On what used to be part of a gravel mine, the Urban Village Development Commission gave a green light Tuesday night for Polygon Homes to move forward with the plan to build 298 rental homes on the only piece of the Lakeside Development property to the east of Highlands Drive, known as parcels “A1” and “A2.”

The project still has to be approved by the architectural review committee, but since the conversation began, many details have been ironed out.

In parcel A2, which is a narrow — 95 foot — piece of land called the panhandle, 30 townhouses will be built, with a height of no more than 36-feet from the lowest slab to the top. The townhouses are adjacent to the Vista Park neighborhood in the Issaquah Highlands. Polygon plans to build the units to compliment its neighbors. A 10-foot wall along the east and south property lines will be built to support grading.

The other 268 units to be built on parcel A1, will be stacked flats with building height not to exceed approximately 84-feet, or 12-feet per floor, in a seven-story configuration.

Carports were a concern to some of the commissioners, with the comment being made that they are awful and shouldn’t be allowed. City staff said there is no basis to prohibit carports from the project, but the final design on carports is that they should be compatible with the architecture of the apartments and will have to meet approval of the ARC. Richard Rawlings, representing Polygon, said they will certainly avoid unsightly carports, saying he didn’t think Polygon would object to putting something in the CCR’s to satisfy the concern. Not only that, he said the roofs won’t be completely flat.

Neighbor Ann Finney even suggested green roofs, similar to the Z-Homes, on some of the carports, which would also satisfy one of three required sustainability elements of the project.

Stormwater from the development will be discharged to Black Nugget Creek after going through a filtering system. Doug Schlepp with DSD engineering, said a cartridge filter will remove oil and phosphorous, before the stormwater goes into a detention vault where settlement takes place.

Other points of interest include providing a trail to connect the new development to the Issaquah Highlands, providing green space and benches and a safe pedestrian crossing across Highlands Drive. Lucy Sloman, the city’s land use manager said an actual intersection will be planned rather than just a crosswalk.

In addition to garages and carports, 200 extra parking spaces are calculated for the entire project. The plan also includes a pool/patio/barbecue area, a community center, a fenced dog run area and a pea patch.