Issaquah commission approves 11-unit Madison Lane townhomes at 800 Front Street S

The Issaquah Development Commission on March 5 approved a consolidated preliminary plat and site development permit for the Madison Lane townhomes, an 11-unit residential project on a 0.7-acre parcel at 800 Front Street South in the city’s Old Town subarea.

Associate planner Emily Medina told commissioners the consolidated review covers preliminary plat PP2400001 and site development permit SDP2400008 and that the proposal consists of two three‑story buildings with 11 separate-entry residential units, 22 parking spaces and an internal access drive entered from Front Street South.

The project meets the site’s multifamily-high (MFH) designation and is well below the maximum allowed density for the parcel: the lot could accommodate 20 units under the code’s 29 dwelling‑units-per‑acre allowance, staff said. Landscaping, canopy coverage, and on‑site amenity minimums also exceed code requirements in the staff report: staff noted 54% evergreen composition (versus a 30% minimum), 270 inches of tree diameter breast‑height retained (vs. a required 82 inches), and proposed tree canopy coverage of roughly 26,385 square feet compared with a 9,892‑square‑foot requirement. The proposal includes a community amenity area of about 1,490 square feet (1,100 required) and a rear pedestrian pathway that connects to the…