PLUSH Recap: Councilmember Briar’s Housing Focus and MFTE Decisions Ahead

At the Chamber’s Permitting, Land Use, Sustainability, and Housing (PLUSH) meeting on November 18, 2025, members heard from Bellevue’s newest councilmember-elect, Naren Briar, and received an advance look at strike-draft changes to the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) program headed to City Council on December 2.

The conversation underscored how upcoming MFTE decisions, Wilburton “supercharger” rules, and process improvements at the city will shape housing production, affordability, and predictability for the region’s development and business community.

A new councilmember-elect signals pragmatic, pro-housing priorities

Councilmember-elect Naren Briar opened the meeting by outlining her north stars for housing work on the dais: increasing supply, improving safety, prioritizing walkability, and creating human-scale places that work for residents and businesses alike.

“Part of my priorities was developing more housing amidst the housing crisis,” Briar said, emphasizing that she plans to take a data-driven, market-informed approach to code and incentive changes.

She described her enthusiasm for what she called “anthropocentric development”, courtyards, plazas, and “third places” that invite people to linger, paired with mixed-use corridors that support local retail. Building aesthetics, she noted, are another opportunity for Bellevue to distinguish itself while still delivering feasible projects.

Briar also stressed that she intends to be a hands-on partner in fixing bottlenecks inside the organization:

“I’ll be dedicating myself full time to the council, and that means providing myself as a resource to any of the departments to see what I can do in terms of helping boost the throughput and output metrics of internal processes that we have at the city.” — Naren Briar, Bellevue City Councilmember

Her message to PLUSH members: expect pragmatism, openness to market-rate tools, and a standing invitation for candid feedback as Bellevue recalibrates its housing policies.

MFTE strike draft: what’s in, what’s next, and when

City staff followed with an overview of where Council is already aligned on MFTE updates and what remains undecided in the strike draft heading to Council on December 2. Four elements currently enjoy unanimous support, while two key pieces, the Wilburton “supercharger” and a possible 12-year extension tool, are still under active discussion.

Staff reiterated their recommendation to keep a targeted “supercharger” option in Wilburton, paired with a programmed look-back to confirm its effectiveness. Another major shift would explicitly open MFTE eligibility to conversion projects.

Under the draft, a new 20-year homeownership MFTE option would require at least 25% of units to be built by or sold to a nonprofit or local government partner, with affordability locked in at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) for 99 years. Wilburton would see a “supercharger” stacking allowance limited to that neighborhood, supplemented by new eight-year MFTE options to expand the toolbox for different prototypes.

Mandatory affordability requirements in Wilburton—7% of units at 60% AMI and 5% at 50% AMI—would remain in place, with added incentives for larger “family-size” units. Staff are also working to align MFTE and land use code affordable housing standards, maintain existing MFTE parking discounts and rent stabilization requirements (in place since 2021), and streamline covenants so MFTE and land use agreements are consolidated prior to building permit issuance, with some flexibility for late applications. An annual monitoring fee of roughly $60 per affordable unit is proposed to help support ARCH staffing and compliance.

If Council gives clear direction on December 2, staff indicated the code package could return for adoption before year-end. If not, a follow-on study session will be scheduled.

Cost-benefit and the “supercharger”: mixed views and calls for clarity

To frame the MFTE conversation, staff shared a cost-benefit analysis comparing public costs (foregone property tax revenue) with renter savings. Early conclusions suggest that the current MFTE programs deliver a strong public return:

“In 2025… we estimate that for each dollar paid by the city and Bellevue taxpayers as a result of MFTE resulted in over $2 of rent savings.” — Robin Xiao, City of Bellevue staff

However, the same framework suggested a less favorable ratio for the Wilburton supercharger as currently structured:

“When we looked at the supercharger specifically, we found that each dollar would result in only about 94 cents of rent savings.” — Robin Xiao, City of Bellevue staff

PLUSH members welcomed the effort to quantify tradeoffs but urged more transparency on the assumptions, units of measurement, and treatment of counterfactuals, especially when modeling whether projects would advance without the incentive.

On-site performance vs. fee-in-lieu: Wilburton as a test case

Developers around the table emphasized that, in practice, the Wilburton supercharger appears to be nudging projects toward on-site affordable units rather than fee-in-lieu payments—a shift many policymakers have said they want.

Participants encouraged staff to surface this behavior change explicitly in briefings to Council, noting that on-site performance is often viewed as a higher-value outcome than writing a check. They also cautioned that any future discussions about new mandatory fees or fee-in-lieu structures—whether in Wilburton or downtown—should be paired with on-site incentives that keep projects penciling, including supercharger-style provisions calibrated to current market conditions.

Chamber events and how to stay engaged

PLUSH members closed with a quick look at upcoming Chamber gatherings that will keep housing, land use, and fiscal policy front and center for the business community.

On December 8, the Chamber will host its Holiday Elected Leaders Party in Bellevue—an opportunity to connect directly with decision-makers in a more informal setting. On January 6, the East King Chambers Coalition's Legislative Kickoff will bring together multiple panels, with organizers expecting roughly a dozen legislators and about 200 attendees to preview the 2026 session.

Both events are designed to give members a platform to share what’s working, where friction remains, and how policy can better support housing delivery, job growth, and quality of life.

Conclusion

Bellevue is entering a decisive stretch on housing policy. MFTE updates, the scope of the Wilburton supercharger, and long-overdue process improvements will heavily influence how quickly and affordably new homes come online—and how predictable the environment feels for employers and developers.

For the development community, the next focal point is the December 2 City Council study session on the MFTE strike draft. Timely, data-rich comments from practitioners will help shape durable, pro-production outcomes.

Stay plugged in through the Chamber’s PLUSH Committee, subscribe to our newsletter for ongoing policy updates, and join us at upcoming events to keep your voice at the table as Bellevue charts its next chapter on housing.