After a public hearing and Issaquah City Council deliberation at Monday’s council meeting, a decision on a proposed development agreement between Issaquah Studio Lofts, LLC and the city was postponed to the April 17 council meeting.

The proposed agenda bill would allow the development of a four-story, mixed-use building on Northwest Gilman Boulevard just west of Pogacha Restaurant. The building, according to Economic Development and Development Services Director Keith Niven, would include “retail and office space.”

The development agreement, Niven said, “would allow the project to move forward during the existing temporary development moratorium” as the development proposal “falls generally in line” with the six development standards that the moratorium seeks to address. The moratorium on certain development is currently slated to last until September.

Also as part of the proposal, Issaquah Studio Lofts is requesting permission to construct a nearly $1.4 million traffic signal in front of the property, where Gilman Boulevard intersects Northwest Juniper Street and the East Lake Sammamish Trail, “which would allow trail users, bicyclists and pedestrians to cross directly,” Niven said.

According to the proposal, Issaquah Studio Lofts would pay $1 million of the cost of the signal, while the city would cover the other $375,000.

A signal at this location, known as the Three Trails Crossing, has been on the city’s non-motorized mobility plan as a safety improvement. If there is no development agreement, the developer must construct a “C” curb in front of the property, according to an agreement reached during the permitting process. The “C” curb would divide the westbound and eastbound traffic lanes along Gilman in front of the property, and would make the driveway that leads to the development site and the businesses just to the east of it a “right in, right out” driveway, eliminating the possibility of a left turn onto the property from Gilman and vice versa.

Several public commentators asked the council to partner with the developer and put in a traffic signal.

Steve King, owner of Pogacha Restaurant just east of the development site, said that his restaurant relies on eastbound drivers on Gilman being able to turn left, and that losing the left turn capability “would be devastating to our business.”

“If you take that access to our business away, there are the keys,” he said, symbolically putting his restaurant keys down on the podium.

King added that the “C” curb would increase the potential for car accidents as more people would be trying to make U-turns.

“If you literally eliminate a left turn out of this property, it’s just gonna add to the potential likelihood of accidents,” he stated, noting that he has witnessed many collisions in front of his business.

Rob Henderson, owner of Rob’s Transmission Shop next to Pagacha, echoed this fear and also expressed that “a light there would be wonderful.”

“Having a stoplight here and a signalization four-ways would improve not only the pedestrian crossing off of the trail onto Juniper … it would also regulate what’s happening at this intersection,” Ed Evans said. “Right now, this intersection is a hazard because you can’t take a left, can’t take a right without having to speed through some kind of traffic.”

Council members were less enthusiastic about approving the development agreement, however.

Council President Stacy Goodman asked if the signal would provide any improvements for the south side of the intersection, where Rainier intersects Juniper Street, which intersects Gilman Boulevard.

Economic Development and Development Services Director Keith Niven acknowledged that there “needs to be a follow-up traffic solution for this southern leg because it doesn’t meet current standards.”

Goodman said that she had originally supported the development agreement when it came before the Council Land and Shore Committee, but that she had now changed her mind.

“It’s an incomplete solution for a long-standing problematic intersection,” she stated.

“I haven’t heard enough to convince me that this doesn’t make a problem for the south side [of the intersection],” Deputy Council President Mary Lou Pauly said, describing how long a person on Rainier could wait to join a long line of cars on Juniper stopped at a light.

Pauly also said that she wasn’t sure how well the proposed development would fit into the moratorium’s standards, as those work items are still being addressed in the moratorium work plan.

“I really feel like we haven’t got clear standards in place right now to deliver the kind of product we want,” she said.

Councilmember Tola Marts moved to postpone making a decision on the agenda bill to the April 17 council meeting so that more information on the council members’ concerns could be gathered. The motion passed unanimously.