The City of Issaquah’s Parks Board welcomed a guest speaker to Monday night’s monthly meeting, with Major Development Program Manager Keith Niven presenting the latest information on the complicated Park Pointe Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) agreement between the City of Issaquah, King County and developer Port Blakely.

His presentation included the plan to develop a multi-use trail that would connect Central Park to Highlands Drive near the future site of Swedish Hospital. But the discussion soon grew to include the mountain bike skills course which had been promised by Port Blakely in exchange for the city’s consideration of Port Blakely’s request to build a gas station in the Highlands, once a prohibited use.

The board was concerned about whether there would be adequate parking around the Central Park fields, and questioned how the new trails and bike park would impact that issue.

“If we’re going to do the mountain bike course, we can’t wait until it’s built to deal with parking,” said Parks and Recreation director Anne McGill.

Other concerns expressed at the meeting were the speed of the process, and the lack of opportunity for public comment. Currently, there are no public hearings on the matter scheduled, and McGill felt strongly that residents should have a chance to voice their opinions.

No decisions were made at Monday night’s meeting, and much of the TDR is still being worked out between the three parties.

The public are welcome to review details of the proposal at the city’s website.