City of Issaquah Enacst a Six-Month Moratorium on New Development

City Enacts Development Moratorium

The Issaquah City Council voted Sept. 6, 2016, to enact a six-month moratorium on certain types of development.

In 2012 — to protect Issaquah's existing neighborhoods and natural environment — the City adopted the Central Issaquah Plan (CIP), which guides the long-term evolution of Issaquah’s existing commercial core into an urban center.

Since the plan was adopted, several developments have been built, approved or are currently under review.

During a City Council work session in July 2016, the City assessed whether those projects met the community's vision for the CIP.

Several issues were identified, including:

• Architectural fit with the community
• Urban design elements
• Vertical…

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Fantastic Issaquah Highlands Days Celebration

Thank you to everyone who turned out for this year’s annual Issaquah Highlands Days Celebration. There were tons on kids all dressed in costumes, and many adults too! Matt as Batman and Janet as Deadpool really did a wonderful job and the kids loved getting their pictures taken. Janet can barely walk today after squatting down probably 500 times to take pictures with the “Little Ones”.

Also a special “Thank You!” to Tiffany Ciambrone, Kelly Azzarello, Allison Connor, Victor Lozada, Dave Reynolds (From our Spokane office who came out), Jennifer Strach, Diego Vitelli, and Richard Whaley who all came out and helped set-up and make the event such a success!

Here are some of the pictures from the day!

Thank you again to everyone!

Local…

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A Super Hero Themed Issaquah Highlands Day Saturday, August 27th with The Cascade Team!

Saturday, August 27th!

Join The Cascade Team for the Issaquah Highlands Day Festival!

This annual summer celebration is Saturday, August 27th from 12PM-4PM. 

Located at Blakely Hall and Village Green Park: 2550 NE Park Drive, Issaquah WA 98029

Be sure to check out our booth!  Meet Batman and Deadpool and get your picture taken with them!  Download our Comic Book HERE and read the action packed story of Batman and Deadpool VS "The Commission Creeps"!

Batman And Deadpool VS. The Commission Creeps!

Download our Comic Book HERE to read the story!

We will also be giving away FREE beach balls and Frisbees!
 
Other highlights of the event include carnival rides, giant inflatables, food trucks and the always popular market place of…

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While We're All Distracted With Politics Did You Ever Wonder: How Much Is the White House Worth?

Now that the presidential race is hurtling forward at a breakneck pace, we got to pondering one of the many prizes at the finish line: the chance to live in the White House!

Because let’s face it, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is not only the seat of power for the free world, it’s also a pretty nice place. Sitting on 18 acres of prime Washington, DC, real estate, its 55,000 square feet featuring 132 rooms, 28 fireplaces, and more than 750 historic artifacts.

All of which got us wondering: How much is the White House actually worth? In cold, hard cash?

Some, of course, might argue that you can’t put a price tag on this symbolic structure any more than you could price the pyramids in Egypt or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But the Royal Institution of…

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Seattle One of The Best Places to Raise the Next Olympic Swimmer (More)

Seattle; Grab those goggles and hit the pool

While when it comes to the top cities to raise a great swimmer, most of the top towns are in warm, sunny states where it’s easy to be out in the pool: think California, Florida, Texas, and Hawaii, don't count out Seattle as the Seattle market came in at a solid number two! Metros in these states have the most access to swim lessons, pools, beaches, lakes, and sports clubs. And you’ll spend a lot of time honing your skills to make the cut: Of the roughly 1,850 swimmers that enter the trials, only about 50 qualify for the U.S. team.

Where you grow up may have some influence over whether you could become the next world-class athletic superstar. So which cities hold the best chances for raising the…

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BATTLE OF SNOQUALMIE - A Civil War Reenactment (Aug. 13th & 14th)

Battle of Snoqualmie - A Civil War Reenactment in Snoqualmie, WA

Experience for yourself the most turbulent times our country has ever endured - the American Civil War.

Hear the crash and boom of the artillery. Feel the weight of the rifles and packs that the soldiers carried. Meet the fine ladies in their gorgeous dresses. Watch as battles are reenacted, and honor the 700,000 Americans who died as a result of the war.

All this at the Battle of Snoqualmie in the beautiful Cascade mountains, just a short drive from Seattle and Tacoma.

When?

August 13th, 2016 — 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
August 14th, 2016 — 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Where?

Meadowbrook Farm, Boalch Ave, North Bend, WA
Get Directions

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Good Schools Give 77% Boost to Home Values

Community And School Reports

Home values can get a big increase from having a highly rated school nearby. According to the new ATTOM Data Solutions 2016 Schools and Housing Report, homes in ZIP codes with at least one good elementary school have values about 77 percent higher than in ZIP codes without highly ranked schools close by.

Researchers looked at home values and price appreciation against 2015 average test scores in nearly 19,000 elementary schools across 4,435 ZIP codes. They considered a “good school” to be one that had an overall test score that was at least one-third above the state average.

The research team found that out of 1,661 ZIP codes with at least one good school, the average estimated home value was $427,402 – 77…

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Theatre in the Green Bellevue: Sponsored by the Cascade Team

Enjoy this unique live theatre experience from Last Leaf Productions while you relax outdoors with your family, sponsored by the Cascade Team!

Schedule

August 10th: Treasure Island-Pirates, treasure and adventure take center stage in this original musical for young audiences, adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved novel.  Young Jim Hawkins finds a pirate map that propels him on a grand journey of suspense and intrigue, and did we mention... pirates?

August 17th: Shakespeare's Love's a Labour Lost-The King of Navarre's bold plan to give up women for three years in exchange for intensive study quickly dissolves when a group of eligible females from the French court show up and camp outside the palace.  This silly comedy, filled with…

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Issaquah's New Salmon Run Park: Coming Soon

Overview
To protect nearby private and public property from flooding — and to help Issaquah's iconic salmon — a restoration project is happening at Salmon Run Nature Park.

The 2.31-acre park, at Fifth Avenue Northwest and Northwest Juniper Street near Gilman Village, is a passive park with views of Issaquah Creek. The area was formerly known as the Darren Pritt property. 
The project includes habitat restoration along 450 feet of stream, including the addition of more than 100 logs and stumps in the stream to provide pools and refuge for salmon. Excavation in the creek bank and floodplain will provide refuge for salmon during flooding.

Work will add gravel pedestrian pathways and viewpoints in both the City-owned park and along Gilman Village. In…

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5 Of The Strangest Things People Have Tried to Sell With Their Homes

Moving and decluttering go hand in hand. After all, what better time to offload all those unwanted belongings than when you’re planning to sell and leave your home? But sometimes home sellers take their inner Marie Kondo a little too far.

From BDSM rooms to snow machines, there have been some epically wacky things that sellers have tried to get off their hands—even, in some cases, the family dog. (That’s ruff!)

Read on for some stories of seller add-ons that sound too wacky to be true—but aren’t.

A dungeon in the master bedroom

Sometimes you can hide the dungeon, and sometimes you can’t. In this instance Dean Ferraro, a real estate agent in Oceanside, CA, was on a listing appointment at a house that was curiously overpriced. Upon…

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