Friends of Sammamish Valley Foundation

WHO WE ARE

Friends of Sammamish Valley (FoSV) is a group of local citizens, businesses, and organizations whose goals are to protect the Sammamish Valley Agricultural Production District (APD), maintain the character of the surrounding Rural Area, and preserve the rural lifestyle for local residents.  Serena & John Glover, Carolyn & Mike Tanksley, Tom Quigley, Marsha & Larry Martin, Catherine Yoo & Lew Packia-Raj, Attila Kovacs-Szabov, and Keith Szot are the founding members.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

Over the last twenty-five years various groups and individuals have successfully squashed many proposals that would have negatively impacted the Valley and Rural Area.  The founding members believed that given the continued development pressures there should be one organization dedicated to the purpose of protecting the APD and our Rural neighborhoods.  The final impetus for forming FoSV was the release of proposed King County Ordinance #2018-0241 responding to the King County Sammamish Valley Wine and Beverage Study in early 2018.  Given the complexity of the topic, the 60-page length of the Ordinance, and the number of supporting materials, we decided to form a group in order to work together on a solution and to proactively address future threats to the Valley and the Rural Area. We set to work in order to formulate an amendment to the Ordinance that would find a better balance of protecting the APD, preserving the rural lifestyle, and supporting the growing Woodinville wine tourism industry. 

We have been joined by a number of people in the community who have land use legal expertise, social media and outreach experience, media production skills, experience in the City of Woodinville, and many others who are helping get the word out. Barbara Lau serves as our Environmental Specialist and Liaison and is instrumental in providing information on the Sammamish Valley environmental ecosystem.

Friends of Sammamish Valley is truly a grass roots organization fueled by the rapidly growing number of people who share the organization’s goals. If you would like to help us in any way, please click the Take Action button below.