With a lot of community input requesting a slower approach to the Town Center visioning and development code revision, the City Council decided to delay adoption of its Comprehensive Plan update until the end of the year.
Councilmember Jane Brahm said the delay isn’t meant to slow down the progress, but keep the momentum going and extend the process.
“The Town Center is not the Comprehensive Plan, it’s just a piece of it. We need to pay attention to the whole thing, and extend our attention,” she said.
All cities must complete Comprehensive Plans, planning documents mandated by the state Growth Management Act (GMA), by the June 30 deadline. The Council will vote on a resolution to the state at its next meeting stating that Mercer Island has made progress toward its planning goals, but that it can’t adopt a Land Use element until the new development code is in place.
“[The resolution] puts people on notice that you are aware of the deadline, you’re not just simply ignoring the deadline,” said Scott Greenberg, Development Services Group (DSG) director.
The Council doesn’t seem to anticipate any adverse impacts for delayed adoption. Greenberg warned about possible sanctions for not complying with the GMA, but said they are unlikely to be imposed if the city can show that it’s working toward completing the plan.
The Town Center visioning process – which has involved the hiring of two consultants and extensive public outreach with open houses, online comments and the formation of a citizen stakeholder group and city liaison group – is wrapping up, though it’s still a hot topic in the community. The Council responded to public frustration four months ago by enacting a moratorium on new downtown development.
Councilmember Mike Cero said that the issue the public is responding to is increased density, and not just in the Town Center. He suggested reviewing zoning outside the Central Business District (CBD), including the city’s policy about short platting large lots.
“We are just changing the character of our neighborhoods on a wholesale schedule,” Cero said. “The Council has done a good job in registering the discontent of the community, and outside the CBD shouldn’t be exempted from this theme of looking at density on the Island.”
The Council decided not to discuss residential zoning in this Comprehensive Plan update, but to put the topic on its agenda for the mini planning session in June and the next calendar year.
The Town Center code amendments are going to the Planning and Design commissions, possibly with joint meetings, in July, and to the City Council in August and September. The Council will hear an update on the work at its next meeting on June 1.
