including utilities other than telephone, do not exceed 30 percent of the applicable median family income.”
In King County, the Area Median Income (AMI) is $122,148 annually. A low-income household earns 0-50% of that or $61,074 or less annually. A moderate-income household earns 51-80% or $61,075-$97,718 annually. These are far below the AMI for Sammamish of $227,273.
The average sale price of a home in Sammamish is approximately $1.6 million, difficult to afford even for those on the high end of the King County AMI. To better understand the increasing costs to buy in Sammamish, the average sale price of a house in 2020 was $972,117– an increase of approximately 65%. This kind of increase makes Sammamish unattainable for the majority of homebuyers because the average price of housing far exceeds the 30%-80% AMI for King County.
“These high housing costs are obviously out of reach for many, so the city has taken steps to encourage the construction of new, less expensive housing to accommodate a wider range of income levels,” said Angie Millar, the city’s communication manager on behalf of members of the city council.
Under the Growth Management Act, most recently amended in 2024, the City is required to find ways to accommodate growth in the region. The most cost-effective way to do that is through diversified housing options such as condos, duplexes, apartments and other multi-family units.
In addition, under the new laws, the city is required to build 2,100 affordable units by 2044. The previous GMA required a total of 2,000 new units, which were not all affordable housing. This is a significant change and much trickier to accommodate.
To understand the possible solutions to meet these requirements, the City commissioned the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) which was published in September, 2025. The goal of the study is to offer the best choices for growth with the least environmental impact.
“According to state guidance, the only practical way to meet this mandate is through mid-rise apartments and condominiums, the kind of housing that fits best in a walkable, transit-oriented Town Center,” wrote Amy Lam, current Deputy Mayor, on a Facebook post.
Using the guidelines from the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) of 2007 and the GMA from 1990, the City was working with the developer (Sammamish Town Center Association (STCA), to build a Town Center that included approximately 10% affordable housing, or 200 units, for a total commitment of 2,000 units. With the increased obligation to 2,100 affordable units, the City is looking to maximize the use of space in Town Center to provide more housing while minimizing sprawl.
To accommodate more affordable units in Town Center and meet the 2024 GMA requirements, the city is revamping current plans and considering the increase from 2,100 to 4,000. Lam said that if the Town Center’s capacity is increased to 4,000 units, the City will be able to negotiate more with developers by using incentives to convince them to build more units.
Incentives give a developer the ability to construct more units at both market rate and affordable rates in exchange for a public benefit such as open public spaces, or other options negotiated by the City.
Adding an additional story to some buildings could provide several more units in the Town Center while minimizing further impact to the environment. This would mean buildings as high as 85 feet, the maximum the Council has agreed to consider.
“Instead of just 10% (200 units) being affordable, we could see up to 30%, potentially 1,200 affordable units, built right in the heart of a walkable, transit-ready neighborhood. This wouldn’t happen overnight, full build-out at that level is estimated to take more than 50 years,” Lam wrote.
The Town Center cannot accommodate all 2,100 affordable units, forcing the City to rely on city-owned, county, religious, and water district parcels mostly located on 228 Ave. To do this, it would likely require government or other subsidies.
