Published April 8 2021
Plus, action on transportation Comprehensive Plan Amendments and residential parking land use codes
Following a year of study and public engagement, the City Council unanimously supported the recommendation to advance a Lake Hills Connector southbound on-ramp to Interstate 405. As noted during the briefing, this access option best meets the evaluation criteria and the goals of the South Downtown I-405 Access study.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the state Department of Transportation to identify I-405 access options in south downtown that meet the city’s transportation needs while also advancing WSDOT's I-405 Master Plan. Identifying an option preferred by the city will inform the state’s future environmental review and freeway access revision request processes, which will be initiated when funding is available. It will also enable the city to communicate to property owners and developers about right-of-way needs and site access options.
The Lake Hills Connector southbound on-ramp concept adds vehicle access to I-405 southbound with minimum property and environmental impacts at a reasonable cost (estimated at $150 million in 2030 dollars) compared to the other alternatives studied. It also aligns with city land use and urban design policies, and allows the East Main transit-oriented development land use code amendment process to continue.
The state Legislature has the ultimate decision-making authority to fund the project. The final project design, environmental analysis and construction would be carried out by WSDOT in accordance with federal highway and transportation approval processes.
In a related discussion, councilmembers urged the city Transportation Department to accelerate a separate project that would provide pedestrian and bicycle access along Southeast Eighth Street to compliment the Lake Hills Connector alternative.
Input was provided by stakeholders who represent properties and neighborhoods within the study area, business and transportation interest groups and the community at large. Five conceptual options were evaluated for consistency with city policies, travel time reduction, access, safety, cost and property and economic development impacts.
For details on the analysis and other alternatives, go to BellevueWA.gov/access-study.
Aerial image of I-405 and south downtown Bellevue courtesy King County parks.
Action on transportation Comprehensive Plan Amendments
Later, councilmembers reviewed a series of proposals for Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPA) initiated both by the city and privately proposed.
Two amendments initiated by the city were unanimously approved by the council to move on in the CPA process to final review. One amendment would broaden the existing vehicle-focused transportation concurrency standard to an approach that considers many different transportation options in alignment with the priorities and vision for the city’s multi-option transportation system. The second city-initiated amendment would consolidate the inventory list of current transportation projects to a single location within the Transportation Improvement Plan to eliminate redundancy and ensure responsiveness to changing circumstances.
Councilmembers also reviewed two privately proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment requests, including the 15 Lake Bellevue proposal and the DASH Glendale proposal, which aim to add density and affordable housing in the BelRed and Wilburton/Northeast Eighth Street subareas.
Following City Council review, the DASH Glendale proposal was added by unanimous vote to the 2021 CPA annual work program for final review. The 15 Lake Bellevue proposal did not move forward to final review as part of the 2021 CPA annual work program. The full discussion is available on video replay through Bellevue Television.
Residential parking land use codes
In other business, councilmembers reviewed a recommendation from the Planning Commission for a Land Use Code Amendment (LUCA) to lower residential parking requirements in areas with frequent transit service.
The LUCA would conform Bellevue’s parking standards to state statutes on parking regulations and align with the city’s 2017 Affordable Housing Strategy, which lists specific actions to lower the cost of building affordable housing units and reduce parking requirements near light rail stations.
The Planning Commission held two study sessions in January on the topic and a public hearing in February. Councilmembers voted unanimously to bring the LUCA back for final adoption at a future meeting in line with the commission’s recommendation. More details are available in the meeting materials.