Bellevue meetings for the week of June 7th
Saturday, June 7th
Eastrail Artwalk walking tour, departs from Wilburton Station at 10am (link)
Community Walking Audit (Main to NE 2nd and 100th to 108th), 12-2pm (link)
Monday, June 9th
Community meeting for Northwest Bellevue at the Northwest Arts Center 6-8:30pm Northtowne, Meydenbauer Bay, Lochleven, Vuecrest, Ashwood, Hidden Valley and other interested Bellevue residents are invited.
Tuesday, June 10th
Bellevue Essentials Info Session at noon (Eventbrite)This program offers a systematic introduction to a wide range of city departments, and you'll get to know other future city leaders in this year's cohort. Additional sessions will be held at 6:30pm on June 12th and 25th.
City Council meeting, 6pm
Recommendations for the following Commission openings: Human Services Commission: Olga Perelman Planning Commission: Mariah Kennedy and Arshia Nilchian Transportation Commission: Kay Williams
Middle Housing LUCA (link) From the agenda memo, it looks like council members will be considering a 32' height limit for middle housing with flat roofs. Hopefully, builders will use the extra two feet to increase soundproofing between units, if they are stacked (I'm not sure the extra two feet are needed for townhomes and side-by-side duplexes, triplexes, etc.) I would have liked to see an allowance for roof deck railing and AC unit enclosure that SF homes don't get, under the theory that outdoor space will be at a premium for these homes. There was a previous mention of the need for extra height to allow mass timber (an eco-friendly construction material); this is the first time I'm seeing mention of green roofs and solar panels (I had thought solar was already allowed to stick up from flat roofs by 18 inches - if you have experience with this, please let me know!). The middle housing produced would generally be up to three stories but would still be able to have a 12' tree code height bonus and there is no facade height limit. Council will also consider the option of a 24' height limit for cottages, so maybe we would get more housing that looks like this: https://www.cottagecompany.com/Communities/Conover-Commons-Homes.aspx In order to achieve that, I still think we would need more generous common open space requirements, since Bellevue's requiring much less of a "village green" than other cities and the Model Ordinance do. Plan is to keep cottages at least as large as a DADU, but potential reduction to 1500 sqft is considered.
It will also be interesting to see if the 300 sqft will really just be for garage instead of unheated storage/playroom, since the wording about unheated space was removed.
The draft attached to the agenda is still labeled May 13th 2025
Page 30: Flat roof height 8' taller than flat roof single family homes (38' vs 30') (no height difference required by HB 1110). Some Councilmembers are talking about limiting number of stories to three, and there is wording in the FAQ about three stories or 38 feet.
No facade height maximum (facade maximum for single family is 40', as shown in Note 45 on Page 9) Eligible for 12' height bonus and setback reductions with Tree Code provisions (here, section E.5.c) -this loophole would be addressed by a 3 story cap.
Front and rear setbacks reduced by 10' each, some reductions to side setbacks (no difference required by HB 1110) (compare pages 6 and 30)
Generous FAR means eaves are unlikely, since the limiting factor is lot coverage, which eaves count toward - Would have to reduce FAR and make a rule about eaves (as existed in a March draft) to fix this. FAR discontinuity that means 15,000 sqft lots aren't allowed to build as much structures as 9999 sqft lots. (Page 25)
Cottage housing rules allow large single family home developments that won't look like "cottages" (also 38' height) but could be crammed onto a lot at 5-6x the density of a single family home. Minimal common open space requirements. Cottage houses get an additional 25% of lot area for lot coverage and impervious surfaces for space used for covered porches (Highlighted note 9 on Page 31). It would add mass if you put 3 stories over that porch. Even if no porches are built, cottages get 45-50% lot coverage (see note 9) vs 35-40% for single family (page 7) and 40-45% lot coverage for other middle housing (page 30).
Tree code loophole being created if there is "not enough room" to plant trees, so that developers can avoid paying for tree credits by paving over more of their lot (purple text on Page 41). Tree requirements for cottages are also sharply lower than the other types (Page 39)
Allowing 6 units by right in large areas around Downtown and other urban centers means that co-living will be allowed in those areas as well as around the major transit stops and in mixed use areas when we create the co-living rules this fall. Could easily have a de minimis fee-in-lieu for the areas with added density to allow middle housing density without having unidentified impacts from co-living in early 2026.
Removal of Transition Areas as a modifier where different zoning types meet.
Page 12, 3.a is vague as to whether parts of an ADU that exceed the 1200 sqft are counted toward the maximum allowable square footage. Page 12 also has a likely wording error regarding radius vs. walking distance used to determine parking requirements (para. 5.b)
Summary of councilmembers' comments during the May 13th meeting is here. Note: presentation materials do not show large areas affected by RapidRide K, since that won't start until 2028. In the future, the 1 parking space per unit mentioned will be decreasing to 0.5 because of SB 5184, and for units under 1200 sqft, will go to zero.
Intergovernmental Relations monthly report: State budget passed and other bills signed, cuts to Medicaid, state election races, Association of Washington Cities survey about priorities, implementation about HB 2015 and HB 1217, traffic safety, change to Dept of Ecology plan to regulate wastewater in Puget Sound. HR 1 taxes, debt limit, clean energy credits eliminated, healthcare and Medicaid changes, SNAP, HUD retrofit program, opioid prevention, deepfake bill, and other legislative affairs requests King County Regional Water Quality Committee discussion of sewer rate, Affordable Housing Committee, Greater Seattle Partners Puget Sound Regional Committee - Growth management policy, comprehensive plans, transportation planning, May General Assembly summary and Regional Safety Action Plan adoption.
Wednesday, June 11th
Planning Commission, 6pm (link) **** Note time is changed from usual meeting time****Downtown Subarea PlanGreat Neighborhoods update
Open House for Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP) for Bridle Trails, 6:30-8pm (link)City staff is completing evaluations of the ideas you submitted for how to spend $445,000 in NEP funding in your neighborhood area. Please join staff and your neighbors for an open house on June 11 to review the projects that will be on your ballot this summer.
Thursday, June 12th
Farmers Market Excited that KidsQuest might be coming again, though before I mention this to all the other moms, I will check the vendor schedule that is updated each Monday afternoon. Some vendors are present weekly, and others alternate weeks or come once a month.
Bellevue Essentials Info Session at 6:30pm (Eventbrite)
Transportation Commission, 6:30pm
Transportation Facilities Plan (TFP) Update, including the Capital Revenue Forecast Transportation revenue generally comes from general city revenue and transportation dedicated revenue sources such as: • Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax (MVFT) • Neighborhood Congestion, Safety and Connectivity Levy (expires after 2035, assumed to be renewed by a future city ballot measure.) • Transportation Impact Fees • Developer Contributions • State and Federal Grants • Outside Agency Contributions (or Cost Sharing Agreements) Additionally, General Fund revenues also support transportation capital, maintenance and operations including Property, Sales and Use, Business and Occupancy, and Real Estate Excise Taxes, and other general revenues. There are a few additional potential new revenue sources or expansions of existing sources including Transportation Benefit District with Sales and Use Taxes and/or Vehicle License Fees, Property Taxes, and Tax Increment Financing), but none of these are assumed. Over the next 20 years, unconstrained revenue is projected to be extremely limited totaling approximately $26 million.
The TFP process included discussions of project ranking and public input, and lists of projects are included, along with staff's recommendations for whether they should be included in the TFP. This discussion of the project list will continue on July 10 to further vet the list and funding allocations as needed.
Upcoming:
6/25 Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC) meeting
6/25 Bellevue Essentials Info Session (Eventbrite)
6/25 Planning Commission: Environmental Stewardship Plan, Economic Development Plan
6/26 BSD Board Meeting
7/9 Quarterly BDC meeting
7/9 Planning Commission: Neighborhood Area Planning, Downtown Regional Center CPA
7/10 Environmental Services Commission CIP Projects tour
7/10 Transportation Commission: MIP, TFP, Shared Micromobility, Curb Pricing
7/23 Planning Commission: Critical Areas Ordinance, BelRed LUCA, Neighborhood Area Planning if needed
7/24 BSD School Board Meeting
9/11 Transportation Commission MIP Update, Environmental Sustainability Plan, Vision Zero Action Plan report, Curb Pricing
9/18 NEP open house at NWAC for Northwest Bellevue
10/8 Quarterly BDC meeting
Opportunities:
Bellevue Essentials applications are being taken now for the class of 2025 https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/community-development/neighborhoods/classes-and-events/bellevue-essentials
https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/transportation/planning/micromobility There's a form where you can provide input about your thoughts on e-scooters
https://www.engagingbellevue.com/2025-rsa Road Safety Assessment questionnaire and interactive map Two High Injury Network segments are being evaluated this year, with a community walk audits on Saturday for Study area 2.
Study area 1: 156th Ave NE and an adjacent segment of Bel-Red Rd.
Study area 2: Downtown, on Main St, 100th, 1st, 2nd, Bellevue Way, and 108th
https://www.engagingbellevue.com/economic-development-plan-update Recruiting focus group related to Tourism, Small Business, the Creative Economy, District Development, Multicultural Services, and the Eastgate neighborhood.
Sign Code Update questionnaire is still available through mid-June: https://www.engagingbellevue.com/sign-code-update
Posted on NewBellevue.com:
The risk of another 300 sqft (link)