PLUSH Committee Urges City Council to Fix Downtown's Most-Departed Code Provisions
PLUSH Committee Urges City Council to Fix Downtown's Most-Departed Code Provisions
Joe Fain | May 4, 2026
On behalf of the PLUSH Committee, the Bellevue Chamber submitted a letter to Mayor Malakoutian and the Bellevue City Council on May 4 identifying five code provisions that function as barriers rather than standards and urging the Council to direct staff to codify what the departure record already shows is reasonable.
FIVE MOST-DEPARTED PROVISIONS IN DOWNTOWN BELLEVUE
A standard waived on virtually every project reviewed is not a standard. It is a barrier. The letter asks the Council to direct staff to codify these allowances, aligning the written code with the outcomes the departure process already consistently produces. Read the full letter below.
WHAT WE'RE ASKING
The Committee organized its requests into four areas. On high-priority code amendments, the letter asks staff to codify compact parking allowances, adopt the city-wide Active Use definition, update weather protection requirements that have generated more departures than any other single design element, and reduce the active-use streetwall requirement from 100% to 75% on A and B streets, consistent with Wilburton. On residential development, it requests relief from floorplate limits, perimeter overlay trigger heights, and upper-level stepback requirements for midrise buildings, and asks that residential lobbies and amenity spaces qualify as active uses without a departure.
On above-grade overhangs and pedestrian connections, the letter asks the City to allow 16-foot overhangs on ROW classifications C through E, recalibrate vertical clearance standards over City easements, and expressly permit open-air private pedestrian connections above the right-of-way. Lastly, on process, it requests clearer rules for the Amenity Incentive System in phased projects, removal of the LEED performance bond, simplified parking facade requirements, and consolidation of the three separate area calculations currently required.
The letter closes with a broader ask: that Downtown Livability 2.0 treat Downtown as a distinct place rather than simply aligning it with Wilburton and Bel-Red, and that any use of incentives be designed around clear outcome goals. The departure record is a roadmap. Where departures are granted consistently, the code should simply say yes.
Categories
Bellevue Chamber President & CEO Joe Fain: “In practical terms, this means taxpayers and employers from every corner of Washington would be directly subsidizing the City of Seattle’s budget.”
Read the editorial: https://lnkd.in/g-MttGZa
As we evaluate the legislation, we’re focused on affordability impacts for families and employers, whether outcomes are tangible in communities, and how the policy affects long-term budget sustainability and Washington’s competitiveness.
Chamber President & CEO Joe Fain also flagged several structural issues that need closer review, including treatment of pass-through entities, charitable deductions, a potential marriage penalty, and interactions with other state tax policies.
Read more: https://lnkd.in/g8Uv_wD4