Planning Commission Recap: Downtown Livability 2.0 Kicks Off, BelRed Moves Toward Flexibility

Bellevue Chamber  |  June 10, 2026

Bellevue's Planning Commission packed two of the city's most consequential land use efforts into one May 27 study session, confirming the scope of Downtown Livability 2.0 and working through the BelRed Land Use Code Amendment ahead of the July 8 study session. We submitted joint testimony with the Eastside Housing Roundtable supporting a more flexible approach to the BelRed street grid, and the commission's direction moved meaningfully that way.

Downtown Livability 2.0 sets its scope

The first major refresh of the downtown code since 2017 arrives with downtown a different place: 3,500 new residents, 2,200 new homes, nearly 6 million square feet of new office space, and roughly 100 new businesses since the last update. Code and Policy Director Nick Whipple and city staff framed the update around reversing small business loss since COVID, since ground-floor active use requirements have produced spaces too large and too expensive for most small tenants. The update will also target after-hours vibrancy, Old Bellevue's Main Street character, and Grand Connection support, while building heights and the wedding cake step-down policy stay untouched. Public kickoff sessions land June 15 (in person at City Hall) and June 17 (virtual), with adoption targeted for spring 2027.

BelRed's street grid moves toward flexibility

The commission also took its second pass at the BelRed LUCA, which implements the 2024 subarea plan of a target 7,900 housing units by 2044. Staff introduced a new option allowing projects to replace a defined public local street on their property with a private access corridor, and Planning Manager Kristina Gallant responded directly to the traffic analysis we commissioned, which found the prescriptive grid is not needed for arterial capacity. Commissioners pressed staff toward clearer, more workable criteria.

"We're at this place where we have an opportunity to create a future neighborhood in Bellevue and we also want development to happen." — Commissioner Carolynn Ferris

"You can do a prescriptive path which follows the strict grid, or you can do a performance based path... every time that we can provide developers with flexibility in how to achieve the outcome, I think it's a good thing." — Commissioner Andres Villaveces

Vice Chair Jonny Lu pushed to prioritize east-west connections for pedestrians and bikes and to maximize what the corridor can become:

"It's like two stops away from Microsoft and one or two stops away from all of the office space in downtown Bellevue. If we can develop it, it's going to be a really key landing spot." — Vice Chair Jonny Lu

Staff committed to revisit the private street criteria, consult with the Transportation Department on new street typologies, and run a mock application through the alternative process with stakeholders.

Density, affordability, and a simpler amenity system

Staff also proposed raising base FAR to 2.5 in mid-rise districts and 4 to 6 in high-rise districts, with affordable housing, affordable commercial space, and up to 1 FAR of active use exempt from limits entirely. Mandatory affordable housing mirrors Wilburton at 10 percent of units at 80 percent AMI, and a flexible amenity menu replaces the old tiered system. Several commissioners pushed to extend full high-rise FAR to both sides of the 116th Avenue medical corridor, and the fee-in-lieu allocation question remains open ahead of the hearing. 

The commission leaned toward one additional study session before July 8, though Whipple cautioned that missing that window pushes adoption to early 2027.