City Council Recap: Old Bellevue Keeps Its Design Rules, and a BIA Takes Shape

Bellevue Chamber of Commerce  |  July 14, 2026

Deputy Mayor Hamilton led the Council through a July 14 agenda centered on the physical future of Bellevue's business districts: an adopted ordinance extending design controls in Old Bellevue, a draft policy setting the rules for business improvement areas, and the first step toward rezoning the Bellevue College campus.

Old Bellevue keeps its guardrails, with a new incentive

After a public hearing, the Council adopted Ordinance 6929, renewing the interim official control that governs Main Street between 100th Avenue and Bellevue Way for six more months, from August through February 2027. The amended IOC makes a significant trade: it replaces the facade preservation requirement with a strengthened amenity incentive, raising the credit from 10 points to 100 points per thousand dollars spent on facade preservation, and rewrites design standards that applicants had criticized as subjective. Staff framed the renewal as a bridge to Downtown Livability 2.0, the permanent downtown code update targeted for adoption in early 2027, and said the incentive data will help calibrate the permanent rules. Commenters at the hearing urged the Council to protect the district's small storefronts and pedestrian scale.

"While I'm not thrilled with this particular use of the IOC, considering the changes that have been made and the timeline for the completion of Downtown Livability 2.0 work plan, I am inclined to support it." — Deputy Mayor Hamilton

A rulebook for business improvement areas

Patrick Bannon, president and CEO of the Bellevue Downtown Association, told the Council the BDA is working with downtown property owners to explore a business improvement area as a strategic initiative, and credited "the advanced work the city has done to bring clarity for the city's role and overall process in evaluating proposals." In the study session that followed, staff presented a draft policy deliberately more extensive than peer cities have adopted: the city would hold a contract with each BIA operator, with defined steps for management, renewal and reporting. Formation would run through a ratepayer petition reaching a 60 percent support threshold, followed by Council evaluation, a public hearing and a unique establishing ordinance. Councilmembers pressed staff on lobbying limits, assessment fairness and governance, and one councilmember, citing study tours of BIA cities, urged the city to be thoughtful, diligent and demanding about any district it allows to form. Staff will fold the feedback into administrative guidelines returning later this year.

Bellevue College rezone gets its start

The Council directed staff to initiate the Bellevue College land use code amendment and legislative rezone and to send the work to the Planning Commission. The amendment would create a new institutional land use district implementing the 2024 Comprehensive Plan; the campus currently sits in a residential zone that limits its ability to expand. Staff described room for new academic facilities, laboratory and arts spaces, student housing and supporting infrastructure, with expanded engagement planned for neighboring residents and businesses. Councilmembers framed the rezone as straightforward follow-through on the comprehensive plan.

Together the three items set ground rules ahead of investment: interim design standards while the permanent downtown code is written, a BIA framework in place before any petition arrives, and college zoning aligned to the growth plan the city has already adopted.