[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",[32,75,87],{"_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",6199297,"mediaKeyId","3837675-f9664dcbbae325012ee746aa5243d98c","parentId",3837675,"title","Students present GeoQuest tour, school‑district sustainability policy and new junior park ranger program","audioSeconds",1504,"startMs",519000,"endMs",2023000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3837675-f9664dcbbae325012ee746aa5243d98c&start=519&end=2023","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3837675-f9664dcbbae325012ee746aa5243d98c/thumbnail_519000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6199297/Issaquah/King-County/Washington/Students-present-GeoQuest-tour-schooldistrict-sustainability-policy-and-new-junior-park-ranger-program","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199297-5dd5d2cbdb05340066b1e6157fa942cc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166528&Signature=hm3qSGcTiGZ6-P0O51RARVl1CGfWOEbHq7kj1qMKbYrMpnIELvBHpkfusSoRx4cuO1fk27WnDZsnGXziId-pvgavCJWvRta76fPlvoJ3PaYhrzc0QLjYsWqFid9XdvFyxl6J5xGcR6h0GqA-5G0orPmQvxY5Jk2AqNNv-6oYLELRgdNj-NfwJlQr1n0Nfqua~BORXwyooR-vg-VWEjspEJVspJ1p2F~95ZYAPlX1VNL6URFCSYxPy3toG7Q58f3ISCe8H4YU0Lzk0yIgQGLSzodP6fBh4DXAqMrVKixoKEy116WV8hWT-mJSXwPDMUPu4Mc05PpKpnf3EFxCPM5dfg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Issaquah, WA","date","2025-06-12T21:04:14Z","article","Students from local high schools presented three sustainability initiatives to the Issaquah Environmental Board: a GeoQuest geocaching tour, student‑led sustainability efforts at Gibson High School (including transit outreach), and the launch of a junior park ranger booklet and program.

Why it matters: The student projects connect civic engagement, school curricula and city sustainability goals. The school‑district sustainability policy introduces an annual monitoring requirement the students said will increase accountability for district sustainability actions.

What students presented

- GeoQuest geocaching tour: Student presenters (Bridal Leslie and Eva Magnuson) described a GeoQuest that places geocache sites around Issaquah with sustainability‑themed content. \"Geocaching is kind of like treasure hunting,\" Eva said. The students reported about 600 people have visited at least one site, an initial run of 100 GeoQuest geocoins sold out and organizers reordered, and staff plan to run the tour this year and into next year while evaluating improvements.

- School district sustainability policy: Students from Gibson (Zoe and Matthew) described advocacy that helped bring support letters from Issaquah and nearby cities to the district and contributed to the adoption of an operational policy. \"This is operational expectation 17, sustainability,\" Matthew told the board; students said the policy includes a built‑in annual monitoring and reporting function to the superintendent and school board.

- Student outreach and transit work: Gibson students distributed ORCA transit cards to encourage bus use (the group received 200 ORCA cards, distributed about 80 at events, and registered 28 cards at a lunch distribution), ran a \"turn off the lights\" school event to demonstrate energy savings, piloted parking‑permit incentives for carpools and collected commute counts to track mode shift.

- Junior Park Ranger program: Student presenter Camina reported the junior park ranger booklet and stamping program has launched with community partners including the Salmon Hatchery, Issaquah Trails Club, Trout Unlimited and the Issaquah History Museum. Printed prototypes cost about $600 for 25 copies; students are seeking lower‑cost printing options or grants for larger print runs and suggested print‑on‑demand, sponsor partnerships and library distribution as options.

Board feedback and next steps

Board members congratulated the students and suggested outreach to the school district for field‑trip integration, to local businesses for sponsorship of printing costs, and to the library system for summer distribution of junior park ranger booklets. Staff confirmed the GeoQuest QR code and content are hosted on the city website and encouraged expanded promotion in the coming year.

Ending

Board members praised student leadership and asked staff to help circulate final junior park ranger materials and the students' school‑district policy language once published.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Issaquah Environmental Board Meeting - June 11, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","High school students presented a GeoQuest geocaching tour, school‑district sustainability policy work and a newly launched junior park ranger program to the Issaquah Environmental Board.","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},6199308,"Issaquah environmental board urges keeping 1-to-1 tree replacement, asks for landmark protections and limited downtown flexibility",3329,151000,3480000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3837675-f9664dcbbae325012ee746aa5243d98c&start=151&end=3480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3837675-f9664dcbbae325012ee746aa5243d98c/thumbnail_151000.jpg","/articles/6199308/Issaquah/King-County/Washington/Issaquah-environmental-board-urges-keeping-1-to-1-tree-replacement-asks-for-landmark-protections-and-limited-downtown-flexibility","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199308-1974080cbaf03b64a363159eab643b1a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166528&Signature=nncwZlej7CxWlukUz2w1u~I1wHAtOpsTc6SxyUoP9lkoM28waApLY40euWM6kd2ere-YQYkCFOckCeNGSVycqzfiq2eW9ezUZhrJeWKtdSXWcaERewKwIjRjttgaQafilwASq6FWQRjcBBnc76e8YwFQqEpKiH2K2SDJjHH9awTv9jEWfb6i3N~tntqDXOrabDo5iPbwYcd7c-SdRPhd45p193-s2FvauZ4vu7I~Gmb9cS8C~ElaQeiOJ-b51342Yh7RbH0fpDOOg73XccDBcErmGgZB5Kd06jVrKzgmmeN2NAAfbvVBaWUsUmUfYkKk~FrrCMaz24W7t78jwdegXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the June meeting of the Issaquah Environmental Board, members reviewed proposed amendments to the city’s tree code and recommended keeping a straightforward 1-to-1 replacement requirement for hazardous tree removals while allowing limited flexibility for major redevelopment in the Central Issaquah subarea.

Board members said simpler rules would ease compliance for homeowners and limit illegal removals while the city builds inventory and programmatic supports. Several members expressed support for keeping the 1-to-1 replacement requirement and for replacing landmark trees at a higher ratio.

Why it matters: The board’s feedback will be forwarded to the Planning and Policy Commission and City Council as the city updates tree preservation, replacement and canopy coverage rules. The revisions are tied to the city’s climate action and urban forestry goals and affect redevelopment, storm and wildfire resilience, and neighborhood character.

Most important details

- Consensus on 1-to-1 replacement: Board members indicated a preference to retain a 1-to-1 replacement rule for hazardous or nuisance trees to keep the permit process simple for homeowners and staff. \"If the process isn't too onerous ... people will apply,\" one board member said during the discussion. (Board members discussed enforcement concerns and cost barriers.)

- Landmark trees: Members asked for stronger treatment for very large, high‑value \"landmark\" trees, including higher replacement ratios (the board discussed 1-to-2 as a possible standard) or stricter limits on removal when development plans would otherwise remove such trees.

- Canopy targets tied to lot size/zoning: Staff proposed replacing neighborhood‑level canopy targets with percentages based on land use and lot size (for example, lower percentages for small single‑family lots and larger targets for larger lots and certain zones). The board generally supported using lot/zoning methodology rather than neighborhood averages because parcel‑level planting capacity varies.

- Redevelopment and new development: The board agreed the canopy coverage calculations should apply primarily to new development and major redevelopment (the draft defines redevelopment by building value thresholds), while hazardous tree removals would remain a separate, simpler permit track with 1-to-1 replacement.

- Flexibility for Central Issaquah subarea: Staff proposed criteria allowing reduced preservation requirements in the Central Issaquah subarea — the designated higher‑intensity growth area — when tree removal is necessary for site access, essential utilities, or unavoidable building placement. The board supported limited flexibility but asked staff to add explicit protections for landmark trees and ensure replacement requirements or fee in‑lieu payments still produce net canopy benefit for the city.

Public comment and concerns

A resident who spoke during public comment criticized how mitigation and monitoring have been handled on several recent projects and urged stronger code enforcement and clarity in mitigation tracking. \"If the city is gonna be green, it should be green itself, not conveniently green,\" the resident said. Board members referenced those comments during their discussion of enforcement and monitoring.

Costs, exemptions and practicalities

Board members and staff noted the administrative burden of allowing an exemption that would require parcel‑level canopy calculations: the code currently expects a qualified professional to prepare canopy calculations, and staff said that approach could add several hundred dollars in costs to a permit. For that reason the board favored retaining a simple 1-to-1 replacement track for hazardous removals rather than a widespread exemption requiring professional canopy inventories.

Next steps

Board members asked staff to draft a brief letter summarizing the feedback on the policy questions for the Planning and Policy Commission; staff said they would prepare the draft for board review and routing to the commission and City Council. The board also asked staff to continue public education and programmatic work (tree giveaways, subsidies, outreach) to reduce illegal removals and help lower‑income homeowners meet planting requirements.

Ending

Board members said they support a mix of clear regulatory requirements and expanded city programs to make compliance practical. Staff will bring a draft comment letter to the board for review and forward the board’s recommendations to the Planning and Policy Commission and City Council.

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Why it matters: The checklist and spreadsheet are the primary municipal tools for identifying potential environmental impacts early in project review and for tracking whether required mitigation is meeting performance standards during the monitoring period. Board members said better tracking across older development agreements and a public dashboard could help surface recurring mitigation shortfalls.

Key points

- Three spreadsheet tabs: Douglas told the board the spreadsheet includes tabs for (1) pre‑application/community meeting information, (2) approved projects (showing the project after land‑use approval), and (3) a final summary showing construction impacts and post‑construction monitoring. \"The information that's within this checklist helps us planners identify the scope and scale of any potential impacts at the beginning of the project,\" Douglas said.

- New fields added: Staff added sub‑area canopy targets to the approved‑projects tab (previously the sheet tracked only retention and removals) and a mitigation summary on the final tab to capture monitoring reports and maintenance obligations during the typical 5‑year monitoring period for critical‑area mitigation.

- Recent project status: Since the October meeting staff recorded one community meeting for the Newport Way townhome project (Old Town, near Issaquah Creek), four previously reported projects moved from preliminary to approved and are now in construction permitting, and one project (the high‑water pump station) was canceled.

- Beaver and mitigation impacts: Board members and public commenters raised examples where mitigation has not achieved the intended outcomes (for instance, beaver activity changing wetland hydrology near a roundabout and at a Costco gas station site). Staff acknowledged those on‑the‑ground challenges and said monitoring reports are used to determine whether additional steps or extended monitoring are required.

- Development agreements and legacy projects: Board members asked whether older projects that predate the checklist (for example, large development agreements such as Costco or Lakeside) can be tracked; staff said the spreadsheet was designed for forward‑looking projects tied to current code but that continuing monitoring obligations for earlier projects should appear in the sheet if staff retain responsibility for enforcement or ongoing monitoring.

- Dashboard and transparency: Staff discussed the idea of a web dashboard to summarize spreadsheet metrics for the public and the board; Douglas said the idea would be developed further and handed over to his replacement when hired.

Next steps and staff direction

Staff said they will continue refining the spreadsheet and consider adding legacy projects that remain under monitoring or bond obligations; they also will explore a dashboard approach and will include mitigation status and reasons why a site might not be meeting performance standards in future updates to the board.

Ending

Board members praised the spreadsheet’s clarity and asked staff to make the monitoring data more visible where feasible; staff will summarize additional recommendations in their handoff notes for the incoming planner.

","City environmental planner Douglas presented the Natural Environment Checklist and a three‑tab tracking spreadsheet that staff use to monitor pre‑application inputs, approved projects and post‑construction mitigation performance. The update added sub‑area canopy targets and a mitigation summary for the 5‑year monitoring period.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Students present GeoQuest tour, school‑district sustainability policy and new junior park ranger program

Issaquah environmental board urges keeping 1-to-1 tree replacement, asks for landmark protections and limited downtown flexibility

City planner outlines checklist and tracking spreadsheet to monitor mitigation, asks board for input on legacy projects