Mercer Island’s moratorium on downtown development expires on June 16. The City Council decided to adopt the moratorium while the city updates its Town Center Development and Design Guidelines and Comprehensive Plan.

The Council will revisit the topic on June 15 and discuss its options. The original moratorium was enacted for four months and exempted projects under two stories and a five-story mixed-use development called the Hines project.

The Council said that it exempted Hines because of the public benefits it could provide, namely 200 stalls of commuter parking, a specialty grocer like Whole Foods and a public plaza on S.E. 29th Street.

Hines recently released designs for its building and will come before the city’s Design Commission on May 27. The renderings do not show enough space for a grocery store, and Hines is asking the city for $10-12 million to add a floor of underground parking.

City Manager Noel Treat wrote a letter to Hines on May 15 to discuss the status of the project. Treat said at the Council meeting on May 18 that when the Council revisits the moratorium, it will have the option to include Hines, to exclude other projects and to change the duration.

Hines had not, and still has not, filed any permit applications with the city for the project, according to Treat’s letter.

“Because Sound Transit has not formally approved a commitment to the City to contribute financing to provide parking, the City is not in a position at this time to make a binding financial commitment to support Hines in providing parking,” Treat wrote. “The City will continue working with Sound Transit to gain a final commitment that would be used to help finance parking at the Project.”

The Mercer Island Design Commission will meet at 7 p.m. on May 27, in the Council Chambers at City Hall to conduct a preliminary review of the 390,000-square-foot Hines Mixed Use Development proposed for the Town Center.