How long should Islanders have to wait at intersections? Is Mercer Island approaching “built out” status? Should its downtown area be a destination for visitors, or just for residents?

These are some of the policy decisions the Mercer Island City Council is facing as it plans to adopt an update to its Comprehensive Plan.

The plan was technically due June 30, 2015, but with all of the planning going on in the Town Center, and continuing negotiations with Sound Transit on parking, I-90 access and light rail, the council decided to delay its discussion and adoption.

This means the city is currently out of compliance with the state Growth Management Act (GMA), though the council is scheduled to adopt the update on June 6, along with the Town Center vision and development code.

Deputy Mayor Debbie Bertlin reminded the council that it can update its Comprehensive Plan every year, theoretically, though the plan shows a 20-year outlook and must be consistent with the countywide planning policies and other regional planning documents.

“For now, this is what we’re recommending for the sake of getting done what we need to get done in 2016,” she said.

One of the main debates that came up when the council debated the Comp Plan in 2015 was the level of service (LOS) at intersections. The Planning Commission recommended changing the city’s minimum standard from “C,” meaning drivers experience 25-35 seconds of delay at intersections, to “D,” a 35-55 second delay.

Many expensive transportation improvements, like new traffic lights or even roundabouts, would be needed to bring those intersections up to the minimum standard, which is why the Planning Commission recommended lowering the standard by a 5-2 vote. The commission held eight public meetings in 2014 and one open record public hearing to consider the draft changes.

Councilmember Jeff Sanderson called the change “truth in advertising” during the council’s deliberations on May 2. Five intersections are currently below level C, with 12 projected to be D or even E in 2035.

Installing wider roads and more traffic signals could change the character of the Island, said Development Services Group (DSG) Director Scott Greenberg, and make the streets less friendly to non-motorized uses like biking and walking. Mayor Bruce Bassett said that he preferred the idea of “complete streets” and would be “loathe” to have a light at Southeast 68th Street and Island Crest Way, one of the intersections out of compliance.

To that end, the council preliminarily decided to change the LOS to E at the south end to avoid the need for lights, lower it to D in the middle of the Island to align policy with the reality, and notably, keep the standard at C in the Town Center. Though that area probably has the most traffic, it is also where Sound Transit previously said it would make certain improvements as mitigation for impacts of the light rail station.

Councilmember Dave Wisenteiner said that “Islanders deserve the highest level of service they can get,” and asked if keeping the standards higher could be used as leverage to solve other problems, like cut-through traffic from I-90 commuters.

The council also decided to endorse a policy statement noting that Mercer Island is close to being “built out,” and that “environmental constraints,” “infrastructure and utility limitations” and low “remaining supply of developable land” may make it difficult for the city to accept higher growth allocations from the Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC), on which Bertlin sits as an alternate member.

She said that while many cities in the area are struggling with the same issue, other communities want to accept more growth.

Mercer Island must zone for 1,278 additional housing units to reach its 2035 target. The zoning currently allocates for 1,616 units, resulting in a surplus of 338 units. That number could go down by 138 units if the zoning in the Town Center plan is changed to the “Alternative D” the Planning Commission recommended.

Another question facing the city as it wraps up the two-year Town Center vision process is if Mercer Island should be a destination for people around the region, or if it should house the services and retail that residents need.

“If I was the marketer of Mercer Island, I would want to know this,” Sanderson said, noting that the decision had more to do with strategic planning than regulation.

Bassett said that Mercer Island is part of a greater region and “other folks coming to shop here is not a bad thing.”

The council is set to discuss the Town Center code and Comprehensive Plan at its May 16 and June 6 meetings. It held a public hearing on Town Center issues on May 9.