Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, December 21, 2012
www.issaquahreporter.com
Moving forward
Sue Chapin hugs Sammamish Mayor Tom Odell after unveiling the new sign dedicated to her husband Stan, a longtime school resource officer for Eastlake High School and Inglewood Middle School. Her son Chris applauds. Below, a crowd of roughly 200 showed up for the ceremony.
City Council approves Central Issaquah Plan BY LINDA BALL LBALL@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
lice. The boy ducked out of school and ran away as soon as he heard police were at school looking for him. Moments later, he called officer Chapin on his cell phone for advice. “That moment took a tremendous amount of trust from that student who needed a friend in that very moment and he knew he could tell
After five years of meetings, contemplation and reflection, the Central Issaquah Plan (CIP) will be moving forward. The CIP is a 30-year plan to turn what is now a collection of impervious surfaces and strip malls into a vibrant urban area that will include housing, businesses that will bring jobs, and rapid transit. The area of the CIP is the 1,100 acre commercial core, excluding Front Street, that surrounds Interstate 90. The area includes about 90 percent of the city’s commercially zoned land. “People who work here don’t have the chance to live here, and people who live here don’t work here,” said council president Tola Marts. Marts said he felt the plan was a good faith effort that will serve as a guide future councils can follow. Citizen input was mostly positive. Janet Wall, a 17-year Issaquah resident asked that the council review the plan annually as things can and do change. Alison Meryweather, a resident since 1988 said the things that brought her to Issaquah will still be there, so she supported the plan. Affordable housing, turning parking lots into walkable areas, and knowing what businesses or residents can expect because this is a long-term plan, are all positive said council member Eileen Barber. The public was comforted in the knowledge that Issaquah will not become another Bellevue with tall buildings reaching up into the sky, blocking views of Cougar, Tiger and Squak Mountains. The plan limits building height to 125-
SEE CHAPIN WAY, 8
SEE CIP, 8
KEVIN ENDEJAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
NEVER FORGOTTEN Family, friends gather to officially open ‘Stan Chapin Way’
BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
I
f there was ever a question whether Sammamish appreciated school resource officer Stan Chapin, it was answered Tuesday afternoon.
Roughly 200 members of the community — many from Eastlake High School and Inglewood Middle School — showed up to honor the longtime officer as the city officially renamed the new entrance to Eastlake, at the intersection of Northeast Eighth Street and 233rd Ave. N.E., “Stan Chapin Way.” Stan’s wife Sue, children Chris, Scott and Bethany and many other members of the extended family were on hand for the dedication. Chapin, a 12-year veteran of the Sammamish Police Department and near 40-year veteran of the King County Sheriff ’s Office, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Jan. 30, 2012 at the age of 61. When he was discovered early in the morning, his pockets were reportedly found full of Jolly Rancher candies, one of the things he loved to share with students.
“As a school resource officer Stan devoted his life to helping students choose the correct path in life,” said Sammamish Mayor Tom Odell. “He was a friend and advisor to many young people ... at a time when they perhaps needed one most.” Inglewood principal Tim Patterson, who worked with Chapin for a decade, shared a story of a student in serious trouble with the po-