Approximately 60 people were in the room for the public hearing about Middle Housing Implementation on April 9th, far more than the usual attendance at a Planning Commission meeting. The staffers who have been working on this Land Use Code Amendment to implement the state legislation HB 1110 and HB 1337 gave a presentation about the current version of the draft code (the initial draft was released on February 24th and there were updates on March 20th and April 4th). The Planning Commission gave each member of the public a full three minutes to speak, which took until well after 9 pm.
After the hearing closes for public comment, it’s typical for the commission to spend time discussing the topic and asking more questions of the staff (often in direct response to the issues raised during public comment), before voting on a motion. Since it was so late, however, Chair Goeppele suggested that they stop for the night and move on to the next item on the agenda (different staff were present to make a presentation on recent outreach to certain neighborhoods).
This will give the Planning Commission more time to think about their responses to the public’s advocacy and the conflicting requests they heard. The next meeting slot, which had been prescheduled in case the commission needed more time, is on April 23rd. The Planning Commission may still take into account the emails they receive between now and then, and the public can also see these in the “Written Communications” pdf that’s attached to each meeting agenda posted on the City Calendar.
About a week before the meeting, the agenda for the April 23 meeting will be published; if you want to be included in the pdf, it is best to send your email to planningcommission@bellevuewa.com by 11am on Tuesday, April 15th.
While I do not expect that the April 23rd meeting will include time for residents to speak in a hearing format, the first ten people to sign up at noon on the day of the meeting will get to speak during the Oral Communications portion of the meeting. Staff should be present again to answer questions from the commissioners, and people attending in-person or online will be able to hear their deliberations and the vote.
Once the Planning Commission takes a vote to forward the code to the City Council, Chair Goeppele and staff will present the proposed draft during a City Council meeting, with a subsequent City Council meeting for the Council to vote on a course of action. If there were not a state deadline, these Council meetings would probably be a few months apart, but it seems likely that they’ll take place in early May and mid-June. The City Council is not required to follow the recommendation of the commission, and the community can also reach out to them individually or at their council@bellevuewa.gov email address.
Both of the City Council meetings are likely to happen after Bellevue sends a draft to Commerce for the required 60 day review at the state level. We sent in the 30 day notice of intent on March 20th, so we could send in our draft as soon as April 19th, and if we are to meet the June 30th deadline, as late as May 1st. I do not know if Commerce could somehow give us more time; they are also doing this review for dozens of other cities that all have the same deadline.
While everyone is hoping that this process will deliver a code that implements the state legislation while being customized to Bellevue’s needs, it is not impossible that the state’s Model Ordinance will end up applying to Bellevue by default. The Model Ordinance was developed in 2023 and 2024 after extensive meetings with architects, other SMEs, and public outreach, and was intended to be an aggressive implementation of HB 1110 that goes beyond the minimum requirement to encourage cities to comply with HB 1110. It is worth looking at the details of this ordinance, which differs from the Bellevue drafts in terms of setbacks, building height, FAR, and the geographic scope of bonus density.
After the state deadline, I think there is some interest in a community discussion around housing incentives. Frequent requests from the big 2022 survey about middle housing in Bellevue were that there be options for retirees and some units that are ADA accessible, and provisions to create these are not included in the draft. We might also create housing incentives that kick in if production falls, but don’t accelerate growth during a building boom.
We will need to develop resources (handouts, mailers, documents in plain English, website content, video) that can explain the new rules to people who are considering the possibilities for property they own. There was definitely interest and lots of questions at our outreach meetups from people who are thinking about downsizing and wondering how the proposed changes might affect them.
There will also be a similar LUCA this fall to implement co-housing under HB 1998. This has the potential to create naturally affordable apartments, intentional communities, and allow repurposing of homes to accomodate more people.
Background
If you haven’t been following Bellevue happenings, it may be interesting to know that a Planning Commissioner just resigned. Vice-Chair Luisa Cuellar-Calad had a thoughtful perspective and always asked tough questions; we will miss her very much! There is also the potential for another opening, as Vishal Bhargava, the former Planning Commission Chair, is one of the four finalists to replace John Stokes, a councilmember who announced his resignation when the new City Councilmember Claire Sumadiwirya was sworn in to replace Janice Zahn (who is now a state legislator).
Vishal and the other Councilmember finalists will be discussed at a City Council meeting scheduled for April 15th, and then the person who is selected is likely to be sworn in a week or two afterward. Vishal seems to have the support of his fellow commission members; he is known to have a very calm and thoughtful presence when he leads meetings, and his personal work and family experiences have given him a deep understanding of transportation, growth, the tech industry, etc. It is very likely that the other candidates are excellent as well, but everyone knows Vishal and serving on a commission is frequently helpful for being elected or appointed to the council. At any rate, it seems the April 23rd decision will be made by only 5 or 6 members of the Planning Commission.
There will be five Council seats on the ballot in November, and the two Councilmembers appointed this spring will be running their first campaign. The development community is a strong source of campaign contributions and has much to gain financially from the proposed density, while the residents can deliver grassroots support and votes; they want reassurance that growth will not overwhelm city resources and also want housing to be accessible to young family members and friends.
Other ways to get involved:
There are openings on the Environmental Services Commission, Transportation Commission, and the Parks & Community Services Board. Apply here by Monday, April 14th at 5 pm.
https://bellevuewa.gov/city-news/boards-commissions-25
Bellevue Essentials is a good introduction to Bellevue’s history, city government and departments, and ways to volunteer. Applications for the 2025 class will open in May.
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