Council Roundup
Published 9:03 am Friday, May 24, 2013
Bellevue City Council
May 20
n Bellevue City Council members by a 6-0 vote approved a set of “market-driven strategies,” recommended by the Transportation Commission, which will become part of the city’s Transit Master Plan when it’s completed by the end of 2013.
The strategies support the council’s vision of “abundant access,” which aims to make transit convenient, frequent, simple, efficient, direct and regionally connected. Strategies include focusing on diversity of ridership, creating an attractive product and price, encouraging connections throughout the day, concentrating on high-ridership areas, and encouraging walking and cycling.
May 13
— The City Council reviewed progress on work to update Bellevue’s Comprehensive Plan and provided direction for the city’s most important long-range planning effort.
Last updated in 2004, the comprehensive plan lays out the community’s vision for the future of Bellevue and sets policy that will direct city actions on a wide range of topics, such as land use, housing, human services, transportation, parks and economic development. The effort to update the current plan began in 2012 and is scheduled for completion in 2014.
The city is reaching out to residents through an online forum called Bellevue’s Best Ideas, which invites peoples’ thoughts about how the city should grow and adapt to change over the next 20 years or more. Ideas can be shared at (https://bellevuesbestideas.ideascale.com/).
— The council authorized renewal of a franchise agreement with Puget Sound Energy for an additional five years. The agreement sets the terms and conditions PSE must comply with when their electrical facilities occupy city rights of way.
— The council discussed a proposed code of ethics ordinance that would govern the council, boards and commissions. The existing, outdated ordinance would be repealed. The draft code, modeled on the City of Kirkland’s regulations, is expected to come back for further discussion, and a possible vote, at the council’s May 27 meeting.
— Councilmembers gave preliminary approval to amend the city’s sign code that governs signs atop downtown high-rise buildings. Currently, 11 towers have building-top signs and employers must occupy at least 180,000 square feet of space to qualify for such a sign. The proposed code amendment would drop the requirement to 120,000 square feet for corporate headquarters only and could potentially qualify two additional office buildings. A final vote on the amendment is expected at the council’s June 3 meeting.
— The council approved a work program for station area planning related to future East Link light rail stations. Objectives include community engagement, identifying city-funded investments, maximizing station access and supporting the land use vision in Bellevue’s comprehensive plan for each neighborhood.
