FAQs about the High School #4 Project
Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers about the High School 4 project, which would receive funds from Prop. 2 on the April 26 Special Election ballot:
How will High School 4 affect the environment?The original site plan for the property included landscape buffers that met the minimum code requirements with grading and walls to the extent of the allowed setbacks. Based in part on public concerns regarding the potential for impacts to adjacent properties and uses, the site plan was revised to:
Include larger landscape buffers around the perimeter and the preservation of a greater number of native trees. Move the baseball and softball fields were further from the property lines to reduce noise impacts to neighboring properties. Move the tennis courts were closer to 228th Avenue SE, reducing lighting impacts to adjacent residential properties. Provide an average 60-foot vegetated buffer along all shared property lines between the site and the neighboring residential properties. Design student drop-off/pick-up to function entirely on site to avoid backups onto 228th Avenue SE. Locate the multipurpose turf playfield with covered grandstand in the center of the site with its orientation toward 228th Avenue SE and away from neighboring residential properties. Increase the size of the parking garage to minimize surface parking. Increase the amount of retaining walls to save mature trees. Move the site for Elementary School 17, which is currently on hold, 60 feet closer to 228th Avenue.Read more about the stormwater system, the project’s embodied carbon and other measures regarding sustainable practices: https://bit.ly/ISD2016bondProjectUpdates
Why is the property where the district is planning to build the fourth comprehensive high school the only suitable option?The address of High School 4 is 4200 228th Ave. S.E., Issaquah, WA 98029, where Providence Heights College and City Church were formerly located.
In 2012, King County land use policies were changed to prohibit the siting of new schools outside of the urban growth boundary (UGA). These changes eliminated our district’s ability to use a land banked 80-acre site located outside of the UGA.
The district’s school boundaries include the entirety of the City of Issaquah, portions of the cities of Bellevue, Newcastle, Renton, and Sammamish, and portions of unincorporated King County. The district’s 110 square mile boundaries include areas both within and outside of the UGA boundaries, with the majority of that land (approximately 70 percent) located outside of the UGA boundary.
The district reviewed 69 separate parcels of publicly and privately owned property located within the UGA. Many potential sites were eliminated due to critical area limitations, topography concerns, access restrictions, public land restrictions, and/or locations in areas far from student populations.
The property located at 4200 228th Ave. SE, Issaquah, WA 98029 was the only site identified in the district’s six-year search of properties in the UGA and across the district as suitable for the new high school and elementary school in terms of developable land availability and student location.
Why is this property suitable for a high school?The property is considered ideal for public school campus use because it includes 40 usable acres, and is located in the center of the district’s growth area. It is also situated between Skyline High School and Issaquah High School (which would allow the district to alleviate capacity constraints at both of those schools) and allows for shared use of facilities between schools.
For other FAQs and answers about the 3 proposed levy measures on the April 26 ballot: https://bit.ly/ISDlevies2022faqs
In the image: A rendering of High School 4.
SEE BELOW FOR HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT NUMBERS WHICH HAVE EXCEEDED ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS:
