City preserves Tiger Mountain forest in historic milestone
March 29, 2011
Park Pointe protection occurs after years long effort to stop proposed construction
By Dona Mokin
The long-running saga to preserve Park Pointe — a slice of Tiger Mountain forest near Issaquah High School — ended late March 24, after more than a decade of public and behind-the-scenes negotiations to halt construction of hundreds of houses once proposed for the land.
The tradeoff: Under the agreement, city leaders steered construction from Park Pointe to the Issaquah Highlands instead, and, as a result, preserved more than 140 acres in the process.
“I think that this will transform the community in a very, very positive way,” Mayor Ava Frisinger said, minutes after the deal closed. “It has the three elements of sustainability. It has the environment — the environmental protection and preservation. It has a huge social element. It has economic vitality benefits as well.”
The historic conservation effort is part of a complicated transfer of development rights.
City planners and officials shepherded the agreement through the arduous process after Frisinger outlined the landmark opportunity to preserve Park Pointe in late 2008.
In the years since, representatives from the city, highlands developer Port Blakely Communities and other partners pursued the project until the recession scuttled the developer behind the proposed Park Pointe development.
Since a Seattle bank foreclosed on the land from the defunct developer last March, the preservation effort lurched into gear. Issaquah and King County officials adopted a series of agreements late last year to advance the process.
Maureen McCarry receives city’s top environmental award
March 22, 2011
Maureen McCarry smiles March 21 as her husband Tom Knollmann and the City Hall audience applaud her for receiving the Ruth Kees Environmental Award. By Greg Farrar
The latest recipient of the top environmental honor in Issaquah acted as a guiding force — in public and behind the scenes — in the long-running effort to shape neighborhoods and preserve undeveloped land.
Leaders elevated Maureen McCarry into the pantheon alongside other important conservation activists, and bestowed the Ruth Kees Environmental Award for a Sustainable Community on the former councilwoman at a City Hall ceremony March 21.
Park Pointe preservation reaches ‘historic’ milestone
December 28, 2010
Leaders build framework to save Tiger Mountain land, build Bellevue College campus
In a series of decisions a councilman described as a “historic moment,” City Council members assembled the framework Dec. 20 to preserve more than 100 Tiger Mountain acres and attract a Bellevue College campus to Issaquah.
The council OK’d agreements related to the long-running effort to preserve 102 forested acres on Tiger Mountain and, through a complicated transfer of development rights, open land in the Issaquah Highlands to Bellevue College and homebuilders for construction. Read more
Park Pointe preservation reaches ‘historic’ milestone
December 21, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Dec. 21, 2010
In a series of decisions a councilman described as a “historic moment,” City Council members assembled the framework Monday to preserve more than 100 Tiger Mountain acres and attract a Bellevue College campus to Issaquah.
The council OK’d agreements related to the long-running effort to preserve 102 forested acres on Tiger Mountain and, through a complicated transfer of development rights, open land in the Issaquah Highlands to Bellevue College and homebuilders for construction.
“This is really a historic moment for the city,” Council President John Traeger said before the unanimous decisions.
2011 municipal budget clears City Council hurdle
December 14, 2010
The trim 2011 city budget continues to inch closer from plan to reality.
City Council members offered another round of comments about the spending plan, and then — in a unanimous decision Dec. 6 — directed city staffers to prepare the formal budget ordinance for adoption. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget Dec. 20.
Discussion centered on the general fund — the $30.4 million budget piece used to fund police and fire services, community development and planning, parks and recreation, and municipal government.
“It’s a $30 million budget for the city of Issaquah, and I think people assume there’s a lot of money flying around,” Councilman Mark Mullet said. “When you’re actually in the meetings, it’s very impressive how everything does get analyzed down to that last decimal point.” Read more
2011 municipal budget clears City Council hurdle
December 8, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Dec. 8, 2010
The trim 2011 city budget inched closer from plan to reality Monday night.
City Council members offered another round of comments about the spending plan, and then — in a unanimous decision — directed city staffers to prepare the formal budget ordinance for adoption. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget Dec. 20.
Discussion centered on the general fund — the $30.4 million budget piece used to fund police and fire services, community development and planning, parks and recreation, and municipal government.
“It’s a $30 million budget for the city of Issaquah, and I think people assume there’s a lot of money flying around,” Councilman Mark Mullet said. “When you’re actually in the meetings, it’s very impressive how everything does get analyzed down to that last decimal point.”
City Council puts concerns aside to approve undercrossing pact
June 23, 2010
NEW — 10 a.m. June 23, 2010
Despite some grumbling from members, the City Council approved a pact Monday to help complete the Interstate 90 Undercrossing.
The city needed to secure right of way along 221st Place Southeast in order to complete paving and install a traffic signal where the road will meet Southeast 62nd Street. The council approved a development agreement with property owners Doug and Linda Ebi for the right of way.
The council initially discussed the agreement June 7, but sent the proposal to the Council Land & Shore Committee and the city River & Streams Board for additional scrutiny after residents and council members raised environmental concerns about the pact.
City Council delays undercrossing proposal
June 15, 2010
Completing a piece of the Interstate 90 Undercrossing hinges on a pact headed to the City Council next week.
The city needs to secure right of way along 221st Place Southeast in order to complete paving and install a traffic signal where the road meets Southeast 62nd Street.
Staffers proposed a development agreement between the city and landowners Doug and Linda Ebi to acquire the right of way. The council held a public hearing on the proposed agreement June 7, but after residents and council members raised questions about the deal, sent the proposal to the city River & Streams Board and the Council Land & Shore Committee for additional scrutiny.
The measure will return to the full council for another hearing June 21.
The undercrossing should be completed in November. The phase attached to the Ebi property includes paving three lanes — but not installing curbs, gutters or sidewalks — from 221st Place Southeast to East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
Help pull invasive plants in the highlands Sunday
May 15, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. May 15, 2010
Issaquah Environmental Council teams will clear invasive Scotch broom in the Issaquah Highlands on Sunday, and the group needs volunteers.
Teams will gather near Central Park from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. to clear the non-native plant near the reservoir near Northeast Park Drive.
The group will need volunteers to tackle other invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberry and ivy, in the weeks ahead. E-mail Connie Marsh, Issaquah Environmental Council president, at auntgrumpy@comcast.net for more information.
Besides invasive plant removal, the Issaquah Environmental Council works to protect the Lower Issaquah Valley Aquifer — a source of city drinking water — the Issaquah Creek watershed and other ecological assets. Learn more about the group here.
City Council OKs long-term road projects
May 8, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. May 8, 2010
City Council members approved the bible to all city transportation projects through 2016 — a roadmap to planned street and trails improvements known as the Transportation Improvement Program.
The list includes the Interstate 90 Undercrossing, a pedestrian connector to link trails across the interstate and along state Route 900, improvements to Newport Way Northwest and dozens of other projects.
The council held a hearing on the plan Monday, and then OK’d the list in a unanimous decision. Transportation projects must be listed in the plan in order to eligible for federal and state dollars, including money generated through the state gasoline tax and distributed to local governments.
