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 adjacent Rainier Trail property.

The developer team — attorney Peter Derland and project manager Hussain Mansouri, supported by civil engineer Jamie Schroeder and architect Travis McDaniel — asked the commission to approve the project subject to the staff conditions. "We respectfully ask that you approve the project subject to conditions," Derland told commissioners.

Key technical and regulatory issues addressed during the hearing included: - Pedestrian pathway maintenance and plat language: staff originally recommended a condition that the pedestrian pathway maintenance (including surface material such as wood chips) be required on the face of the recorded final plat and referenced in a maintenance agreement or CC&Rs to ensure enforceability for the green‑necklace amenity. The applicant proposed instead that the maintenance obligations be recorded only in a CC&Rs document and not placed on the face of the plat, citing future flexibility for property owners. Commissioners and staff noted IMC 18.340.060.D.3's requirement that recorded unit subdivisions include joint‑use or maintenance agreements as necessary; after discussion the motion approved by the commission retained the staff approach requiring a maintenance reference on the recorded documents as reflected in the staff report and as amended in staff presentation that evening. - Stormwater and infiltration: CPH civil engineer Jamie Schroeder described the drainage design, saying pollution‑generating surfaces (driveways and roadway areas) will be routed to a catch basin network and treated in bioretention (enhanced water‑quality) features; roof runoff will be directed to an infiltration trench handling primarily clean roof water. A letter from Sammamish Plateau Water was included in the record; staff and the utility exchanged information and staff said the utility’s concerns were addressed in the proposed conditions and design. - Transportation and traffic review: staff said the project generated six PM peak‑hour trips and therefore did not trigger a full traffic‑impact analysis. The project received a transportation concurrency certificate using the city’s trip‑bank approach; staff described the trip bank and level‑of‑service framework used to confirm the development would not cause intersections to fall below the city's standards. - Design and code compliance: staff found building orientation, main entries, transparency, modulation and material choices meet Old Town overlay standards; commissioners discussed façade detail and divided‑light window options but did not add a condition requiring additional divided windows. Parking includes 22 vehicle spaces and one motorcycle space; each unit provides long‑term bicycle storage (11 required, 11 proposed). ADA and final building code items will be reviewed at building permit.

SEPA: staff reported a Determination of Non‑Significance (DNS) had been issued (SEPA review completed in March of the previous year) and three comment letters were included in the record; staff said any remaining impacts will be mitigated through code requirements and the conditions of approval.

Motion and vote: Commissioner Brennan moved to approve PP2400001 and SDP2400008 as described in the staff report dated Feb. 26, 2025, with the staff‑recommended conditions and the amendments to conditions 5 and 12 provided in staff’s presentation that evening. Commissioner Morgan seconded. The commission approved the motion unanimously (7–0; Commissioner Gilbert was excused). Chair Sanford said staff will issue a notice of decision within seven days and prepare formal findings of fact and conclusions to reflect the commission’s action.

Next steps: the approval allows the applicant to proceed to final plat recording and building permitting subject to the conditions adopted by the commission; final engineering, Recology sign‑off on refuse plans and building‑permit level ADA and other code checks remain part of permit review.