Plus, Housing Stability program and public hearing on supportive and transitional housing regulations
On Tuesday, the City Council discussed several topics related to housing in Bellevue. The council voted unanimously to approve a set of recommended work items to occur in the next 12 to 18 months to advance the city’s Affordable Housing Strategy and to explore scoping on some additional actions. The items, called the “Next Right Work,” were developed in response to previous direction from the council to enhance the city’s work to encourage more housing and affordable housing production, as well as a stakeholder engagement process conducted over the past several months.
Most participants in the outreach process rated a lack of housing availability and affordability in Bellevue as a “severe” or “very severe” problem for the community. Out of approximately 55 ideas reviewed during this outreach, 16 actions were deemed the most responsive to the council’s direction and stakeholder input. Seven of the 16 actions are already being considered as part of ongoing or planned city work.
Following council discussion, staff was directed to move forward with the following actions:
- remove barriers to micro-apartments
- allow higher density for residential developments
- reduce permit fees for affordable housing projects
As these initial actions are scoped, processed and completed, the city will determine whether more actions to increase housing and affordable housing can be added to future work plans. The full discussion is available through replay on Bellevue Television.
Housing Stability Program
In a related discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the framework for implementing Bellevue’s Housing Stability program. The program is the formal name for Bellevue’s allocation of revenue from a local sales and use tax collected as a result of House Bill 1590 passed during the 2020 state legislative session.
On Oct. 12, 2020, the council passed a resolution to collect a 0.1% sales and use tax for housing and related services under state law. This tax began on Jan. 1, 2021, collecting just over $9.7 million in 2021, and is estimated to collect $10.3 million in 2022. In 2021, Bellevue allocated $1.66 million for behavioral health and housing-related services and $1.6 million for capital funds to support development of affordable housing. The Housing Stability program framework will guide city expenditures in 2022 and subsequent years.
The state legislation includes specific requirements for how the funds can be spent to provide targeted housing opportunities and support services for vulnerable residents to achieve stable living. The city’s plan includes local details on implementing and maintaining the ongoing program. More information on the program elements and the state law are in the meeting materials.
Public hearing on supportive and transitional housing regulations
The council also held a public hearing to extend, by six months, temporary regulations related to supportive and transitional housing, as well as emergency housing and shelter, in certain land use districts. The regulations were originally adopted under an interim official control in July 2021 and brought the city into immediate compliance with state law.
The council unanimously approved the extension considered this week with the public hearing. Extending the regulations provides more time for the city to develop permanent regulations to address supportive housing, transitional housing, emergency housing and emergency shelter.
The interim regulations will expire in January 2023, or upon adoption of the permanent regulations. State House Bill 1220 mandates that cities allow permanent supportive housing and transitional housing uses in all land use districts where residential dwellings or hotels are allowed and requires cities to allow emergency shelters and emergency housing in any land use districts where hotels are allowed.
Original source can be found here.
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