Community Facilities Rezone (Ended)

This project has concluded

• Draft Code Amendment Posted

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  The materials for the January 30th Planning Commission meeting have now been posted, including:

  Staff Memo to the Planning Commission

  Draft Code Amendment (Attachment A)

  Summary of the Proposed Code (Attachment B)

  Maps of Major Zoning Provisions (Attachment C)

  
  

  The City will host an information session on the proposed code amendment on January 24 at 6:00pm at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. The Planning Commission will review the draft code and hear public comment on January 30th at 6:00pm at City Hall. You are also encouraged to post comments and ask questions online.

• Community Meeting #2 Summary

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  The December 13th Community Meeting was well-attended with approximately 35 people, including several planning commissioners. After a brief presentation from staff, the majority of the meeting was spent in small group conversations to glean input on the desired outcomes at the the JCC/FASPS/HNT site. The discussion also included a reconvening and sharing of feedback from each of the groups. Notes from the small group discussions and the reconvening are available in the document library. There was general consensus around a few main themes, including:

  
  

  • Height limits, lot coverage, and gross floor area should be consistent with surrounding properties
  • Limit uses to those currently allowed on the site
  • No blank solid walls
  • Limit lighting intensity
  • Require screening with vegetation
  • Retain trees
  • Access from an arterial (no access from 40^th)
  • Improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities to address safety issues
  • Reduce automobile demand
  • Address traffic impacts
  • Provide adequate on-site parking
  • Prevent construction impacts to the neighborhood

  
  

  City staff are now working to transform the feedback on community concerns and desired outcomes into draft development regulations and a code amendment. A Community Information Session will be held on January 24 to review the draft code amendment (to be posted online on January 23). This information session is intended to help the community get informed about the provisions of the draft code amendment, and to provide an opportunity to ask questions in advance of the January 30th Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission is seeking public comment on the draft at the January 30th meeting (and comments can be posted here anytime).

  
  

  Community Meeting #3: Draft Code Amendment Info Session

  January 24, 2019, 6:00pm

  Mercer Island Community and Event Center, Slater Room

  RSVP

  
  

• Comprehensive Plan Amendments Approved

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  On November 20th the City Council voted to approve 14 amendments to the Comprehensive plan, including "Amendment 8" creating a new Community Facility Zone on the JCC/French American School and Herzl ner-Tamid properties.

  
  

  The Planning Commission will now take up the work of creating development regulations for the new Community Facilities Zone. The Commission will spend the next several months engaging with the community and developing draft regulations. This will culminate with a recommendation for a code amendment to City Council, which is anticipated in spring, 2019. In the near term, the Planning Commission will host 2 community meetings, on December 13 and January 24 to continue to engage with the community around the desired outcomes for the site and the regulatory tools the City can employ to achieve those results.

  
  

  Community Conversation 2

  December 13, 2018, 6:00pm

  Mercer Island Community and Event Center, Slater Room

  RSVP

  
  

  Community Conversation 3

  January 24, 2019, 6:00pm

  Mercer Island Community and Event Center, Slater Room

  RSVP

• Community Meeting #1 Summary

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  The City held the first community meeting on the proposed community facilities rezone on October 11 at the Mercer Island Community and Events Center. The meeting was attended by more than 40 community members, as well as several members of the Planning Commission and City Council. The staff presentation from the meeting and the butcher paper notes taken at the meeting are posted in the document library. The focus of the meeting was to listen to the community's questions, concerns and ideas for related to the rezone and eventual redevelopment of the SJCC/FASPS/Herzl properties. The top concerns expressed at the meeting include the following:

  1. Size/bulk/density of buildings – desire to discourage development of larger facilities

  2. Use – additional school, sports fields, overnight stays/boarders, residential units (desire for zero net impact from new development/uses)

  3. Traffic – congestion, access to I-90, safety

  4. Vehicle access and parking – safety, need adequate parking for large events

  5. Pedestrian and bike safety

  6. Visual impacts – need for appropriate lighting (sports fields, etc), screening, landscaping, retain existing trees

  7. Impacts to neighboring properties (parking on neighborhood streets, U-turns, trash, property damage)

  8. Construction impacts (staging, trucking, deliveries, parking, etc)

  9. Cost of infrastructure improvements – should be borne by the development

  10. (lack of) TRUST in City government to address community concerns/needs

  
  

  The City Council is scheduled to approve the Comprehensive Plan amendment creating the policy framework for the rezone on November 20. The City is also planning two additional community meetings on December 13 and January 24.

• Project Overview

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  WHO: The Stroum Jewish Community Center (SJCC), the French American School of Puget Sound (FASPS) and Herzl-Ner Tamid (HNT) have applied for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and rezone that would facilitate a master planning and redevelopment process for these institutions.

  WHAT: The City is considering a comprehensive plan amendment along with a rezone to create a new zone called Private Community Facilities Zone. The zone is intended to be applied to private community facilities that are located in residential zones. These types of facilities provide great benefit to the community, however they have the ability to result in impacts due to increased traffic, lighting, and noise than what is typical in a residential zone. The purpose of the rezoning is to provide predictability to the community and allow for thoughtful development of community facilities that are located in residential zones. The proposed comprehensive plan amendment would identify policy direction to guide the writing and possible adoption of zoning code that would apply to the proposed new zone.

  WHY: The properties owned by the applicants currently consist of four zones: R-8.4, R-9.6, B, and C-O (Single-family residential zones, Business zone and Commercial-Office zone). Some of the properties span multiple zones. Each of these zones has different requirements for lot coverage, gross floor area, height, parking, etc. While the properties can be redeveloped under the current zoning, the complexity of the requirements across the multiple zones makes it more difficult to understand what is allowed and to plan for potential impacts of redevelopment. A new zone specific to community facilities can better address the potential impacts and provide more clarity to the community around what to expect from redevelopment. The process of the comprehensive plan update and rezone will also allow for more public review and input into the future plans for the SJCC/FASPS/HNT sites.