Sammamish, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Sammamish, Washington | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
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| State | Washington | ||
| County | King | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Mark Cross | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 18.3 sq mi (47.4 km²) | ||
| - Land | 18 sq mi (46.7 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - City | 34,104 | ||
| - Density | 1,889.4/sq mi (729.5/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC−8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC−7) | ||
| Website: http://www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/ | |||
Sammamish (pronounced [səˈmæmɪʃ][citation needed]) is an Eastside suburb of Seattle, in King County, Washington, United States. It was incorporated in 1999. The population was 34,104 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
The Sammamish Plateau was part of unincorporated King County for most of its history. A vote in 1991 to join neighboring Issaquah failed, as did a vote on incorporation the following year. A renewed movement to become a city, born of frustration with development policies set by the county government, met with voter approval in 1998. Sammamish was officially incorporated on August 31, 1999.
[edit] Geography
Sammamish is located at () GR1. Neighboring cities include Redmond to the north and Issaquah to the south.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 47.4 km² (18.3 mi²). 46.7 km² (18.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.37%) is water.
Situated on the shores and hilly terrain east of Lake Sammamish, the city features a landscape of trees, mountains, and lakes. Other than Lake Sammamish, Beaver Lake and Pine Lake are the two biggest lakes in Sammamish.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 34,104 people, 11,131 households, and 9,650 families residing in the city. In 2007, the population is expected to pass 40,000. Parker, John (March 7http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sammamish%2C_Washington&action=edit§ion=3 Editing Sammamish, Washington (section) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), "How big is Sammamish now? Get ready for the 40,000 mark", Sammamish Review: 1
The population density was 729.5/km² (1,888.9/mi²). There were 11,599 housing units at an average density of 248.1/km² (642.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.82% White, 0.85% African American, 0.29% Native American, 7.89% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.50% of the population.
There were 11,131 households out of which 53.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.5% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.3% were non-families. 9.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $101,592, and the median income for a family was $104,356. Males had a median income of $76,688 versus $47,164 for females. The per capita income for the city was $42,971. About 1.6% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Sammamish ranks 11th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
[edit] Recreation
Lake Sammamish and Issaquah's Lake Sammamish State Park offer water recreation. Sammamish is a very green city, with views of the woods virtually everywhere. There are many hiking trails and scenic woods to enjoy around the housing developments. There are four major city parks: Beaver Lake Park, Pine Lake Park, NE Sammamish Park, and East Sammamish Park. Parks being planned in the recently-incorporated city include Soaring Eagle Park, the Sammamish Commons, and Ebright Creek Park. The East Lake Sammamish Trail, opened in April 2006, connects to a regional trail system. A skatepark is located across from Skyline High School.
The first phase of Sammamish Commons, a city center project comprising City Hall, recreation facilities, police station, post office, and eventually a relocated library and community center, was opened in late 2006.
Sammamish is home to two private golf clubs: the Plateau Club, and Sahalee Country Club, which hosted the 1998 PGA Championship and the 2002 World Golf Championship-NEC Invitational.
[edit] Arts
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The Sammamish Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra founded on the Sammamish Plateau in 1994. It includes players from the town and surrounding players, and performs five concerts a year.
[edit] Politics
Sammamish uses a council-city manager form of government.
On the federal level, Sammamish is a swing city that has become increasingly Democratic in recent years.
In the 2000 Presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 51.80% percent of the vote here, defeating Democrat Al Gore, who received 44.99%. In the 2000 Washington Senatorial Election, Republican Slade Gorton received 55.93% to Democrat Maria Cantwell's 42.57%.[citation needed]
In the 2004 Presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 49.97% percent of the vote, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received 49.07%. In the 2004 Washington Senatorial Election, Democrat Patty Murray received 50.51% of the vote to Republican George Nethercutt's 48.05%.[citation needed]
In the 2006 Washington Senatorial Election, Democrat Maria Cantwell received 53.91% of the vote compared to Republican Mike McGavick's 44.29%.[citation needed]
[edit] Community service
Sammamish Citizens Corps offers several interlinked community volunteer programs and events, including an active Citizens Emergency Response Team. The city encourages citizen involvement, emergency preparedness, strong neighborhood watch organizations, and volunteerism. The Sammamish Youth Board's mission is to unite youth, adults and government to form a relationship that promotes equality and mutual respect, as well as to create integral activities that lead to a stronger community.
[edit] City services
Despite its size, the city does not have its own post office.[1]
The city relies on Eastside Fire and Rescue to provide fire services.[2]
The city uses King County Sheriff's office employees, dedicated to serve the city by contract, having 22 sworn officers in 2005. The city relies on the King County Jail and does not have its own detention center.[3]
[edit] Schools
The city is part of two school districts: Lake Washington School District (northern Sammamish) and Issaquah School District (southern Sammamish). There are two high schools, Eastlake High School of the LWSD and Skyline High School of ISD exist within the city limits, as well as three middle/junior high schools and nearly a dozen elementary schools. Also, the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus opened at the start of the 2006-2007 school year in ISD, making it the second Freshman Campus in the state of Washington.[citation needed]
Eastside Catholic will be opening a high school and middle school in September of 2008.[citation needed]
[edit] Public transit
With service provided both by Sound Transit and King County Metro, some areas of Sammamish are served by three bus routes that provide access to other Eastside cities and Seattle.
1. Route 216 - Seattle commuter service on weekdays via Redmond
2. Route 269 - Commuter service to Redmond and Issaquah on weekdays
3. Route 927 - Local transportation service with DART (Dial-A-Ride Transit) access to/from Issaquah
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- City of Sammamish Website
- MySammamish.com
- Sammamish Weather
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Nearby hiking trails on Hikipedia
