Issaquah has identified that its last impact fee study was completed in 2019 and that current transportation and parks impact fees are seen by developers as a major regulatory burden harming project feasibility. Under the Promoting Building Investment initiative, the city has defined a goal to “right-size” impact fees so new growth pays a fair share of capital facilities while better understanding overall revenue implications and aligning fee levels with long‑term transportation and parks planning. The work plan indicates that further conversations are needed to determine next steps and how to coordinate long‑range transportation and parks planning with a new impact fee study, targeting Council action in 2027 Q3–Q4. This positions a future opportunity for financial, impact fee, and infrastructure planning consultants to conduct updated nexus and rate studies, scenario modeling, and policy design that balance housing feasibility with capital funding requirements.

Developers explicitly cited impact fees as a key barrier; city wants to weigh upfront fees against o...