ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
www.issaquahreporter.com
Friday, December 9, 2011
SKYLINE CHAMPIONS – AGAIN! The Skyline football team captured its fourth state title in the last five years and the school’s sixth overall football state championship Saturday at the Tacoma Dome with a 38-7 victory over Skyview. Defense led the way for the Spartans, who jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead
Skyline football players hoist up the 4A state championship trophy Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. CHAD COLEMAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
and never looked back. For the full game story and pictures from Saturday’s dominant victory turn to page 12 and 13 for a special pull-out section. A full photo slideshow is also available on the Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter website, www.issaquahreporter.com.
Skip Rowley’s plan |
78 acres 4.4 million square feet, totally developed 10-story buildings, or 12 with LEED certification. Up to 1,700 housing units
Long-time developer has a vision for part of downtown Issaquah, but some wonder, ‘why the rush?’ BY CELESTE GRACEY CGRACEY@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
When Issaquah wanted a new library on Front Street, it got developer Skip Rowley’s vote. When it wanted a new community center, it got his money. Now the city wants to redevelop its valley floor, marked by sprawling parking lots, and it has turned to Rowley’s vision of high-density and mixed-use buildings. He wants City Council to OK a plan to redevelop 78 acres he owns. And, he wants the council to do it six months before it approves the wider-reaching Central Issaquah Plan, which would shape downtown development over the next 30 years. The plans share the same vision, but as details in Rowley’s agreement come out, some are beginning to question whether it protects the environment and low-income families as the framers of the CIP first envisioned. Mary Lynch, who helped draft the CIP, is among a few that worry Rowley is pushing for quick passage of his agreement to avoid more restrictive codes in the CIP plan. No one can say for sure, because the CIP is still under review. While city planners are pushing their Dec. 19 deadline for the Rowley Agreement, council members have been scrambling to understand the plan and how it would affect the environment. In responding to councilmember questions, Rowley’s message has been clear: his family can be trusted with a more flexible plan of its own. “We’ve done a lot of things to make this a better community,” Rowley says. Behind him several tall windows look out from the Issaquah office to a private park dedicated to his mother, Pat. “We are attached.” For some, trust in the family isn’t enough. The agreement is written for the land, not the family, said Tola Marts, a city councilmember who chairs the land and shore committee. “We’re setting up a pretty extraordinary
Skip Rowley has a bold vision for his 78 acres in central Issaquah, and is hoping the City Council will approve his development agreement Dec. 19. However, some have questioned why it should supercede a larger plan for the whole area. CELESTE GRACEY, ISSAQUAH & SAMMAMISH REPORTER
agreement for a unique developer, and I want to make sure the public benefit is clear, because, quite frankly, people’s plans change.” The Rowley plan allows for up to 4.4 million square feet of housing, commercial and retail space. It could include up to 1,700 housing units. The tallest buildings can be 12 stories, if they’re built LEED certified.
FIRST IN While the city would get millions from the agreement, its interests go deeper than Rowley’s pockets. His 78 acres can
be developed in a way that is more cohesive than any other property. It could set the stage for development for the rest of central Issaquah. For Rowley, creating a separate development agreement is important because it gives his company certain sureties over the next 30 years. It also allows the city to be more sensitive to what’s financially feasible for Rowley. There are no advantages to going first, he says, because the plans are parallel. “Why wait?” he asks. SEE ROWLEY, 10