City Advances Affordable Housing Strategy; Businessed Urge Feasible Incentives and Faster Permiting

On October 28, the Chamber’s PLUSH committee heard from the City of Bellevue’s Office of Housing on the city’s affordable housing strategy update. Members then discussed the housing in mixed-use areas (HOMA) rezone, Critical Areas Ordinance, and permitting issues that directly affect delivery timelines and project feasibility. The conversations underscored a shared goal, more housing across income levels, while surfacing trade-offs, implementation choices, and near-term steps to keep projects moving in Bellevue. 

City’s Affordable Housing Strategy: Targets, Timeline, and Metrics

City staff previewed the near-final framework for an updated affordable housing strategy and invited final feedback before taking a full draft to Council in January. The strategy aggregates a broad set of tools and actions, backed by metrics that weigh impact, resources, and time to deliver.

The strategy organizes 27 strategies and roughly 90 actions over a seven-year implementation period, with quantitative scoring for unit production, AMI served, preservation vs. new creation, required resources, and implementation time. Staff emphasized aligning actions with comprehensive plan goals on equity, stability, and housing diversity, and invited organizational and public comment through November.

Prioritizing Actions: Four Scenarios, Real Trade-offs

Staff presented four prioritization scenarios to structure decisions under resource constraints: a deeply affordable focus (≤50% AMI), a resource-efficiency lens, a “units quickly” approach (total count and time-to-delivery), and an equity-first scenario tied to historic harms and vulnerable populations. The group discussed expedited permitting, on-site performance, and ways to balance deeper affordability with achievable production.

Participants encouraged the city to continue refining metrics for equity and consider process-side accelerators (e.g., expedited permitting where feasible) to bring projects online faster, especially where on-site affordable performance is achieved. Several attendees also asked the city to evaluate operating support tools to stabilize deeply affordable projects in light of changing federal supports.

Rental Registry Proposal Draws Scrutiny

City staff shared that a rental registration concept emerged from housing stability work and community listening sessions, with an emphasis on life-safety responsiveness. Business leaders cautioned against blanket inspection requirements, urging complaint-driven models that target bad actors without adding broad new cost. Staff acknowledged potential trade-offs, including pass-through costs to renters, and noted they are examining versions that emphasize registration and reactive inspections rather than routine inspections across the entire market.

Mixed-Use Areas Housing Rezone: Business Community Seeks Feasible Path

Attendees reviewed the Housing in Mixed-use Areas (HOMA) rezone now headed to a Planning Commission public hearing (discussed as December 10). Business leaders said the proposal, coupled with downtown changes, needs to function as a true incentive rather than a de facto tax, and urged the city to import proven elements from Wilburton (e.g., flexible floorplates and proportionate performance options) and pair code changes with the MFTE “supercharger” to unlock on-site production.

Several participants also flagged that, without recalibrating the broader amenity incentive system, inserting a costly first-step requirement could operate as a functional downzone—especially if fee-in-lieu costs outpace other amenity options.

Critical Areas and Permitting: Practical Improvements Underway

Members praised forward movement on the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), which introduces an “innovative mitigation” pathway suited to degraded urban conditions and enables use of off-site mitigation banks when on-site restoration falls short.

Conclusion

Bellevue is closing in on an updated housing strategy while major policy changes—mixed-use rezone, CAO updates, and permitting improvements—take shape. Businesses should review the city’s proposed strategies, be ready to engage at the Planning Commission hearing in December, and prepare input for Council in January. Stay connected with the Chamber for action alerts and join our upcoming forums to help shape pragmatic, pro-housing solutions for Bellevue’s future.