The City of Issaquah is still seeking comments on the Park Pointe draft environmental impact statement and has extended the public comment period to Friday, Feb. 27.
The draft EIS, which compares the impacts of different development alternatives for residential housing on the lower west slope of Tiger Mountain, was issued Jan. 14.
A public meeting held Thursday, Jan. 29 gave community members a chance to ask officials about the proposed project, and submit their comments. About 25 people attended the meeting.
Three alternatives are examined in the EIS:
• the “lower bench” impact would develop about 14 acres on the lower slope with a total of 251 residential units – 121 single-family units and 130 multifamily units.
• the “full build” impact would develop approximately 32 acres on the lower portion of Park Pointe and on top of the slope, with a total of 344 units – 59 single-family detached, 145 single-family attached and 140 multifamily units.
• a no action alternative under which the property would remain undeveloped.
The statement is made up of two volumes, the first being a summary document. The second is a more extensive collection of technical reports. Both volumes are available for review on the city’s Web site.
The city’s Environmental Planner Peter Rosen said of the three alternatives, people seem to be in favor of the lower bench impact development, which is also the preferred alternative of the developer.
“I think that generally people feel that alternative would have less issues and conflicts with the Tiger Mountain State Forest, less of a visual impact, and (lessen the) overall impacts of having a steep grade,” he said.
He said people also expressed interest in the Park Pointe transfer of development rights to the Issaquah Highlands plan — though the EIS process is completely separate to that.
That plan proposes preserving Park Pointe and moving the planned development to the Issaquah Highlands.
Rosen said he had received a handful of comments about the project, but is expecting more.
“I know there’s a lot of people preparing them that haven’t submitted them yet,” he said. “And I received about a half dozen at Thursday’s meeting, and we’re expecting more to come out of that.”
The purpose of the EIS is to closely evaluate potential environmental impacts, and make the study available to those in charge of issuing construction permits.
Once the comment period closes, city staff will publish a final EIS, which will respond to all the comments received, make any corrections, and explain all changes from the draft.
