City Council Special Meeting · Tuesday, July 21, 2015 · City Council Digest

2. AGENDA ITEMS

Olde Town Terrain Walk stops at Pedestrian Park, Historic Shell Station Feedback / Discussion AB 7035

packet pp.3–8

Topics: Land UseTransportationParks

Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

DEPARTMENT OF Economic Development, Andrea Snyder COUNCIL COMMITTEE LIAISON n/a OTHER COUNCIL MEETINGS n/a EXHIBITS A. Terrain Walk Map

764 segments .txt ↗

1:01 ↗ she's gone as of Friday let me text

1:05 ↗ barking yeah that's real you're right

1:08 ↗ i'll call the july 21st special meeting

1:13 ↗ of the City Council we've got one item

1:17 ↗ on our agenda that's agenda bill 70 35

1:21 ↗ old town terrain walk that will be a

1:27 ↗ presentation of old town of the old town

1:30 ↗ vitality goal the old town vitality task

1:35 ↗ force update and then our walk which

1:39 ↗ will not be televised and then we will

1:43 ↗ return back here for final observations

1:46 ↗ and that portion of the council meeting

1:49 ↗ will be televised this special meeting

1:53 ↗ focuses on Old Town and provides the

1:57 ↗ council an opportunity to discuss

2:00 ↗ current vitality efforts as well as the

2:03 ↗ future of old town with the mayor's Old

2:06 ↗ Town vitality task force and the

2:10 ↗ downtown issaquah Association who are

2:13 ↗ here and will be walking with us and

2:17 ↗ serving as guides as we take our tour

2:21 ↗ the public is invited to accompany us on

2:26 ↗ the terrain walk of the central business

2:29 ↗ district our first stopping point will

2:32 ↗ be pedestrian park at the corner of

2:36 ↗ sunset and front and there we will

2:40 ↗ discuss potential changes to the park

2:43 ↗ and perhaps how to invest the twenty

2:46 ↗ thousand dollars the council has set

2:48 ↗ aside for the park this year of staff

2:53 ↗ will be seeking feedback from the

2:55 ↗ council on these ideas at at that time

2:59 ↗ the tour will then proceed down Front

3:03 ↗ Street and each task force member will

3:05 ↗ pair up with a council member to

3:07 ↗ highlight specific observations and

3:10 ↗ themes

3:11 ↗ the task force has discovered our next

3:15 ↗ stop will be at the historic shell

3:17 ↗ station where deal will present on their

3:20 ↗ efforts to add vibrancy to that space

3:24 ↗ finally as I mentioned before we will

3:28 ↗ return via the Rainier trail to council

3:31 ↗ chambers where there will be an

3:32 ↗ opportunity to discuss final thoughts

3:35 ↗ and observations and to kick the meeting

3:39 ↗ off this evening our economic

3:42 ↗ development director Keith Niven for the

3:47 ↗ staff presentation

3:59 ↗ Thank You mr. mayor City Council Keith

4:01 ↗ Niven with economic development so this

4:05 ↗ evening we're not going to spend much

4:06 ↗ time here because the point is really to

4:08 ↗ get out and see some things and talk

4:10 ↗ about kind of what's going on downtown

4:13 ↗ but I wanted to just kind of give a

4:14 ↗ little bit of context so the city

4:17 ↗ approved the old town plan in October of

4:20 ↗ 1999 and here's the geography that

4:23 ↗ encompasses old town and you know the

4:27 ↗ plan itself has some very different

4:31 ↗ design standards and Development

4:33 ↗ standards for the old town and the CBD

4:36 ↗ area of our city and the idea was that

4:39 ↗ this area should stand out and be it'd

4:42 ↗ be different perceptually from the rest

4:44 ↗ of the city and so you know as we went

4:48 ↗ through the 2014 goal-setting session

4:52 ↗ there were a number of goals that were

4:54 ↗ proposed by the City Council that were

4:57 ↗ aimed at at the old town area and here's

5:01 ↗ a list of those proposed goals now after

5:05 ↗ we talked through those with the council

5:07 ↗ we kind of came to an understanding that

5:10 ↗ we would consolidate those into one city

5:14 ↗ council goal and that was to enhance old

5:16 ↗ town vitality now that goal had really

5:20 ↗ two actions associated with it the first

5:22 ↗ one was to identify an execute an

5:25 ↗ immediate public investment opportunity

5:27 ↗ for old town that will help enhance the

5:30 ↗ old helms vitality and we'll talk about

5:32 ↗ that tonight and I think that's part of

5:34 ↗ the conversation that we're going to

5:35 ↗ have at pedestrian park and the second

5:37 ↗ part is to form an ad hoc committee to

5:42 ↗ provide recommendations to the mayor and

5:43 ↗ what the community can do to enhance old

5:46 ↗ town's vitality and that's that's kind

5:48 ↗ of the balance of the conversation this

5:49 ↗ evening is to kind of talk with you

5:52 ↗ about how the conversations have been

5:54 ↗ going so far so with that I'm going to

5:57 ↗ stop and I'm going to turn it over to

5:59 ↗ Andrea who is going to I think lead you

6:02 ↗ through the next part of the

6:03 ↗ conversation Thank You key

6:10 ↗ so I just like to give you an update on

6:13 ↗ what the task force has been doing so

6:16 ↗ far first starting off with an

6:19 ↗ introduction of the task force members

6:21 ↗ who many of whom are here tonight so

6:24 ↗ we'll start with who's here first Karen

6:27 ↗ Donovan with the downtown issaquah

6:30 ↗ Association and also Keith woth who's a

6:34 ↗ commercial downtown property owner also

6:39 ↗ i'm going to pick on Cyrus who just

6:42 ↗ joined us Cyrus coron Cyrus Kron is

6:48 ↗ serving as representative for the

6:51 ↗ Chamber of Commerce on our task force

6:52 ↗ and he's also a downtown resident we

6:55 ↗ have Todd sergeant who is the city's

6:59 ↗ representative on the historic landmark

7:01 ↗ in committee and he's also affiliated

7:03 ↗ with the history museums and as an

7:05 ↗ architect so he brings those skills and

7:06 ↗ perspectives with him to the task force

7:08 ↗ Michelle drove doll who manages the

7:11 ↗ issaquah library Karen able with art

7:14 ↗ East and I'm just making sure I'm not

7:19 ↗ forgetting anyone else who maybe have

7:21 ↗ snuck in all right the other members who

7:23 ↗ were not able to make it our include

7:26 ↗ Corey Walters with disco food and

7:28 ↗ clothing bank and she's also a downtown

7:29 ↗ resident Trey Bailey with uphill running

7:32 ↗ which is a store in the front street

7:34 ↗ plaza area and he's also a downtown

7:36 ↗ resident and Barack rosenblum who's a

7:39 ↗ member of dia and he is an issaquah

7:41 ↗ entrepreneur and also a downtown

7:43 ↗ resident and then finally but not least

7:47 ↗ we have Rob hunts who is of course the

7:50 ↗ director of the village theater also a

7:52 ↗ commercial downtown property owner and

7:54 ↗ he has been involved in previous old

7:56 ↗ town planning efforts so he brings with

7:58 ↗ him that historical perspective as well

8:00 ↗ so as you can see we have a wide

8:02 ↗ representation of all sorts of

8:04 ↗ stakeholders within the downtown area

8:06 ↗ and I've been saying downtown because

8:09 ↗ while the goal is related to old town

8:13 ↗ and Keith showed that big old town map

8:16 ↗ which is actually a bigger area than

8:17 ↗ many of us realize that we've been

8:20 ↗ really focusing on the CBD

8:22 ↗ so the process so far has included a

8:25 ↗ walking audits that the task force has

8:28 ↗ performed we've also taken a look at

8:30 ↗ what other cities have done so what do

8:32 ↗ we like about these other cities what do

8:34 ↗ we think might work here in issaquah and

8:36 ↗ what would that look like here in

8:37 ↗ issaquah they perform their own version

8:40 ↗ of us strengths weaknesses opportunities

8:41 ↗ and threats analysis and we've also

8:43 ↗ taken some look at the existing city

8:46 ↗ code that governs old town in the CBD

8:48 ↗ and how it relates to city code in other

8:51 ↗ parts of the sea such as the newly

8:53 ↗ adopted central issaquah plan or the

8:55 ↗ highlands or other parts of our city so

9:00 ↗ one of the first questions that we had

9:02 ↗ to ask was what is vitality so as the

9:05 ↗ goal is to find their Charter the task

9:07 ↗ force's Charter is to give the mayor a

9:09 ↗ list of recommendations on things the

9:11 ↗ committee can the community can do to

9:14 ↗ enhance Old Town vitality so what is

9:17 ↗ vitality what does it mean to this group

9:19 ↗ what does it mean for downtown issaquah

9:22 ↗ and the first thing that we talked about

9:26 ↗ were all these images that come to mind

9:28 ↗ about what vitality is so we talked

9:30 ↗ about images that include you know lots

9:32 ↗ of outdoor public spaces people sitting

9:35 ↗ in cafes people having coffee playing

9:39 ↗ games interacting on that level local

9:42 ↗ stores that serve the community needs

9:43 ↗ and this is they they really emphasize

9:46 ↗ this point that it's a functional

9:48 ↗ downtown one that serves the community

9:51 ↗ that it's in that it's not 11 worth or a

9:55 ↗ Disney or something like that that's

9:57 ↗ more focused on tourists and serving

10:00 ↗ tourists but that it's authentic in the

10:02 ↗ way that it serves the local community

10:04 ↗ first and that if they do that really

10:07 ↗ well then the tourists and others will

10:09 ↗ come and appreciate it in the same way

10:10 ↗ that the locals will so if you hear that

10:13 ↗ word authentic being thrown around a lot

10:15 ↗ tonight that's what we really mean by

10:16 ↗ that where it's something that serves

10:18 ↗ the local community first also when we

10:21 ↗ talked about vitality there were other

10:23 ↗ images that came up of being walkable

10:25 ↗ that we have transit that there's more

10:28 ↗ housing than what we have now that

10:30 ↗ there's parking that it's safe that it's

10:33 ↗ well lit all these kind of images of

10:35 ↗ what that looks like

10:37 ↗ but with that focus that it's still

10:39 ↗ functional and well designed so what all

10:43 ↗ of these things kind of distilled down

10:44 ↗ to these are a lot of images and what

10:47 ↗ all of these things distill down to for

10:48 ↗ the task force was that that vitality

10:52 ↗ really for vitality sake doesn't doesn't

10:55 ↗ mean much but what it really means is

10:57 ↗ that it's it's facilitating interactions

10:59 ↗ among neighbors and that if that that's

11:03 ↗ our guidepost for this process so any

11:05 ↗ recommendations that they come up with

11:07 ↗ any discussions that we have we say how

11:09 ↗ is this facilitating these interactions

11:11 ↗ how are how are these recommendations

11:13 ↗ helping us and keep that that town feel

11:16 ↗ that we are having these interactions

11:19 ↗ and that's what really brings vibrancy

11:22 ↗ and vitality to our town so throughout

11:27 ↗ our discussions we've had some emerging

11:29 ↗ things and so I'd like to present some

11:32 ↗ of those findings and I think along the

11:34 ↗ tour and the walk we will probably get

11:37 ↗ into those a little bit more

11:38 ↗ specifically but keeping it a little

11:40 ↗ more higher level we found that first

11:44 ↗ design that the existing design of much

11:47 ↗ of our CBD can actually be a barrier to

11:50 ↗ facilitating those interactions so for

11:53 ↗ example right now the sidewalk in some

11:55 ↗ places is six feet wide which doesn't

11:59 ↗ allow for street furniture or places for

12:02 ↗ people to linger it instead Usher's

12:05 ↗ people on through giving them no other

12:07 ↗ options than to move along and go along

12:09 ↗ their way so which is really sending the

12:12 ↗ wrong message our downtown one of the

12:15 ↗ findings of the task force is that our

12:17 ↗ downtown is one where people really run

12:19 ↗ their errands they drop off their kids

12:21 ↗ for music lessons they go pick up what

12:23 ↗ they need from fishers meets and then

12:26 ↗ they're on their way so the space isn't

12:28 ↗ really designed in many parts of our CBD

12:31 ↗ at least the space really isn't designed

12:33 ↗ to compel them to stay and linger and

12:35 ↗ enjoy those interactions with their

12:37 ↗ neighbors it doesn't send them the

12:40 ↗ message that there's a reason to do that

12:41 ↗ and while that's functional to do your

12:44 ↗ errands it doesn't fill other needs for

12:47 ↗ social interaction

12:49 ↗ similarly another thing that we found is

12:52 ↗ underutilized spaces and some of these

12:54 ↗ spaces are places where we could have

12:56 ↗ those social needs that are met where

13:00 ↗ people could linger and so you see this

13:01 ↗ picture of pedestrian park for example

13:04 ↗ we're a growing community and such a

13:07 ↗ small downtown and yet there are these

13:10 ↗ spaces that could be adding to the

13:12 ↗ vibrancy and vitality but are just kind

13:15 ↗ of sitting there so we'll be visiting to

13:18 ↗ a few spaces tonight that are currently

13:20 ↗ or the task force finds that are

13:22 ↗ currently under utilized which are

13:24 ↗ pedestrian park and the historic shell

13:26 ↗ station but along the tour I bet you can

13:30 ↗ probably spot a few more areas that are

13:32 ↗ tucked away here and there that could

13:34 ↗ probably doing more to add to the

13:36 ↗ vibrancy of the downtown so as you're

13:39 ↗ walking around tonight I want you to

13:42 ↗ look around and think of the messages

13:43 ↗ that the current design and aesthetics

13:45 ↗ are sending and ultimately how that

13:47 ↗ affects the neighbors and how they

13:50 ↗ interact within that space task force

13:53 ↗ members feel free to talk with Council

13:56 ↗ and others about what we have been

13:58 ↗ discussing in our meetings and how a few

14:01 ↗ changes could affect how we use this

14:03 ↗ space and what you feel the benefits the

14:06 ↗ community would be if those changes are

14:07 ↗ made because I think that's what tonight

14:10 ↗ is really all about before we go on our

14:12 ↗ walk are there any questions i do Andrea

14:16 ↗ well could you just just remind us the

14:20 ↗ CBD the cultural business district what

14:26 ↗ just remind us you know well you know

14:29 ↗ how that exists what Foreman exists what

14:31 ↗ you know when when I see the word

14:33 ↗ district and people see the word

14:34 ↗ district that usually has some meaning

14:36 ↗ to it and I know that there are certain

14:38 ↗ design standards and the like but could

14:39 ↗ you just summarize the district and and

14:42 ↗ and how what it's supposed to achieve

14:45 ↗ and and how we should keep that in

14:48 ↗ context as we as we go through this

14:50 ↗ evening sure sure so um most other

14:54 ↗ cities have what they call a commercial

14:56 ↗ business district is the croisé

14:57 ↗ distinctive and that we've established a

14:59 ↗ cultural business district

15:01 ↗ and that's because we have a great

15:04 ↗ concentration of Arts and other cultural

15:07 ↗ amenities within our downtown area so

15:10 ↗ obviously that's the village theater

15:12 ↗ that's first stage but we also have a

15:14 ↗ lot of other historical amenities as

15:16 ↗ well and so and knowing that we have a

15:20 ↗ historical downtown and wanting to

15:21 ↗ celebrate that as well as that getting

15:25 ↗ to what your question is yes so it's

15:29 ↗ really just a description of an area I

15:31 ↗ mean there's you know I I know that we

15:33 ↗ have a sub area I think I might do one

15:37 ↗ at the end of this looking at Keith's

15:38 ↗ map so um so here's the here's one of

15:42 ↗ our zoning maps the CBD is in the dark

15:45 ↗ red so you can see at the top it's

15:47 ↗ defined in Northwest Holly Street that

15:50 ↗ would be to the north and then the south

15:53 ↗ border would be southeast which bush

15:55 ↗ street and then there's some spots along

15:58 ↗ sons that way so it's defined

16:01 ↗ geographically and it's kind of a

16:03 ↗ geographic zone so in a way it's it's

16:06 ↗ similar to the CIP and that the CIP has

16:08 ↗ the core zone which is kind of the most

16:10 ↗ active portion of the central issaquah

16:13 ↗ area and so within the old town area the

16:16 ↗ CBD zone is envisioned to be the most

16:20 ↗ active portion of this sub area and

16:23 ↗ there are special land use zoning or

16:25 ↗ other like building heights and

16:29 ↗ character development standards that are

16:32 ↗ attributable to that zone okay thank you

16:37 ↗ Mary Lou I'm a question about private

16:40 ↗ and public spaces so I assume one of our

16:42 ↗ exercises tonight is that we're kind of

16:44 ↗ imagining or envisioning how to activate

16:47 ↗ some of the spaces what is currently

16:50 ↗ allowed for example for restaurants and

16:53 ↗ bars the space that they occupy now in

16:56 ↗ front of them is permitted by the city

17:00 ↗ or it's their space like I'm trying to

17:03 ↗ figure out when we walk through

17:04 ↗ pedestrian part how that might connect

17:06 ↗ to those private businesses that are

17:08 ↗ there yes that's a great question and

17:10 ↗ some of those conversations we can have

17:12 ↗ in context

17:13 ↗ because it might differ on where we are

17:15 ↗ but I'm going to give you a general

17:17 ↗ answer right so general answer is that

17:21 ↗ where their sidewalk that's typically

17:23 ↗ city right of way and that is currently

17:26 ↗ governed by a special use permit so if

17:29 ↗ there is enough space that then

17:32 ↗ businesses could put out outdoor seating

17:35 ↗ and so you see some of this in front of

17:37 ↗ las margaritas for example or some of

17:39 ↗ the other businesses have some outdoor

17:41 ↗ seating that's there along the sidewalk

17:42 ↗ and they have to apply for special use

17:45 ↗ permit to do that every year they also

17:47 ↗ would have to comply with special

17:49 ↗ regulations to make sure there's enough

17:50 ↗ room for 88 clearance and things like

17:52 ↗ that so so I think there might be we've

17:58 ↗ been taking a look at that with the task

18:00 ↗ force I'm thinking how can we make it

18:01 ↗ easier for private businesses to take

18:05 ↗ advantage of some of that space and

18:07 ↗ maybe bring more activity to that space

18:10 ↗ and invest into it a little bit so I

18:12 ↗ think we can talk about that more within

18:14 ↗ the context of our walking tour hey

18:16 ↗ thanks hmm so we'll have an opportunity

18:20 ↗ after the walking toward to me back here

18:25 ↗ to talk about what we saw in there may

18:27 ↗ be a number of follow-up questions or

18:29 ↗ things like that but it's such a

18:31 ↗ beautiful evening and there's a lot

18:33 ↗ going on in our city this evening that

18:35 ↗ we're going to to recess from the

18:39 ↗ council chambers go on our walking tour

18:41 ↗ and return and that part of the meeting

18:44 ↗ will be televised so we are now recessed

18:48 ↗ for the walking tour

19:08 ↗ we have a few more meetings left to go

19:11 ↗ and in those next meetings will be

19:14 ↗ forming recommendations that speak to

19:17 ↗ the themes that we've been talking about

19:19 ↗ this evening and will also be examining

19:22 ↗ partnerships among the community to look

19:26 ↗ at programming like we discussed and how

19:31 ↗ we can activate some of these spaces

19:32 ↗ downtown we also want to come up with a

19:36 ↗ really thoughtful list of

19:37 ↗ recommendations so we don't want to give

19:40 ↗ the mayor a laundry list of things 105

19:43 ↗ things that ways that we can enhance

19:46 ↗ downtown by talat we want them to be

19:48 ↗ well thought out we want them to be

19:50 ↗ vetted we want them to also identify

19:53 ↗ who's responsible for these things it's

19:56 ↗ because it's a list of things the

19:57 ↗ community can do it's not just what the

19:59 ↗ city can do so we want to be able to

20:01 ↗ identify those partners and get some

20:03 ↗ partners on board we also want to have

20:06 ↗ an idea of what these costs are we want

20:08 ↗ to be realistic and grounded in these

20:10 ↗ recommendations so I think we still have

20:12 ↗ some more process to go through before

20:14 ↗ we come back to you and our deadline is

20:18 ↗ the end of the year and I think we're on

20:21 ↗ board on track and meeting that deadline

20:23 ↗ we're doing pretty well so those are the

20:26 ↗ basic next steps and wondering you know

20:28 ↗ what's next I think we still have a few

20:30 ↗ more things to do in a few more meetings

20:32 ↗ to have any questions about the task

20:37 ↗ force and next steps before we move on

20:39 ↗ to synthesizing thoughts from our walk

20:41 ↗ about Mary Lou I'm just one thing Andrew

20:48 ↗ that I was talking with keith watts

20:49 ↗ about when we were heroes Keith maybe

20:51 ↗ can't remember we were walking was that

20:54 ↗ we didn't talk a lot about sunset today

20:57 ↗ and one of the council members who

20:58 ↗ sponsored the school and it isn't here

21:00 ↗ this evening is 92 Milligan and one of

21:03 ↗ her areas of interest was to understand

21:06 ↗ how sunset would be integrated into it

21:09 ↗ so not asking for an answer tonight but

21:10 ↗ just making sure when you come back that

21:14 ↗ you know there's that that's discussed

21:17 ↗ as much as you have discussed it with

21:19 ↗ your group because that was very

21:20 ↗ important to her

21:21 ↗ yes yes thank you I think initially at

21:26 ↗ the beginning of this year when we put

21:29 ↗ the focus on the CBD at that time the

21:33 ↗ conversations about sunset and her her

21:37 ↗ wishes for that goal were more absorbed

21:41 ↗ into the master Mobility plan but as

21:43 ↗ those changes have occurred I I think

21:46 ↗ what we're looking at is there will be

21:49 ↗ some recommendations for perhaps in old

21:52 ↗ town plan re looking at the old town

21:54 ↗ plan which incorporates sunset so I

21:57 ↗ think we can probably address some of

21:58 ↗ her concerns through that and I'm trying

22:05 ↗ to recall whether they're at the

22:10 ↗ transportation survey that we recently

22:13 ↗ completed or getting the final report on

22:19 ↗ did that include a project on sunset yes

22:24 ↗ thank you other questions before we let

22:31 ↗ Andrea sit down okay well thank you very

22:37 ↗ very much we are back from our art or it

22:41 ↗ was exciting to be joined by the task

22:45 ↗ force and to hear some of the good work

22:47 ↗ that they are doing and the projects

22:51 ↗ that they are considering as they refine

22:56 ↗ their recommendations of their report

23:00 ↗ submitted to to the mayor discussion

23:07 ↗ observations or comments as a result of

23:10 ↗ our tour and we'll start with all thank

23:14 ↗ you then thank you for the members of

23:16 ↗ the task force and staff support very

23:19 ↗ pleased with what we were able to

23:21 ↗ achieve this evening I had a couple

23:22 ↗ comments on some of the Andrea some of

23:25 ↗ your opening comments I've wondered for

23:30 ↗ a long time what we meant by vitality

23:33 ↗ and what what did that really means I

23:35 ↗ was pleased to see that you tackled that

23:38 ↗ and two words that stood out authentic I

23:41 ↗ think that was the first word that you

23:43 ↗ used was authentic and I that resonates

23:46 ↗ with me very much i like that but then

23:48 ↗ the second mention and I'm looking at my

23:51 ↗ notes here is that it for it to be vital

23:57 ↗ to have vitality the that the goal it

24:01 ↗ should facilitate interactions among

24:03 ↗ neighbors I think I captured that so so

24:05 ↗ I like that sounds like something i

24:06 ↗ would write but you know that that

24:08 ↗ facilitates interactions and and when we

24:12 ↗ were so I like that a lot its what binds

24:15 ↗ people together right its what binds

24:16 ↗ community members together there's a

24:18 ↗ place to gather of common interest where

24:20 ↗ it's safe and they enjoy being there I

24:23 ↗ really could feel a lot of that

24:25 ↗ possibility more when we were in

24:27 ↗ pedestrian park the comments so just

24:30 ↗ this is just you know high level right

24:31 ↗ the comments I heard about creating you

24:35 ↗ know maybe tables or places where people

24:37 ↗ from can gather I see people use the

24:41 ↗ shelter down at confluence park quite a

24:43 ↗ bit I have a garden in the pea patch

24:46 ↗ down there and there was always people

24:48 ↗ coming and going at least during the

24:50 ↗ summer so this idea that we have places

24:52 ↗ where people can say i'll meet you there

24:56 ↗ for a picnic for example i'm not sure

24:58 ↗ that would happen at confluence park but

24:59 ↗ that so that is a very attractive idea

25:02 ↗ to me and I want to echo what was said

25:06 ↗ there as well in Andrea and your opening

25:08 ↗ comments you talked about the Arts and

25:11 ↗ how we have this association this

25:13 ↗ cultural district has associated with

25:14 ↗ the Arts and I and I shared with with

25:17 ↗ some of you during the walk that in my

25:19 ↗ my I like to think about both the

25:21 ↗ Performing and visual arts and when we

25:24 ↗ were at pedestrian park as well there

25:26 ↗ was the mention i think tola may be

25:28 ↗ mentioned someone asked the question

25:30 ↗ what about the opportunity to create

25:32 ↗ more of a space where you know

25:34 ↗ performances can take place of what

25:36 ↗ performing arts and I would just add I

25:38 ↗ think Josh talked about some type of

25:41 ↗ installation and

25:43 ↗ to me to me to celebrate and to and to

25:48 ↗ create further attraction and continue

25:52 ↗ this momentum of facilitating

25:55 ↗ interactions if a pedestrian Park

25:58 ↗ destination also had reminders of the

26:02 ↗ Performing and visual arts as part of

26:05 ↗ its plan and because that is so so

26:08 ↗ central to the identity and the

26:11 ↗ attraction of downtown I mean I would

26:13 ↗ look for those kind of elements in in

26:14 ↗ some type of long-range plan thank you

26:20 ↗ other comments or discussion reactions

26:24 ↗ oh I'm just very excited about where we

26:31 ↗ are right now as a city I'll say my own

26:35 ↗ journey to arrive at issaquah the having

26:37 ↗ the downtown that we have was one of the

26:40 ↗ two factors why I moved here I lived in

26:42 ↗ a very pleasant near the top of all the

26:45 ↗ ratings in Minnesota a city that had no

26:49 ↗ downtown its downtown was the mall and

26:51 ↗ so they shot off the fireworks from near

26:53 ↗ the mall and so to have to have what we

26:57 ↗ have here was it was really deeply

26:59 ↗ meaningful for me and combine that with

27:01 ↗ the school system and that's why I'm

27:02 ↗ here and not some other place and I feel

27:05 ↗ that you know I'm sure that the

27:08 ↗ community has seen how many that list of

27:10 ↗ goals that were submitted for last year

27:13 ↗ was just so formidable there was so much

27:15 ↗ that related to downtown and I just feel

27:17 ↗ we have we have done a good job with the

27:19 ↗ central issaquah plan and it now just

27:22 ↗ feels like the time has arrived for us

27:24 ↗ to put the focus to downtown and so I

27:28 ↗ took old town to downtown here and I

27:33 ↗ think that tonight was it was a good

27:35 ↗ jumping-off point for that there was a

27:37 ↗ lot of things that I learned about the

27:41 ↗ forgive me the the gas station I forget

27:45 ↗ that we get the new of it but I had I

27:46 ↗ didn't know they used it for for

27:48 ↗ multiple purposes I didn't know they had

27:50 ↗ events there and I think what I heard

27:54 ↗ the most that I was most excited about

27:56 ↗ was the club or

27:57 ↗ in between the different organizations

27:59 ↗ between dia and the various

28:00 ↗ organizations around and I feel those

28:02 ↗ collaborations will yield a lot of

28:05 ↗ things that I'm hoping that we as a

28:07 ↗ council are well prepared to engage on

28:10 ↗ Thanks other comments right Josh thanks

28:15 ↗ um so first I just want to thank all the

28:17 ↗ folks who came tonight and joined us for

28:20 ↗ the walking tour tour still here for

28:22 ↗ this portion of the meeting I'm just

28:24 ↗ constantly in all of the commitment that

28:27 ↗ folks have to not just as a koala but

28:29 ↗ particularly the CBD and just really

28:32 ↗ really impressed and amazed by the

28:34 ↗ commitment and the enthusiasm that

28:36 ↗ surrounds the work that's being done on

28:38 ↗ old town and the vitality enhancements

28:41 ↗ that we've really been striving for over

28:43 ↗ the last several years so you know the

28:45 ↗ other day we took a drive down south on

28:48 ↗ esqui Hobart road and just drove around

28:50 ↗ for a while it's better to sit in the

28:52 ↗ air conditioning I suppose and as we

28:54 ↗ were coming back up on Front Street

28:56 ↗ entering into the city I actually took a

29:00 ↗ moment to look at downtown issaquah from

29:03 ↗ the perspective of someone who might be

29:05 ↗ coming into it for the first time or

29:07 ↗ coming up from the south and it was an

29:11 ↗ interesting exercise just to think about

29:13 ↗ that for a moment as you come up front

29:15 ↗ street and what are the first things

29:17 ↗ that you see and the first thing I

29:20 ↗ noticed is that the 25 mile an hour as

29:22 ↗ you get into town is a suggestion and

29:25 ↗ then you finally get up to sunset and

29:27 ↗ you see the the library and you see the

29:31 ↗ gas station and you see the businesses

29:33 ↗ beginning to proliferate on that corner

29:35 ↗ and it's a really welcoming entrance

29:39 ↗ into the city and you know if you looked

29:41 ↗ at that corner at front and sunset which

29:43 ↗ is has long been the heart of the city

29:45 ↗ you you almost would have no idea about

29:47 ↗ any other development that's going on in

29:50 ↗ the rest of town you know we're tall

29:52 ↗ buildings or you know intersection

29:54 ↗ issues or anything you just sort of

29:56 ↗ drive in and you look at it is as just a

29:58 ↗ historic part of the city and I think

30:01 ↗ it's it's really a credit to everyone

30:03 ↗ who's worked together to make it

30:05 ↗ continued to be vibrant and looked at

30:07 ↗ way there are still challenges I mean as

30:10 ↗ we walked along it was still apparent

30:12 ↗ that getting people to these great

30:14 ↗ locations is difficult a lot of it has

30:17 ↗ to do with the topography some of it has

30:20 ↗ to do with parking availability ingress

30:22 ↗ and egress and just making sure that

30:25 ↗ there's enough spots for people who want

30:27 ↗ to stop and partake in businesses and

30:30 ↗ partake in recreational opportunities

30:31 ↗ and you know a lot of folks use the

30:33 ↗ library parking garage because that's

30:36 ↗ the parking garage that's available and

30:38 ↗ closest to a lot of the CBD so it still

30:41 ↗ is a challenge when it comes to issues

30:43 ↗ like parking and that's something that I

30:46 ↗ think since I've been on the council has

30:48 ↗ still really not been resolved or move

30:51 ↗ forward and we did a parking study and

30:54 ↗ that seemed to suggest that there wasn't

30:56 ↗ a problem which conflicts with a lot of

30:58 ↗ anecdotal evidence I think you'd hear

31:00 ↗ from folks around the city but be that

31:02 ↗ as it may the other thing I would just

31:04 ↗ say is there's a real big emphasis on

31:06 ↗ art and I think rightfully so because it

31:09 ↗ is really the center of the city when it

31:11 ↗ comes to promoting the arts and you know

31:14 ↗ you look at all the art galleries and

31:16 ↗ artiste and just the the the confluence

31:19 ↗ that we have of the arts community in

31:21 ↗ the downtown core and the opportunities

31:24 ↗ that exist and you know there's a lot of

31:26 ↗ cities around the country that go even

31:29 ↗ in the details one step further you know

31:31 ↗ paint garbage cans paint the fire

31:33 ↗ hydrants paint the lamp posts you know

31:36 ↗ do things that really bring out the

31:37 ↗ vibrancy add color add lighting there's

31:40 ↗ other things you know little details

31:41 ↗ that can be done that's more than just

31:43 ↗ reconfiguring a space but actually

31:45 ↗ making it visually attractive for people

31:47 ↗ who come downtown and then the last

31:49 ↗ thing is and I talked with a few folks

31:51 ↗ about this but emphasizing the family

31:53 ↗ friendly nature of coming downtown that

31:56 ↗ you know even though we've got bars and

31:58 ↗ potential beer gardens and pubs still

32:02 ↗ making it family-friendly because we've

32:03 ↗ got a library on the corridor and we've

32:05 ↗ got children who come to this area with

32:07 ↗ their families and we've got a memorial

32:10 ↗ field over here where there's a lot of

32:11 ↗ kids activities and so you know just

32:13 ↗ finding ways that you can really

32:15 ↗ emphasize the family friendly nature and

32:17 ↗ it's great to have colorful tables and

32:20 ↗ sort of an adult

32:21 ↗ hip atmosphere you know where you can go

32:24 ↗ in the evening after you've had glass of

32:26 ↗ wine and dinner but also look at the

32:29 ↗ families that will come to downtown and

32:31 ↗ spend time walking through this area and

32:33 ↗ making sure that we do something to

32:36 ↗ promote interest for them as well and so

32:39 ↗ if there's ways that we can use art

32:41 ↗ installations active sculptures that

32:44 ↗ sort of thing or just vibrant colors

32:47 ↗ activities there's things that can be

32:49 ↗ done that were really emphasize that as

32:51 ↗ well and so that was one thing that

32:52 ↗ really stood out at me is taken to

32:55 ↗ account the overall population and not

32:58 ↗ just a subset in terms of future design

33:01 ↗ you other observations or comments Stacy

33:06 ↗ I want to echo the comments I'm that

33:08 ↗ I've heard so far about thanking the

33:10 ↗ task force for all the wonderful work

33:12 ↗ that you've done it's we had a really

33:19 ↗ great presentation about the

33:21 ↗ possibilities over at pedestrian park

33:22 ↗ and the simplicity of the ideas stand

33:27 ↗ out but to get to that point takes a lot

33:31 ↗ of a lot of thought and a lot of

33:34 ↗ consideration about what could happen

33:36 ↗ and what what we might want to use that

33:38 ↗ space for and I thought it was tomorrow

33:43 ↗ what Josh mentioned the colorfulness of

33:46 ↗ it the you know the bistro sets the

33:48 ↗ lights all of those things are sound

33:51 ↗ very simple but the way that they might

33:55 ↗ be able to transform the space is just

33:57 ↗ super super exciting I as I mentioned a

34:01 ↗ couple people have were on the walk I

34:02 ↗ feel like I don't get out much sometimes

34:04 ↗ and so maybe one of these tuesdays we

34:08 ↗ can have a tour of concerts on the green

34:10 ↗ so that we can enjoy that but but but um

34:16 ↗ it really was an opportunity for us to

34:20 ↗ interact with a task force which was

34:22 ↗ planned and I'm glad it was planned it

34:24 ↗ was an opportunity to meet with folks

34:27 ↗ who have really done a lot of work

34:28 ↗ downtown and

34:29 ↗ really invested a lot of time downtown

34:31 ↗ and can give us a very thoughtful

34:34 ↗ feedback about what we could do down

34:37 ↗ there and so I'm deeply grateful for all

34:39 ↗ of the time that you've put in anyone

34:46 ↗ else well again my thanks to the task

34:51 ↗ force for being our guides and our

34:56 ↗ leaders this evening and for the work

34:59 ↗ that you are involved in I look forward

35:02 ↗ to the completed recommendations this

35:05 ↗ has been very enjoyable it's fun walking

35:08 ↗ around our city in the evening because

35:12 ↗ you do see a lot of activity and a good

35:15 ↗ cross-section I talked to someone who

35:19 ↗ was returning from the concerts on the

35:22 ↗ green as we were returning to the

35:24 ↗ council chamber and she was a lady with

35:27 ↗ a walker and she said Neil Diamond was

35:32 ↗ one of my favorite singers along with

35:36 ↗ above when I was very very young so we

35:39 ↗ indeed are appealing to a broad

35:41 ↗ cross-section of our community and with

35:45 ↗ that we are adjourned this evening

35:51 ↗ you

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

Open PDF

Attendance

Council / Members (7)

Eileen Barber

Stacy Goodman

Tola Marts

Mary Lou Pauly

Joshua Schaer

Paul Winterstein

David Fujimoto, Office of Sustainability Director

Excused

Nina Milligan