April 15, 2025 City Council Meeting

During the April 15, 2025 City Council meeting, the PSM Design Team presented an updated site layout hat will move the PSM Building (main administrative building) and the Operations Building north on the site. This strategy recommendation resulted from feedback from the City Council, and meetings with Police, Public Works, Emergency Operations, and IT/GIS staff in recent week.

See agenda materials and presentation linked here and the meeting recording linked here.

This proposed revision to the site layout will reduce construction costs, increase operational effectiveness, and leave room for potential future operational capacity to ensure that this facility is positioned to serve the city over the next 50-plus years.

City Council approved the new site layout and general alignment of the major amenities, recognizing that the design phase is still in the early stages and some refinement will be necessary as the design work continues.

Additionally, the proposed PSM Facility layout includes the placement of the Operations Building on top of the property line between the existing City Hall and Public Works parcels. The Design Team recommends a boundary line adjustment to move the parcel line north closer to SE 36th St (see graphic linked here). Both parcels comprising the current City Hall Campus have the correct comprehensive plan land use designation, which is “Public Facility.” The zoning, however, is different and this was identified for resolution as part of the PSM Facility development process.

The City Manager is recommending the new south parcel created by the boundary line adjustment be re-zoned to “Public Institution” (PI), consistent with other public facilities on Mercer Island. The north parcel is recommended to remain as CO to preserve flexibility for its future use.

The City Manager received formal direction to add this item to the work plan. The City Manager will work with staff and legal counsel to set this item for review in late 2025 or early 2026. The re-zone work will need to be complete before permits are submitted for the project (mid to late 2026).