[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6288502,"mediaKeyId","2538503-09efe4f224975ad0ea88457374134d13","parentId",2538503,"title","Issaquah council reviews Central Issaquah light‑rail station vision, asks staff to refine guiding principles","audioSeconds",3615,"startMs",101000,"endMs",3716000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2538503-09efe4f224975ad0ea88457374134d13&start=101&end=3716","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2538503-09efe4f224975ad0ea88457374134d13/thumbnail_101000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6288502/Issaquah/King-County/Washington/Issaquah-council-reviews-Central-Issaquah-lightrail-station-vision-asks-staff-to-refine-guiding-principles","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6288502-67ba80afba21bad00e0158a096643eab/orig.mp4?Expires=1771106973&Signature=Mmt5QBG~3UFQ4Ntl0gupNXYu70Lh5V6T5mSY5TIO7dVFdy-19Qr-tBWgChNCLzv-lvnnlViSPSwmNtlxpDs4WREuONd5JlOGhGEj6U1utdHAqD84IkJm-yDRcAaGzksGu6l6sBPpMh3gWJpaHB05jE-E21B2Mp8FM6DbjvcjXD-MpXG3AGEEUHZBtVK-TMSjxwPABzilSXzkoXw2OU2-v59LTmRZEN3G-KEPH5dmrv1Qp43fng9Z4yfn8NHJMLsUQwcrHxaRY8NG~uInDoTCq2QrgJxsGhwVysJ-unmkw0eULia6nIWnKyEV7yqwi7x3wKwd79mnudKb4n-xQ0fW4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Issaquah City, WA","date","2025-03-11T04:20:04Z","article","Council members at the Issaquah Committee of the Whole on March 10 reviewed draft vision and guiding principles for the Central Issaquah light‑rail station area and directed staff to refine the document and take it to the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee before returning it to the full council for final action.

Thomas Valdres, the city’s senior transportation planner, told the committee the draft reflects community engagement conducted since September 2023 and is intended to “infuse the local vision” into Sound Transit’s process for the south‑Kirkland–Issaquah extension. “By 2044, the Central Issaquah Station Area will be a vibrant, well‑connected hub, where people of all ages and abilities can easily live, work, and thrive,” Valdres read from the draft vision at the meeting.

The nut of the discussion was how to use the document. Valdres said the guiding principles will be used to shape the city’s input to Sound Transit and to develop a locally preferred alternative; zoning and permitting were identified as the city’s main levers to influence station location and supporting development. Valdres told the council the city will translate the principles into specific evaluation criteria as the locally preferred alternative work begins in April.

Council members pressed staff on several themes: parking and how commuters from east‑of‑Issaquah would access an end‑of‑line station; whether locating a station within the WSDOT I‑90 right‑of‑way would reduce the city’s leverage; public‑safety and emergency services impacts; and affordability and displacement risks from rapid growth.

Steven Padua, the city’s planning manager, said Sound Transit may build within the WSDOT right‑of‑way but will still need access, circulation and pedestrian connections outside that right‑of‑way, where city regulations apply. “Regulations from the city are still always going to apply because they’ll still need transit access to the site,” Padua said.

Deputy Council President DeMichele praised the document’s readability and said it reflected community priorities — notably safety and comfort in the station area — but cautioned the council and staff will need to resolve trade‑offs between preserving Issaquah’s character and enabling higher‑density, transit‑oriented development. Several council members urged staff to make the principles clearer and suggested the document highlight that Issaquah will be an end‑of‑line station and that decisions will have regional implications.

Valdres and staff said the draft is not an implementation plan but a high‑level “North Star.” Staff committed to a final round of word‑smithing and to return a single, condensed document to the council for adoption (staff said April 7 was the tentative action date). Mobility & Infrastructure will receive the technical deep dive and the committee of the whole will see the revised document before final council action.

What happens next: staff will make a final edit pass incorporating council comments, present the refined guiding principles and evaluation criteria to Mobility & Infrastructure, and return the consolidated item to the full council for adoption. The city will also begin development of a locally preferred alternative that will be shared with Sound Transit and used to evaluate alignment and station‑site options.

The city emphasized that Sound Transit will make final decisions on alignment and station location, but the city can influence specific outcomes through zoning, permitting and negotiated community benefits.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Issaquah City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting - March 10, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Council members at the Issaquah Committee of the Whole on March 10 reviewed draft vision and guiding principles for the Central Issaquah light‑rail station area and directed staff to refine the document and take it to the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee before returning it to the full council for final action.","taxTitle","Issaquah, King County, Washington","taxId",53186,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6288497,"Issaquah gets first look at utility rate study; council directs further review by committee",1963,3865000,5828000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2538503-09efe4f224975ad0ea88457374134d13&start=3865&end=5828","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2538503-09efe4f224975ad0ea88457374134d13/thumbnail_3865000.jpg","/articles/6288497/Issaquah/King-County/Washington/Issaquah-gets-first-look-at-utility-rate-study-council-directs-further-review-by-committee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6288497-d6f5c28d5b43bca99854ac486b1dad81/orig.mp4?Expires=1771106973&Signature=BahdrsZN5FtJm6s5e6SHKO30cg7DBfp7oX~B8yETFLIhcW8WKsXNnats-yM5mDFRBy6tOHe6Rs6Glj8ejmMpJPVkQ5If5U3D-V5Riwyk6lW4mvYsx988LKShuiyGijX6ZtotzghZUUAZbHgUUiemVBZYEBkZNGysvaVLlC-yWzJRTt~zwGqATUpigh9AdyGBuYIfwI5c-gy7QdegMh0fYllk2~-r3oE5qgRenaX-E0MUEB~clDU~UeKS7~Svtcoxdczdyyv0zs1AnDZfI0VqLAH5nMOeRZM~2OcgH9Cevr7gutkdgnq1nHv~Utip9qt0r~bC5nvB5FmK2SHL~DOXOA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Public Works Director Emily Moon and consultant Sergei Tarasov presented an update on Issaquah’s utility rate study at the March 10 Committee of the Whole, outlining revenue‑requirement scenarios for water, sewer and stormwater and asking council for direction on next steps.

“[The study’s goal is] to develop new rates for our funds that provide for operational and capital needs over the next five‑year period,” Moon said, adding that staff modeled longer forecasts to avoid future “cliff” increases. The presentation included three scenario types for each fund — cash funding, debt‑heavy funding, and hybrid approaches — and called out several drivers: a multi‑year capital program, wholesale supplier increases, and staffing additions.

The water utility’s five‑year capital plan is about $44 million (inflated dollars), with roughly $100 million of additional projects forecast beyond five years. Moon said the study assumed several staffing additions (11.75 FTEs modeled; five included in the adopted 2025–26 budget, with the remaining 6.75 shown for planning). Tarasov summarized key modeling assumptions: 2023 billing data as the revenue baseline, conservative growth assumptions for new connections, escalation assumptions of roughly 4% for general costs and 5% for benefits, and a starting debt‑financing assumption of 20‑year revenue bonds at 5% interest and 1% issuance cost.

Preliminary ranges shown to council: water increases of about 4.75%–6.75% annually under the sample scenarios (hybrid scenario shown near 5.5%); sewer sample scenarios ranged roughly from 3.25% (short‑term 5‑year cash plan) to about 7% (20‑year cash‑funded plan), with a max‑debt scenario lowering near 4.75%; stormwater showed the strongest pressure, with a model that would require about 6.25% to catch up on operations, roughly 10% if non‑critical capital is deferred and about 16.75% if the full 20‑year CIP were cash‑funded. Tarasov also noted King County sewer‑treatment costs and Cascade Water Alliance wholesale charges were forecast to increase substantially in coming years, pressuring the city’s sewer and water rates.

Council members expressed several consistent themes: sensitivity to rate impacts for households on fixed incomes, interest in smoothing increases over time, reluctance among some members to maximize debt because borrowing raises long‑term costs, and requests for staff to identify projects that could be deferred or funded by grants to reduce near‑term rate pressure. Several council members suggested a middle path (hybrid funding) to limit immediate percentage increases while sharing costs with future users through targeted borrowing.

Moon and Tarasov said staff will take the next detailed analysis, including class cost allocations and rate design, to the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee and return a full package to the council later in the spring or summer. The study will also update general facility charges and recommend reserve and debt‑coverage policies; staff modeled an operating reserve target of roughly 90 days and recommended an emergency/capital reserve sized at approximately 1%–2% of plant in service for major repairs.

No formal rate action was taken at the meeting. Council members gave direction on policy preferences and asked staff to prepare detailed options for M&I, including a clearer list of capital projects that could be deferred or grant‑eligible and additional scenarios that hold combined bills to a more modest annual average where feasible.","Public Works presented water, sewer and stormwater revenue‑requirement scenarios showing a range of rate impacts. Councilmembers asked staff to take detailed scenarios to the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee for further review and to return recommendations to the full council.","actionData","errors"]

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Issaquah council reviews Central Issaquah light‑rail station vision, asks staff to refine guiding principles

Issaquah gets first look at utility rate study; council directs further review by committee