After processing an application from Pagliacci Pizza, which said during moratorium discussions that it was planning a location in the Rite Aid parking lot, the Mercer Island City Council decided to amend its code to make it easier to build small developments in the Town Center by exempting them from the walk-off parking requirement.
The new text in the code states that, “Public parking … shall not be required for a new mixed use or nonresidential development of two stories or less or no greater than 10 percent of the total gross floor area of all existing structures on the parcel.”
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the amendment, and the council voted 6-1 on Sept. 8 to accept it. Councilmember Mike Cero voted against the proposed change, saying that it was “special legislation” and circumvented the Town Center visioning process.
Pagliacci said it was unable to locate on its chosen site at the southeast corner of the Rite Aid parking lot because the property owners did not agree to provide the required 10 walk-off parking stalls.
Even without these stalls, the lot is in compliance with the city’s overall parking requirements. Principal Planner Shana Restall said that the range for the Rite Aid parking lot is 136-216 stalls. It currently has 183.
The pizzeria will be approximately 2,400 square feet, meaning it needs 24-33 stalls. The building will remove 14 stalls but add seven, “taking us down to 176,” Restall said.
“The city is only concerned that they meet that target,” she said. “How it’s allocated through their lease is not something we get involved in.”
But the amendment doesn’t just apply to Rite Aid or Pagliacci. It will relax the parking requirements throughout Town Center.
Councilmember Jane Brahm asked if the same result could have been achieved with a variance or development agreement. Cero cited the development agreements with Legacy, which is building a five-story building in the Town Center, as another reason not to change the code.
“People have said over and over that parking [in the Town Center] is poor,” he said.
Cero also asked about the parking variance submitted by Shorewood Apartments, which city officials said has been withdrawn.
Councilmember Debbie Bertlin said that she talked to several property and business owners in the Town Center to get their take on the amendment, and received a positive response. The strict walk-off parking requirement “basically stymied any sort of renovation in existing facilities,” she said. The code was “too extreme and didn’t allow for even a 10 percent modification.”
“Until a piece of property decides to completely redevelop, they will do nothing out of fear of the parking ordinance,” Bertlin said. “We don’t want to limit incremental improvements.”
Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz, who drafted the original walk-off parking provision, said he had a “mixed mind” about the amendment. He ultimately decided to vote in favor of it because the Pagliacci project, despite being a stand-alone building, is “a modification to the Rite Aid [complex] that just happens to be a detached building.”
Matt Galvin, Islander and co-owner of Pagliacci Pizza, mentioned that a Macrina Bakery will be added to the Rite Aid building. A second reading of the amendment is scheduled for the Sept. 21 Council meeting.
