REPORTER
Mercer Island www.mi-reporter.com
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25,20, 2015 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2013| |75¢ 75¢
Two arrested in Island burglaries
Back to the future
Girl Scout Cookies on sale next week Island Girl Scouts will be camped out at Albertson’s, the Boys and Girls Club, both QFC stores, and Walgreens starting Friday, Feb. 27. Find them at Menchie’s on Feb. 28 from noon to 2 p.m. and at the Thrift Shop on March 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. For more locations, go to http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookies.asp.
Reporter Staff
MIVAL meeting Mercer Island Visual Arts League’s monthly meeting is set for 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 2, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Artist William Hook will demonstrate and speak about his watercolor paintings and techniques. For more, go to www.mival. org.
Town Center turmoil is a familiar story By Katie Metzger
kmetzger@mi-reporter.com
Interested citizens will have a chance to voice their opinions on Town Center — whether they want to see more local restaurants and retailers, a central public gathering area or more parking — in the coming months. At the City Council meeting on Feb. 23, staff presented plans to engage the community in the development of Town Center. Nine people were appointed to a Town Center Liaison Group, which plans to meet the week of March 9 with the city’s urban planning consultant and stakeholder group to continue the visioning
Jane Potashnick
Jane@MercerIsland.com 206.953.8672 2690 76th AVE SE Mercer Island, WA 98040
work that started last year. For Islanders who have seen the Central Business District evolve from its own town to a sea of strip malls to a semi-urban neighborhood, the concern about the density in and “vision” for the area is history repeating itself. The city went through a similar process 20 years ago, after a fivestory corporate center was built 1987 and the Growth Management Act (GMA) was enacted in 1991. In response to citizen concerns and to plan for the population growth in Mercer Island, a group of consultants, developers and Islanders — including Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Terry Moreman and former Councilmembers Peter Orser and Susan Blake — participated in a “citizen visioning” process in 1994. The three met with the
Reporter last week to talk about how the Town Center in 2015 compares to their 1994 vision. “Back when this code was written, there were seven hamburger joints downtown and one pizza parlor, and now there’s seven pizza parlors and one hamburger joint,” Blake said. “Things change.” One thing hasn’t changed: the desire for a vibrant, walkable, friendly downtown village. They planned to accomplish that with mixed use buildings in the three to five story range, depending upon whether or not developers choose to receive density and height bonuses in exchange for “significant” amenities. Last year, the city hired consultant Seth Harry to look at the code and ask if the amenities are significant enough. “That’s part of the lessons learned and the evolution,” Orser said. “As a community we’re getting better, and learning from our experiences.”
ARRESTS | PAGE 2
REPORTER
Check out “The Secret World of Bats” at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center,1625 118th Ave S.E. in Bellevue. This 48-minute film, originally shown on CBS television, captures all aspects of bat behavior with remarkable slow motion photography. Popcorn provided.
New downtown vision brings up old concerns
Mercer Island
Movies at Mercer Slough
City of Mercer Island
A 1994 vision for the aesthetic and economic future of Town Center planned for more restaurants, taller buildings and a more walkable neighborhood. The vision, available online, is currently being updated.
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The Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce March membership luncheon is set for noon, March 5, at the Mercer Island Community and Events Center. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. Mark Hallenback, Director of the Washington State Transportation Center, a research agency will speak. Hallenbeck also teaches at UW and is heard on KUOW. Please RSVP to 232-3404.
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Chamber lunch is March 5
In the past week, the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) made two arrests of burglars suspected of committing five separate burglaries on the Island and one in Seattle. Both cases are still under investigation for possible links to other recent Island burglaries. On Feb. 12, Island police arrested a 31-year-old male and longtime resident. He confessed to two home burglaries and led detectives to the location of some of the stolen items, including jewelry and a computer. Contrary to speculation on social media, the suspect did not use a white van in committing these crimes, police said.
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