Familiar complaints concerning the lack of commercial and office development in Issaquah Highlands surfaced during a Dec. 1 City Hall hearing on a new housing development.

The proposal, called Block 24, drew criticism from the city’s Urban Village Development Commission (UVDC), as yet another residential development.

Several members of the UVDC, which manages city planning decisions in master-planned communities Talus and Issaquah Highlands, complained the project would further imbalance already disparate land uses in the Highlands.

Commission Chair Geoff Walker, an Issaquah Highlands resident for 11 years, declared he was “ticked off” because “this is happening before more commercial development is in.”

“There’s still nothing on the horizon,” he said.

Bellevue developers Devco, Inc. are seeking permits to move forward on building a 240-unit multi-family rental housing on a 9.5 acre plot, located east of Highlands Drive Northeast and south of Northeast Discovery Drive. The company is hoping to break ground by the end of 2010.

The issue of land use in the Issaquah Highlands is not new. Highlands master planner Port Blakely faces strict caps on how much certain types of development are allowed and the project would push residential capacity there to over 90 percent.

Meanwhile, just over 60 percent of the community’s office space is spoken for, and less than 10 percent of the area’s retail space is used.

City Public Works Program Manager Keith Niven said Devco was hearing some of the “baggage” related to Port Blakeley and long-standing concerns about the pace of development in the area.

The UVDC has been expressing concerns about the lack of retail development in the Highlands since at least 2005.

“(Port Blakeley) must create live-work-play development opportunities,” Niven said. “You can pretty easily say we’re not in balance right now.”

Responding to the criticism, Port Blakely spokesperson Chris Hysom said despite the recession the community has continued to grow commercially, pointing to the new Swediah Medical Center. He also added the company plans on announcing an agreement with a supermarket retailer in the first quarter of 2010.

“From a commercial aspect we’ve made significant accomplishements,” Hysom said.

Niven said he didn’t think commissioners could use the present imbalance to deny the permit. The UVDC must give reasons based on city zoning codes and bylaws to deny the permit. He expected a decision to be made at the commission’s next meeting.

The commission will resume consideration of the Block 24 project at their next meeting scheduled on Dec. 15.