Forum Index > Public Lands Stewardship > Fight over Issaquah hillside
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Chico
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Chico
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PostTue Dec 19, 2017 1:27 am 
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cascadeclimber
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PostFri Dec 29, 2017 9:28 am 
I think the city of Issaquah is either run by idiots, or people in the pockets of developers. Have lived here since 1992 and the outright stupid decisions they've made, including high-density zoning with ZERO architectural standards and 0.9 parking spots per residential unit, are turning what used to be a nice town into an ugly mess. That the city used my tax dollars to pay to fix the developer-caused landslide in Talus is outrageous frown.gif

If not now, when?
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cartman
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PostFri Dec 29, 2017 10:28 am 
Well, the Bergsma family has owned the land for 30 years paying taxes all the while and according to the article "no one has ever offered to buy the property for park land". Also in the article, "Money for park purchases is limited, and the Bergsma property isn’t on the county’s short list of land it wants to acquire, said Brown, the parks director." As far as the traffic concerns: blah blah blah. Everywhere in the county has traffic concerns, doesn't prevent more housing development from happening. Certainly not losing any sleep about well-to-do residents in Newport. The family wants to sell the property for financial security. If someone wants it to be parkland instead of development, then pony up the funds. Otherwise it's the Bergsma's property to sell if they wish.

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Kim Brown
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PostFri Dec 29, 2017 2:42 pm 
It's not just that the family has the right to sell to a developer or that if someone wants it to be a park, then pony up and buy it. Yes, that is true, so far as it goes. The issue is that people and organization(s) cited in the article are calling for more stringent regulations on Issaquah's Critical Areas and other planning considerations to avoid what casacadeclimber is talking about. Washington state has a Growth Management Act that mandates all this stuff. It's probably not strict enough re some issues, while too strict in others. Here are Issaquah's Critical Area's policies. I have not read any of this in depth, so I have no idea if any development ideas on the property in question are counter to the policies or if any of these policies may prompt the city to deny a developer permit. Just tossing out the idea. The article doesn't really go into much depth.

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Schroder
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PostSat Dec 30, 2017 8:55 am 
From what I read the owner is one of the developers and will profit from the homes rather than just the land. They have no desire to sell it for a park.

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cascadeclimber
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PostTue Jan 02, 2018 1:27 pm 
cartman wrote:
Well, the Bergsma family has owned the land for 30 years paying taxes all the while and according to the article "no one has ever offered to buy the property for park land". Also in the article, "Money for park purchases is limited, and the Bergsma property isn’t on the county’s short list of land it wants to acquire, said Brown, the parks director." As far as the traffic concerns: blah blah blah. Everywhere in the county has traffic concerns, doesn't prevent more housing development from happening. Certainly not losing any sleep about well-to-do residents in Newport. The family wants to sell the property for financial security. If someone wants it to be parkland instead of development, then pony up the funds. Otherwise it's the Bergsma's property to sell if they wish.
I don't quibble with their right to sell. Now or any time in the last thirty years. What is entirely screwed up in the Central Issaquah Plan, which was written by developers for themselves. I live a mile from I-90 and there are days where it takes me 45 minutes to get onto the freeway. Development is okay. Development without standards and proper transit improvements, as is happening in the Issaquah Valley, the Highlands, and Talus, is not. It's also worth noting that the city has frequently and repeatedly ignored their own critical slope setbacks including the area behind Home Depot, where there is now a failing junk retaining wall, the road up to the Highlands, which slid, above Talus, which slid, and behind my home. They break their own rules for developers. Over and over. At the expense of the safety and well-being of existing residents. It's bullsh##.

If not now, when?
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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Jan 02, 2018 11:48 pm 
Issaquah has long been run by a developer who bought up the land over the old coal mines for a song then developed it for$$$. In the process he determines who runs and wins. Every so often some one wins on a promise to stop the process but turns out the same.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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AlpineRose
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PostWed Jan 03, 2018 12:14 am 
That explains a lot. I live in the general vicinity and have watched Issaquah turn into a POS over the last three decades. I'm quite familiar with Talus (really, who would buy into a development called "Talus") and its mudslide. Also that hillside they want to develop. There.is.no.way.they.should.build.on.it.

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Kat
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PostWed Jan 03, 2018 5:31 am 
Agreed. Unbridled development without infrastructure improvements = massive influx people = horrible traffic jams (yes they really are bad) and geological problems. Issaquah is kind of an ugly place now. I guess I'm lucky it "only" took me 10 minutes last night to drive a half mile to get on I90 - could have hiked it about as fast.

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DIYSteve
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PostWed Jan 03, 2018 8:10 am 
Malachai Constant wrote:
Issaquah has long been run by a developer. . . who determines who runs and wins.
This is a mild overstatement, but largely true. FTR, Skip passed the control of the family business to his daughter. Skip, along with his Bellevue counterpart Kemper, spent millions influencing local politics with a strong pro-development bent and led the opposition to Eastside mass transit. (Also note former Seahawks owner Ken B's and Port Blakely Tree Farms' role in Issaquah development.) Issaquah's ugly sprawl was wholly foreseeable if you were paying attention.

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joker
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PostSat Jan 06, 2018 12:26 pm 
Seems like some of the challenge getting to the highway, particularly from along 900, is all the development that happened to the south of Cougar/Squak a while back. There's quite a procession of cars headed south on that road during any normal evening rush hour (and the reverse in the AM).

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostSat Jan 06, 2018 6:15 pm 
joker wrote:
Seems like some of the challenge getting to the highway, particularly from along 900, is all the development that happened to the south of Cougar/Squak a while back. There's quite a procession of cars headed south on that road during any normal evening rush hour (and the reverse in the AM).
As is Issaquah Hobart Road, we never go to PooPoo in the afternoon on a weekday.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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DIYSteve
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DIYSteve
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PostMon Jan 15, 2018 8:18 pm 
Develop beyond existing road capacity and table traffic issues for some undetermined time in the future is standard east KC development strategy. FREEDOM!

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Schroder
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PostWed Jan 09, 2019 9:52 am 
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Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostWed Jan 09, 2019 12:13 pm 
Thanks for posting this, Schroder. This kind of outcome doesn't happen often and the story is a great template for how to get it done. Congrats to the citizen activists, and the responsive city council. up.gif up.gif

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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