Gilman

The Gilman Subarea is primarily located south of I-90, with a small portion of the subarea located on the north side of I-90. This subarea is located between the Olde Town Subarea and Newport Subarea. Issaquah Creek bisects the subarea to the east and west. The primary transportation routes are Gilman Boulevard on the north and Newport Way on the south. Both routes have an east/west orientation. Gilman Boulevard provides pedestrian and vehicle linkage between the Olde Town and Newport Subareas.

Existing land uses are a transitioning combination of retail, office, intensive commercial auto uses, multifamily, single family, school facilities and small scale recycling facilities. There is no predominant land use, and portions of the subarea are redeveloping or have the potential to redevelop.

The existing variety of land uses has created a mixed character, highlighted with the design elements of the retail developments of Gilman Village (south side of Gilman Boulevard) and Gilman Square (north side of Gilman Boulevard). Although these two developments are relatively recent (last 15+ years), they include "traditional" design elements of the past such as a clock tower, small scale clustered shops, raised boardwalk, cedar siding, and stained natural tones. Gilman Village reused older, small, single family homes from the surrounding area to create a small-scale, specialty restaurant and retail shopping area clustered around a boardwalk and bordered by Issaquah Creek. The clustering effect of small-scale, older homes, minimal signage that retains a historic image, and the use of a raised boardwalk with vegetative plantings throughout the development, personify the small town image that Issaquah would like to perpetuate.

The 5, 25 and 100 year floodplain is located in much of this area, south of Gilman Boulevard. Development in the floodplain is not prohibitive; however, floodplain concerns are required to be addressed by the City's development regulations. One way to significantly alleviate flood hazard concerns is to replace existing single family with multifamily which incorporates parking on the ground floor.

The areas of older multifamily, and the underdeveloped land with older, rambler style, single family homes on large lots have potential for redevelopment. Detached and attached mixed use development will be encouraged as new development and redevelopment in the Gilman Subarea.

The incorporation of mixed use will allow this subarea to continue to develop while encouraging people to shop, work and live in the same area. Mixed use will also:

• Reduce the use of the automobile
• Promote economic vitality through the people who are present during the business day and into the evening hours for shopping and entertainment
• Foster a "sense of community" and neighborhoods with a more diversified group of people.

New development would be a variety of scales, ranging from one to five stories (45 to 65 feet) and include modulation as required by development regulations. The character of new development will be consistent with the design criteria within the development regulations, and will focus on permanence; for example, brick, wood and granite establish a sense of permanence and would be highly encouraged as building materials. Under-building and shared parking facilities will be encouraged to eliminate vast expanses of pavement and unnecessary impervious surface. Landscaping with native plant materials will be promoted to allow greenery and color while eliminating irrigation needs and conserving the City's water resources.

King County Metro's shuttle service links I-90, Gilman and Olde Town Subarea. In the future, trails and pathways will connect residential, office and retail to one another and to pocket parks and viewpoints. A trail system along Issaquah Creek in non-single family zoned areas will provide a common linkage and facilitate interaction between areas, places and activities, and should be built with an environmentally sensitive design.