After five years of meetings, contemplation and reflection, the Central Issaquah Plan (CIP) will be moving forward.
The CIP is a 30-year plan to turn what is now a collection of impervious surfaces and strip malls into a vibrant urban area that will include housing, businesses that will bring jobs, and rapid transit.
The area of the CIP is the 1,100 acre commercial core, excluding Front Street, that surrounds Interstate 90. The area includes about 90 percent of the city’s commercially zoned land.
“People who work here don’t have the chance to live here, and people who live here don’t work here,” said council president Tola Marts.
Marts said he felt the plan was a good faith effort that will serve as a guide that future councils can follow.
Citizen input was mostly positive.
Janet Wall, a 17-year Issaquah resident asked that the council review the plan annually as things can and do change. Alison Meryweather, a resident since 1988 said the things that brought her to Issaquah will still be there, so she supported the plan.
Affordable housing, turning parking lots into walkable areas, and knowing what businesses or residents can expect because this is a long-term plan, are all positive said council member Eileen Barber.
The public was comforted in the knowledge that Issaquah will not become another Bellevue with tall buildings reaching up into the sky, blocking views of Cougar, Tiger and Squak Mountains. The plan limits building height to 125-feet.
The only discernible negative comment came from business owner Connie Marsh who questioned who would pay for a regional growth center designation from the Puget Sound Regional Council.
Designated regional growth centers are areas recognized as focal points for growth. Within a regional growth center, housing and employment growth are eligible for regional funding for transit.
Former Issaquah City council member Dave Kappler said no one has made a real case as to why Issaquah would want to be a regional growth center.
Special projects director for the city, Mark Hinthorne said there is a minimum density required for an area to be designated a regional growth center, but that with 14 jobs predicted for every dwelling unit in the CIP, it’s an important discussion to bring more transit to Issaquah.
He said money will come from impact and mitigation fees from new development.
The entire area will be encircled with what has been tagged the “green” or “emerald necklace,” a series of bike and pedestrian trails starting at Lake Sammamish State Park, extending around the CIP back to the lake, with connections to trails on Cougar, Squak and Tiger Mountains.
“We’re getting away from suburban parking lot sprawl,” said councilman Joshua Schaer. “Tonight we’re making history.”
