Mercer Island council approves up‑zone compliance strategy but shortfall for deepest affordability remains roughly $173 million

Mercer Island City Council voted unanimously Feb. 17 to direct staff to pursue a growth‑management compliance strategy that would up‑zone the city’s town center to eight stories and adjacent multifamily zones to six stories while opening a public feedback period on a draft station‑area boundary.

Consultants and city staff told the council the work responds to a Growth Management Hearings Board order reviewing the city’s November 2024 comprehensive plan update. CPD Director Jeff Thomas and consultant Mikaela Jellicoe walked council members through a land‑capacity analysis that compared Mercer Island’s allocated housing need to available capacity and modeled a Phase 1 up‑zone scenario to meet the Board’s requirements.

The consultant said Mercer Island’s adjusted housing need is 1,191 units and staff’s updated baseline capacity (including prior 2024 zoning changes and middle‑housing/ADU enabling actions) is 2,133 units — producing surpluses for higher income bands but a shortfall for lower‑income bands. Mikaela Jellicoe said the market data show “the units under 30% are not being delivered by the market,” and that the…