Good morning. Issue two of the Issaquah Dispatch: five minutes on what moved in Issaquah this week, one item for your own neighborhood, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Issaquah this week
PSE's Grand Ridge substation in the Highlands gets its public hearing Wednesday, October 21. The Development Commission takes testimony at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way, or online by Webex, on the site development permit. The application is posted at issaquahwa.gov/Development; the hearing page lists how to send written comments. Hearing page
Council holds a hearing Monday on updated public records fees. At its 7 PM meeting on October 19, council takes testimony on a new fee schedule for records requests, including increases for police records and body-worn camera redaction. Current fees date to January 2024; the draft is at issaquahwa.gov/prrdraftfees. Hearing notice
The new high school's name gets ranked in person October 21. Suggestions closed October 14. The district's event at Pickering Barn, 5:30 to 7:30 PM, includes in-person ranking; a ranking survey follows, and the board votes November 12. The school opens fall 2027. Naming · Event
Detached ADUs now have a faster permit path. Issaquah is the first Washington city to let state-licensed architects self-certify that eligible detached accessory dwelling unit plans meet building code. Land use, utility and site reviews still apply; lots in geologically hazardous areas do not qualify. City of Issaquah
BOO at the Barn is Saturday, October 24. Pickering Barn runs two sessions: 2 to 4 PM with carnival games and crafts, and 6 to 8 PM with the Haunted Hay Barn, not recommended under age 6. Tickets sell ahead; leftover space is $15 at the door. Event page
Your neighborhood
Central Issaquah. Pickering Barn, 1730 10th Ave. NW, hosts the Community Clothing Closet's free Winter Clothing Fest: donation day Monday, October 26, 1 to 5 PM (clean coats, sweaters, jeans, warm hats and gloves), and a free shopping day Wednesday, October 28, 10 AM to 3 PM. Donations are taken on donation days only. Donation day · Shopping day
Sold near you: 4 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $851K (range $510K to $1.34M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 21 days.
Issaquah Highlands. Since the August 29 service change, Route 269 runs from the Highlands to Mercer Island Station on I-90, every 15 minutes at weekday peaks, with new weekend service. Sound Transit's 556 covers the Highlands to Issaquah Transit Center every 15 minutes, and new Route 215 links the Highlands with Eastgate, Mercer Island, Snoqualmie and North Bend. City summary
Sold near you: 12 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.16M (range $396K to $2.37M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Issaquah Valley. The Maple–Juniper Multiple Use Trail is the valley's east-west walking and cycling link, from SR 900/17th Avenue NW to Olde Town, meeting the Rainier Trail at NW Juniper Street and Gilman Boulevard. Open dawn to dusk. Trail page
Sold near you: 8 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $513K (range $310K to $1.34M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Montreux. West Lake Sammamish Parkway, today's detour around the NW Sammamish Road closure, is scheduled for its own full closure from summer to fall 2027 under WSDOT's fish-passage project. Under I-90, the Lewis Creek culverts, which fish cannot pass, are being replaced with a structure that opens more than 2.5 miles of potential habitat. WSDOT
Sold near you: 2 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $869K; the fastest went from listing to closing in 49 days.
Newport. In Tibbetts Creek Valley, WSDOT has moved the SR 900 fish-passage work, Tibbetts Creek to Lake Sammamish, out of the I-90 project into a separate new project, likely to go out to bid in late 2026. WSDOT
Sold near you: 4 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.18M (range $624K to $2.32M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 34 days.
North Issaquah. Lake Sammamish State Park is under a Level 2 burn ban: wood fires only in fire pits in designated areas, gas and propane allowed. The park is open 6:30 AM to dusk year-round; a Discover Pass is $10 a day or $45 a year. Washington State Parks
Sold near you: 1 home closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $675K; the fastest went from listing to closing in 145 days.
Olde Town. Issaquah's first Miyawaki pocket forest, 880 trees and shrubs at 190 NW Dogwood Street, gets a maintenance morning Saturday, October 24, 9 to 11 AM, with the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and Green Issaquah: weeding, mulching and watering. Registration is on the event page. Event page
Sold near you: 9 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $515K (range $310K to $1.62M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 28 days.
Providence Point. Free drive-thru paint recycling runs Saturday, October 24, 9 AM to 3 PM, at Eastside Catholic School, 232 228th Ave. SE in Sammamish, north up 228th Avenue SE. Latex and oil-based paint, primers, stains and varnishes in containers of 5 gallons or less with original labels; no aerosols, thinners or solvents. Free, registration required. Event page
Sold near you: 7 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $635K (range $375K to $1.96M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 68 days.
South Lake Sammamish. Next on the city's list after this fall's road work: bicycle and pedestrian improvements on NW Sammamish Road between 193rd Place SE and the Lake Sammamish State Park entrance, connecting the neighborhood with Central Issaquah, scheduled May 2028 to 2030. City of Issaquah
Sold near you: 4 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.65M (range $300K to $4.25M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 39 days.
Squak Mountain. The Bullitt Access/Fireplace Trail starts at the hairpin turn on Mountainside Drive SW, with a small dirt parking area, and leads into the Squak Mountain State Park and King County open space trail systems. Green Trails Map 203S covers it. Trail page
Sold near you: 2 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.07M; the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Sycamore. Parts of Sycamore along Issaquah Creek sit in the 100-year floodplain, per the city. The creek's warning gauge is upstream at Hobart and usually gives three to four hours of lead time: at 7.5 feet the city expects localized flooding in flood-prone areas, at 8.5 feet considerable flooding on Issaquah Creek and its East Fork. Flood warning · Sycamore sewer
Sold near you: 2 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $773K; the fastest went from listing to closing in 48 days.
Talus. The Bear Ridge Trail, from the trailhead at SR 900 and Talus Road, crosses the Talus Native Growth Protection Area and connects to the trail system of King County's Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. Open dawn to dusk. Trail page
Sold near you: 10 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $570K (range $310K to $1.59M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
The market in 60 seconds
Across city of Issaquah listings, the median home sold for $1.02M over the last 30 days (47 closings; single-family alone $1.25M). The median home took 57 days from listing to closing, and there are 4.9 months of inventory on the market.
That is balanced territory: under three months favors sellers, above six favors buyers. About one home in five (19%) closed above asking, so well-priced homes still draw competition. This week's count covers city listings only, so it is not a like-for-like comparison with issue 1's ZIP-wide numbers.
One useful thing: free sandbags, October through April
The city delivers sand and bags at no cost on request from October through April, 7:30 AM to 4 PM on working days, and during flood Phases II to IV: call 425-837-3470. Place bags 3 to 5 feet from your structures, never along property lines or stream banks; fill them two-thirds to three-quarters and interlock them. For Issaquah Creek warnings by text, email or phone, sign up for King County's Flood Alerts (information line 206-296-8200). City sandbags · King County Flood Alerts
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in Issaquah, and if a neighbor would read it, forward it. They can subscribe at issaquahdispatch.com. Next Thursday: the October 26 budget comment night and where the NW Sammamish Road closure stands.
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The Issaquah Dispatch is a RexMont Real Estate publication. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker. Reply to this email and a person reads it.