PLUSH letter to Planning Commission: Making HOMA work for housing & jobs

The Bellevue Chamber’s PLUSH Committee submitted the following letter to the Bellevue Planning Commission regarding the City’s Housing Opportunities in Mixed-use Areas (HOMA) code update.

The PLUSH Committee supports HOMA’s goal of increasing housing capacity in mixed-use areas, and we are recommending three key elements to ensure the policy is workable and delivers results in the near term: A modest 3% floor plate bonus to support downtown job and tax base growth, an MFTE supercharger if mandatory affordability is adopted, and a grocery store bonus covenant term aligned with market realities.

Our Public Policy Manager Nikki Stuck also testified at the Planning Commission's meeting on January 28, speaking to the fact that the proposed adjustments are modest, but "provide[s] a real, tangible offset to the affordable housing fee-in-lieu, particularly for office projects that do not provide on-site housing."

"Without this offset, there is no meaningful incentive for office development to participate, which creates an imbalance in the program," she said.