Housing developments dominated the attention of Des Moines City Council members at their June 14 meeting.

A preliminary design for the Landmarque townhouse modified subdivision on 10 acres at Pacific Highway South and South 263rd Street received approval after affirmative action was recommended by city staff.

The subdivision will include 66 attached single-family townhouses, two detached single-family lots and one commercial lot.

"It's a large, vacant, undeveloped site between Pacific Highway and a single family residential neighborhood," said Jason Sullivan, a land use planner with Des Moines Planning Building & Public Works.

Two parking spaces are provided per unit, Sullivan said.

The agency coordinated discussions for approval of the rezone with water and sewer districts.

Two wetlands on the property, identified by Sewall Wetland Consulting Inc., will require a 35-foot buffer around them.

Because the city requires maintaining the ratio of park land to residential land, project developer Landmark Homes LLC also must include a public park.

"We've designed a park that's much larger than what the city requires," said David Litowitz, president of Landmark Homes.

The area falls in the Federal Way School District and is within walking distance of Woodmont Elementary.

Lawmakers also approved the Mediterranean Heights final plat, replacing park space with residential space.

Twelve homes will be built in the 1200 block of South 272nd Street.

Council members expressed concern about a private retaining wall on the property.

Councilwoman Carmen Scott said she would not want the wall to become the city's responsibility if there were a problem with it in the future.

"We're not releasing the applicant or the design engineer from the responsibility of that retaining wall," Ruth reassured her.

Councilman Scott Thomasson opposed the move because he disagreed with the way the wall's value was calculated.

"The value is 5 percent of the market value of the lots," Thomasson said. "To me, staff doesn't have the authority to do something different than the code says."

Council members also approved the city's Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program, which is updated annually.

It includes pavement management, sidewalks, guardrails, Saltwater Bridge repairs and seismic retrofit, the Redondo Board Walk, Des Moines Creek Trail, Marine View Drive and more.