Hearing examiner reviews design for 8-unit apartment at 2970 Eighth Ave. SE; staff recommends approval with conditions

Mercer Island hearing examiner Phil Albrecht presided over a virtual design-review hearing for a proposed four-story, eight-unit apartment building at 2970 Eighth Avenue Southeast, an application logged as DSR 24-010. Nicole Rainick, speaking for the applicant, described the project as a four-story residential building with eight units, including one required affordable unit, and a mix of landscaping features, roof greenery and public-facing elements intended to activate the street.

The staff recommendation and a central code question were the focus of the hearing. Adam Zach, principal planner for the City of Mercer Island, told the hearing that planning staff had reviewed the proposal against the Town Center design standards (MICC Chapter 19.11) and procedural requirements (MICC Chapter 19.15) and recommended approval with conditions. Zach also explained that a prior site development permit filing vests the project to the version of the development code effective on July 26, 2022, which affects whether new ground-floor use requirements apply.

Zach read the relevant design standard aloud during the hearing: "the T C 4 area shall have at least 75% of the length of the Ground Floor facade between the height of 2 feet and 7 feet devoted to windows and doors affording views into retail, office or lobby space." He and the applicant…