Issaquah, WA HOA Rules: Architectural Review (2026)

Issaquah Land Use Code § 18.706.030(A) covers the Issaquah Highlands subarea, and § 18.708.025 repeats the same requirement for Talus. Before submitting any permit, the property owner, or an agent with authority to act for the owner, must demonstrate one of two things: that the ARC has approved the work for permits where the ARC has purview, or that the ARC is inactive to the satisfaction of the Director. The requirement attaches to permit submittal, so it is a gate at the front of the City process rather than a condition added at the end.

The Land Use Code does not replace the committee's standards. Section 18.404.160 states that in Issaquah Highlands the Architectural Review Committee, Urban Design Guidelines and other standards can result in less than 100 percent impervious surface being allowed, even though the City standard permits up to 100 percent. Subsection F of that section adds that the Architectural Review Committee can apply more restrictive setbacks than the City. Section 18.404.170 carries the same two statements for Talus. In practice a design that satisfies the City's dimensional table can still be refused by the ARC, and the City treats that refusal as a reason a permit cannot be submitted.

The ARC also shapes other City design rules. Where an area has an active ARC, as Issaquah Highlands and Talus do, the building design standards in § 18.602.040 that apply to areas without detailed architectural styles do not govern in the same way, and § 18.600.090 lets the ARC for an area decide whether chain-link fencing is allowed on single-family, duplex, triplex, fourplex and townhome lots. The Building Official's phased permit rule also conditions partial permits on architectural review committee approval, where applicable.

The Issaquah Highlands chapter was adopted by Ordinance 3018 in 2023 as replacement regulation for a terminated development agreement, and § 18.708.025 for Talus was amended by Ordinance 3088 in 2025.