After weighing community concerns that a new subdivision attracted last year, the project’s developer outlined current plans that address some of those issues during an open house on March 16 at the Community Center. However, some neighbors said their concerns are still unresolved.

The subdivision on 74th Avenue Southeast spurred the City Council last year to consider placing a partial moratorium on residential development and neighbors to try to define and preserve the “character” of Mercer Island, especially on First Hill.

The developer of the lot, JayMarc Homes, held a meeting in December 2015 to hear neighbors’ concerns. Many centered around tree preservation and configuration of the homes, as some residents who live and walk in the First Hill neighborhood didn’t want to see another set of the developer’s “modern homes.”

The three new homes that will be built on the subdivided lot are different styles — Northwest contemporary, modern and craftsman — that match what already exists on First Hill, JayMarc President Marc Rousso said at the open house on March 16, and they are set back from the street more.

“We staggered the front setbacks from 20 feet to 65 feet to avoid the ‘uniform, all in a row appearance,'” JayMarc’s Adrienne Buxbaum wrote in an email.

Some neighbors said at the meeting that their concerns about tree preservation were not addressed. Rousso said that though the rendering of the three houses does not show the exact locations of the trees, it demonstrates the plan to maintain all of the “significant” trees along the street.

JayMarc and architect Mark Woodley, who was hired specially for this project, “went to great lengths to protect the trees in the front of the property in order to maintain the streetscape,” Buxbaum wrote.

The JayMarc team presented the home designs and floorplans at the meeting. Some attendees also asked to see a copy of the tree survey, but that was unavailable.

“We’re doing our best with the trees that are on the property to save as many as possible,” Rousso said.

JayMarc, and other developers, also work with city arborist John Kenney when drawing up plans.

“We will not be eliminating any trees that can be preserved,” Buxbaum wrote.

Some neighbors in December asked if there could be two houses on the lot instead of three, but Rousso said that wouldn’t work with the economics of home building. He had the same answer when asked if the homes could be smaller, and not maximized to what city code will allow.

The City Council allocated funding for a long-range planner at its March 21 meeting to lead projects such as community discussions on residential density and neighborhood character.