I am sorry to have complained about the change-tracking in the strike-draft when it comes to the Minimum Lot Area for affordable housing. This table appeared on page 18 of the newest strike draft, and had not been included on page 17 of the old strike draft. Looking at the table in the current code, however, I do see that the relevant numbers (enabling 16 units instead of 8 on some lots that are not double lots) were there already. https://bellevue.municipal.codes/LUC/20.20.128
It looks like the necessary update to the table header and removal of lot minimums for the R-10 through R-30 areas had not been included previously as an oversight (Kirsten Mandt explains the latter on page 146 of the April 23rd meeting’s Written Communications). I am sorry I didn’t notice the existence of this table previously in the existing code, because it could add more density than I think people were anticipating. I am not aware that this lot splitting has been a significant provision before, but it will be more impactful with middle housing and especially if we allow 8 units instead of 6 on a lot with affordable housing.
I had been under the impression that the fee-in-lieu for each of the fifth and sixth units was being reduced from $150k to $75k, and I have made a correction in the same post about lot size changes after listening to the meeting recording (3:20:05 in the audio recording).
The biggest source of corrections is the post here – please see the update at the beginning of the post:
HB 1998 only allows co-housing to be exempted from any on-site parking requirement if within a 1/2 mile *walking* distance, not within the entire 1/2 mile radius where Bellevue is proposing to allow co-housing. For co-housing that is outside the 1/2 mile walking distance and inside the 1/2 mile radius, we could require up to one parking spot for every four units. Of course, other state requirements for walking distances have turned into radii in the Bellevue drafts, so it is also possible that no parking will be required anywhere within the 1/2 mile radius when the co-housing implementation for Bellevue happens in the second half of 2025.
No, this will not allow 54 units on a lot. First, the 9 middle housing units on a lot has been reduced to 6 middle housing units, and it has been clarified that there are only 2 ADUs for the group of townhomes, not one or two ADUs for each one. If lot-splitting does not occur, there would be 6 + 2 = 8 or 4 + 2 = 6 units on each lot. If lot-splitting does get approved in Olympia, the most we’d have is 16 units on a lot, and there are many parts of Bellevue that would “only” have 12 units on a formerly single-family parcel.
I had thought that DADUs would be allowed to be as close as 5 feet from the rear lot line, because I didn’t realize the section “Accessory structures in residential districts – Detached” is actually referring to sheds and other outbuildings. The DADUs will have the same setback as middle housing (10 or 15 feet, instead of 20 or 25 feet for a neighboring single family home). I had also thought that cottages would be allowed to use a smaller rear yard setback, but I can’t find that anywhere.
I had said that ADUs could be sold individually as condo units, but the presentation on April 9th made it clear that they each can be sold without a condo arrangement – as a fee simple home – using the unit lot subdivision process.
Here is a post that provides clarifications regarding the recent article titled “Bellevue’s Bold Middle Housing Plan…”