Issaquah council adopts ordinance to exempt early learning centers from most traffic impact fees

The Issaquah City Council on March 2 unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 3134 to amend Issaquah Municipal Code chapter 3.71 and allow traffic impact fee waivers for "early learning facilities." The ordinance creates two waiver tiers: an 80% traffic‑impact fee waiver available to qualifying childcare centers, and a 100% waiver for centers that commit at least 25% of enrolled slots to children eligible for state subsidies.

Planning staff described the state framework that allows an 80% waiver with no conditions and a 100% waiver that carries two conditions: (1) at least 25% of enrolled students must be eligible to receive state childcare subsidies, and (2) if enrollment drops below 25% during a year the property owner must repay 20% of the waived fees. Staff gave local examples to show the magnitude of traffic impact fees: one existing Old Town daycare with about 60 students faced roughly $121,000 in traffic fees, while a proposed conversion of an office building to a daycare would face roughly $379,000 in traffic fees; removing traffic fees reduces total impact fees materially in staff examples.

Councilmember Dang, who led the Planning, Development and Environment Committee, said the committee unanimously recommended the 80% and 100% waiver options to encourage more early learning facilities amid a local and statewide childcare shortage. Councilmembers who supported the ordinance noted the city’s limited policy tools to improve affordability and argued that facilitating infant/toddler care and subsidized slots is an important lever.

Administration and implementation: Staff and council clarified that the 100% waiver requires annual confirmation of subsidy enrollment, with data reported to the city and tracked through the state’s DCYF enrollment program; staff indicated the property owner (or applicant) will submit annual documentation to the city. Council also noted that impact fees are restricted revenue used for transportation projects, so waiving the traffic fee shifts the burden of transportation funding to other capital funding sources or grant applications.

Quotes from the meeting: • Councilmember Dang: "…there's a childcare shortage in Issaquah and the entire state and the entire country. And so anything that we can do to make it easier to open... childcare facilities... is useful." • Planning staff: "The state offers an 80% fee waiver... They also offer a 100% fee waiver, but there are two conditions tied to that. First condition is that 25% of your enrolled students must be eligible for state subsidies…"

What passed and next steps: The ordinance was adopted by unanimous vote. Staff will implement administrative steps to receive and verify annual subsidy documentation and update procedures for waivers; the council discussed but did not adopt further changes to park and fire impact fees.