Meetings for the week of August 4th - NewBellevue
Monday, August 4th
City Council meeting, 6pm (this is on Monday because of the primary election on Tuesday) (link)
City Manager's report on the Neighborhood Walks of 2025
Appointment of Charles Mcintyre to the Arts Commission
Consent Calendar
Update to Criminal Code - by adopting Washington State statutes by reference, the Police Department will not have to refer arrests for those crimes to the King County Prosecutor's Office; Bellevue can become the jurisdictional authority and use the City's prosecutors. State statutes were previously adopted through 2023, but since then, the State Legislature has created new gross misdemeanor crimes. Other provisions to be updated and aligned with the RCW.
Motorized Foot Scooter Ordinance was previously discussed in the July 22nd meeting. Potential timeline for a shared micromobility program, including e-scooters and e-bikes, is: Summer-Winter 2025: City staff will determine vendor permit requirements. Spring 2026: A Right of Way Use Permit may be issued by the Transportation Director. Post permit issuance: City staff will monitor adherence to permit conditions. My suggestions during the Oral Communications portion of that meeting were not included, and I am wondering if we will require scooters from Lime, etc to have headlights for nighttime use, especially in areas with minimal lighting like parks.
Acceptance of up to $311k of Regional Mobility Program funding from WSDOT to support two years of Transportation Demand Management. This will complement existing TDM activities done by BDA/Connect Bellevue with federal funding routed through King County Metro. This RMP funding will cover worksite programs, free emergency rides home from work, education/outreach, incentives and rewards for using sustainable options, research to understand Bellevue needs and design best practices, work with schools and students to implement safer ways to get to school with the SchoolPool program. The primary metric is the drive-alone mode percentage.
Professional Services Agreement with HDR for $910k for engineering design, environmental documentation, and preparing the construction contract documents for the 130th Ave NE Interim Park & Ride project (CIP Plan No. CD-48). Bellevue has a MOU with Sound Transit where we agreed to construct a 302 stall P&R facility by the start of Link service, adjacent to the BelRed/130th station. The interim facility will be located on Sound Transit-owned land west of 130th that slopes down steeply (could have been a candidate for the Spring Blvd connection that would have avoided the parking lot with lots of semi truck traffic), and will have 180 stalls, and construction is expected to occur in 2027. The permanent location appears to be an L-shaped parcel from 130th to 132nd on the north side of the station, extending up to the Blue Sky Church along 130th, and the Spectrum Controls building on 132nd.
Agreement with ARC Document Solutions for up to $400,000 to provide document digitization services for the City of Bellevue Digitizing Paper Permit Records project. One of the next steps in the paperless permitting journey involves digitizing all remaining historical paper permitting records. Nine qualified vendors applied. The project involves converting existing large format paper-based permit records and associated letter sized documents into a digital format, preparing the digital files for longterm storage and saving those records in the City’s secure cloud hosted online records repository system. This project is partially funded by the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program.
Presentation and discussion of the Transportation Commission’s 2026-2045 Transportation Facilities Plan Preliminary Project List Staff seek Council review and feedback on the 2026-2045 Transportation Facilities Plan (TFP) Preliminary Project List before doing the SEPA review (checklist) and preparing an updated Transportation Impact Fee Program Report. A pool of candidate projects was created, public outreach conducted, projects were grouped by priority level, with the CIP projects at the top. The adopted CIP plan includes more transportation projects than available funding can support in the 2025-2030 period of the plan. The funding shortfall is $157.5 million. This has implications for our ability to support additional projects in the traditional 12-year timeframe of the TFP. Projections indicate that 12 years is not enough time to gain the revenue needed to complete the discrete projects and to continue to fund the ongoing capital programs in the current 2025-2030 CIP. Therefore, staff and the Transportation Commission recommend extending the TFP time period to 20 years (ending in 2045). No funding is allocated to non-CIP project, with the exception of two projects in Downtown that many happen with adjacent development; allocating funds to these two projects (TFP-110 and TFP-219) allows them to be treated as Impact Fee Program projects and funds spent by developers to implement them can be credited against impact fees owed for the new development (Pinnacle is expected to contribute 50% of the cost of a roundabout, for instance). The impact fee project list consists of the transportation improvements in the TFP needed to provide capacity on City roadways, where the capacity needs are reasonably related in part or in whole to new development, and this list is adopted by the Council at the same time as the TFP. Some completed projects are included in the Impact Fee Program.
The sidewalk path project on NE 100th (from NE 14th to 24th) had been pretty far along, but I do not see it on this map. There are Bike Bellevue segments that are not assumed to be open by 2045. Among the roadway work that is not expected to be done before 2045 is the intersection of NE12th/BelRed and 116th, which is forecast to have the greatest level of intersection failure in the models shown in the FEIS for the Comp Plan.
Great Neighborhoods Program - Initiation of Eastgate and Factoria Neighborhood Area Plans If staff is directed to proceed by council, the Discover Phase (Engage with the community to understand issues, identify values and priorities, and learn about qualities that make the neighborhood unique) will run from August – December 2025, to be followed by Define, Refine, and then adoption in the fall of 2026. Planning for Countywide Centers is part of the Neighborhood Area Planning process. The deadline for landowners to request site-specific zoning is September 15, 2025, and public entities may also initiate requests. Criteria are provided in the "Process Outline and Criteria for Future Land Use Map Changes" document.
Written Report on Intergovernmental Affairs State: There are elections this year. A supplemental budget is underway because revenue is expected to be down $720M over four years and we are also expected to shoulder more Medicaid costs, etc. There was a State House committee work session on city annexation requirements, though it seems unlikely that changes would occur in time to affect Bellevue's annexation of land. WA is getting a $16M opioid settlement. Cannabis overproduction is detailed in a Cannabis Market Study and recommendations are included. Lodging tax revenue report. The Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) is running a three‐year, $100 million grant program to hire, train, and retain new police officers and co‐responders, and cities can also add a 0.1% sales tax. Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit requirements for nutrients are now voluntary for permittees, and three new permit requirements have been proposed (collecting input until August 27), but some cities and King County are asking for an extension. Clean Building Performance Standards info workshop recordings are available now (alternative compliance pathway). A statewide zoning atlas has been launched to show the big picture and view barriers to housing. Federal: One Big Beautiful Bill passed, list of tax credits and deductions, including SALT changes, a university endowment tax of 8 percent, 529 plan money can be used for more K-12 expenses, student loan changes, and many more. Funding allocations have been made for security, and there will be a spectrum auction. There will be cuts in Medicaid, SNAP, clean energy tax credits (EV, heat pumps, windows, multifamily property retrofits, energy production). The possible loss of the tax exemption for municipal bonds, and the sale of federal lands had been concerns, but these were not in the final version. The recissions package cuts previously enacted funding. A stopgap funding bill is likely to be needed to prevent a shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. King County Region: Updates from the recent Regional Water Quality Committee meeting on capital projects and Nutrient General Permit response, update to the RWSP and work plan, and Eastrail Regional Advisory Council discussion of Eastrail northern connections to Woodinville and Snohomish. PSRC: Transportation Policy Board received an update on the Consolidated Grant tProgram awards, which included free transportation for Catholic Community Services customers and Sound Generations paratransit service in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond. Forecasted revenues for transportation fall short by 21 percent ($78 billion). Bellevue recommended focusing on equitable, economically supportive revenue alternatives to the gas tax. Possible need to update state framework for local transportation benefit districts (TBDs). Planning for FIFA, airport upgrades, and regional centers update.
Tuesday August 5th
Ballots due for the Primary Election
Thursday, August 7th
Network on Aging (BNOA) meeting, 8:30 am (link)
Presentation of the draft Critical Areas Ordinance in a Virtual Information Session, 6:30pm (link)
Last week's BSD board meeting (link)
Excerpts from a letter from the Superintendent: Last week, our Board approved the $30 million sale of a long-identified surplus property behind Somerset to Tri Pointe Homes Washington, Inc. for residential use. The 10.11-acre property is located in Bellevue (King County Parcel ID: 2224059024). In addition, House Bill 2049 will allow us to collect an additional $500 per student through our local levy. This change means approximately $5 million in new revenue for 2025–2026 and $10 million or more annually thereafter. Bellevue LifeSpring just announced a $45,000 donation to clear unpaid student lunch debt. Next week, Bellevue Schools Foundation will announce another major gift to expand mental health services for our students.
The parcel being sold is zoned R-3.5. While it does not have an address, it connects to 139th Ave SE, and is behind houses on 137th and Highland Drive. A Forest Drive hiking trail runs on the east side and connects to the Highland Drive Trailhead. It is considered Wildland Urban Interface and has poor infiltration, there are steep slopes on the northern half of the eastern edge of the parcel as well as steep slopes adjacent to the parcel on the west side.
Upcoming:
8/5 Primary Election ballots due
8/7 BSD School Board meeting
8/13 Bellevue Development Committee meeting (link)
8/21 BSD School Board meeting and Public Hearing on Budget
9/3 KC Regional Water Quality Committee meeting
9/4 KC Affordable Housing Committee meeting
9/4 PSRC GMPB meeting
9/4 ESC Surface and Storm Water System Plan Update, Utility Bill Assistance Program Expansion
9/10 Planning Commission: HOMA and Planning Commision roles & responsibilities
9/11 PSRC TPB meeting
9/11 Transportation Commission: MIP Update, TFP Update, Curb Pricing
9/13 GMPC meeting
9/18 NEP open house at NWAC for Northwest Bellevue
9/24 Planning Commission Critical Areas Ordinance LUCA
10/2 ESC: Sewer cost-of-service analysis
10/7 Environmental Sustainability draft at Council, for adoption Nov 18th
10/8 Quarterly BDC meeting
10/8 Planning Commission, Neighborhood Area Planning – Eastgate & Factoria, Affordable Housing Strategy Update
10/9 Transportation Commission: MIP and TFP updates, possible draft implementation plan for curb pricing
10/22 Planning Commission: CAO LUCA, HOMA
Opportunities:
An acquaintance of mine who is a long-time Eastside resident is facing housing challenges that would be less stressful for her if she were able to find someone to foster her cat. The cat is older but has no health issues, and just needs a peaceful place to sleep and rest. It would be nice if the owner would be able to come and see her as well. Please let me know if you might be able to host the cat, and thanks!
Safe Speeds Bellevue survey (link) How safe do you feel on 30+ mph streets? What areas of the city should we focus on first in our review and for future speed limit reductions?
Speed Safety Cameras survey (link) Where should cameras be located?
Sustainable Bellevue Plan Phase II survey (link) Your responses will be used to inform our update to the 2026-2030 Sustainable Bellevue Plan. This survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete.
Tree Giveaway (link)Applications will be accepted through August 26th, and tree distribution will be on October 25th.
Recurring events: Flowers, produce and music events
Tuesdays: Crossroads Farmers Market, 12-6pm (link) - Transportation Dept personnel will be present to answer questions
Thursdays: Bellevue Farmers Market, 3-7:30pm (link)
T/W/Th: Spring District Farm Stand, 11am-3pm (link) - Last day is August 7th
Thursdays: Summer Concerts and Market (Spring District), Music 3-4pm, Market 3-7pm (link)
Live at Lunch Concert and food trucks 12-1pm, most W/Th/F at various locations in Downtown Bellevue
U-pick Blueberries at Mercer Slough and Larsen Lake are open every day except Monday, and see link for farmstand hours (link)
Bellevue Botanical Garden has garden tours, classes, and other events (link)
In August Copper Kettle is closed on Mondays but opens at 10am on other days, and sandwiches can be preordered (link)
Fun and educational events:
8/1-8/3 Seafair Weekend (link)
8/1-8/3 First of three weekends for A Fairy Modern Midsummer with Bellevue Youth Theatre (link)
8/5 Primary Election ballots due
8/5 Multigenerational Pinwheel and puppet-making at Highland Park, 12-3pm (link)
8/5 National Night Out at Crossroads Park, 4-7pm (link)
8/5 Art on the Avenue guided tour 5:30-6:30 (link)
8/5 Downtown Movies in the Park: Cars Entertainment begins at 7pm and the movie at dusk (link)
8/6 Abridged Romeo and Juliet at NWAC Theatre on the Green, 6:30-7:30pm (link)
8/7 Lunchtime Line Dancing at City Hall Plaza, 12-1:30pm (link)
8/7 Fraggle Rock Crew breakdancing showcase at The Eight (new building) plaza, 5-6:30pm (link)
8/7 Crossroads Movies in the Park: An American Tail Entertainment begins at 7pm and the movie at dusk (link)
8/8 Scrap Cooking Club, 12-1pm at BBG (link)
8/9 $5 Yoga in the park (link)
8/9 Watercoloring postcards with live flute/cello music, in Spring District Plaza, free, 10am-noon (link)
8/9 free Archery Tag Adventure at Ashwood Park, 4-7pm, ages 8+ (link)
8/10 Free Plyometrics class at Robinswood Park 6:30-7:30pm (link) also 8/17, 8/25
8/12 Startup425: Startup and Small Business coworking in Bellevue (link)
8/13 Aesop's Fables at NWAC Theatre on the Green, 6:30-7:30pm (link)
8/13 free Multigenerational Fabric and Twine Flora Crafting, Ashwood Park 12-2pm (link)
8/14 Northwest Pops Orchestra at City Hall Plaza, 6-7pm (link)
8/15 Bracelet making, North Bellevue Community Center 1-2pm (link)
8/16 Nike and TruFusion HIIT class (link)
8/16 Salsa Social at City Hall Plaza 6-9:30pm (link)
8/17 Storytime for Kids at BBG (link)
8/21 Spring District Summer Market (3-7pm) Reptile Show, Face painting, and Movie Night: Inside Out (link)
8/22-8/24 Arts in the Garden at BBG, with Master Gardener Plant Clinics (link)
8/23 BelRed Arts Night Market, 3-9pm (link)
8/26 Seattle Steel Pan Project at Bellevue City Hall Plaza 11:30-1pm (link)
8/28 Spring District Summer Market (3-7pm) Magic Show, Face painting, and Movie Night: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (link)
8/29 Open Mic night at Third Culture Coffee, 7-9pm (link)
8/30 free Boxing for Belonging workout series in Downtown Park, 1-3pm (link)
8/30-8/31 Ganesh Ustav at Crossroads
9/13 Keep Bellevue Beautiful Signature Streets cleanup (link)
Recently posted on NewBellevue.com:
Good news for Bellevue schools! (link)