Issaquah Highlands

The Issaquah Highlands Subarea is north of I-90 and includes approximately 870 acres. Under the name of Grand Ridge, this area was annexed to the City (July 1, 1996 effective date). In April of 1997, the area’s
name was changed to Issaquah Highlands. The Annexation and Development Agreement, which governs development in this subarea, called the 2- Party Agreement, was adopted February 5, 1996. This Agreement “promotes growth management and planning objectives including the following: reasonably priced housing, including affordable housing; innovative and sensitive land development with clustering, sensitive area preservation, and extensive areas of contiguous natural open space; efficient major infrastructure improvements, including the I-90 Sunset Interchange; creative solutions for housing, water conservation, and traffic demand management; creative mix of residential and commercial uses; and sustainable economic vitality” (taken from the 2 -Party agreement). Issaquah Highlands Subarea includes the SPAR (South Plateau Access Road) property (20.5 acres) annexed in 1999. The City shall construct roads and utilities upon this property pursuant to the Grand Ridge Joint Agreement (Issaquah Highlands).

The former “DNR” parcel (40.25 acres) is also described in the Grand Ridge 2- Party Agreement as an expansion area for Issaquah Highlands; however it was not within the Urban Growth Area (UGA) until February 2001. As part of the 2- Party Agreement, the City and the property owner have agreed that the former DNR property will be brought into the project fully consistent with land uses and densities. The developable portion of the DNR Parcel (approximately 33 acres) would be an expansion area of Urban Area 4, and would allow a spreading out of the already authorized development, and will not provide new density or uses beyond that already authorized for the Issaquah Highlands project under the adopted Development Agreement. The steep slope portion of the DNR parcel (7 acres) would be added to the City’s open space / conservation easement or otherwise retained as a greenbelt. The owners have stated their intent to annex. Once annexed, this area will become part of the Issaquah Highlands Subarea.