City Council Adopts Ordinance 24C-18

On December 3, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 24C-18. Ordinance No. 24C-18 establishes interim regulations related to the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update and HB 1220 for affordable housing capacity and requirements in Title 19 Mercer Island City Code (MICC). The City will start working on permanent amendments as it begins to implement the Comprehensive Plan update in 2025.

At the October 1, 2024 City Council meeting, the Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance to address a shortfall in multi-family and mixed-use housing capacity, as required by HB 1220 and the City's identified affordable housing needs. The City Council conducted a public hearing on the proposed Ordinance No. 24C-18. The City Council then held a second reading and adopted the ordinance on December 3, 2024. Ordinance No. 24C-18 will become effective on December 31, 2024.

Ordinance No. 24C-18 amends the Town Center development regulations in Chapter 19.11 MICC as follows:

  1. Increase maximum building heights:
    1. TC-5 and TC-4 Plus subareas: increase the maximum building height from five to seven stories
    2. TC-4 subarea: increase the maximum building height from four to five stories
  2. Increase housing affordability requirements:
    1. increase the required percentage of affordable housing in new development from 10 percent to 15 percent
    2. deepen the affordability requirement for affordable housing units in new development from 60 percent to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI) for rental housing and from 90 percent to 80 percent of the AMI for ownership housing.


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