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Resident criticizes city outreach on LUCA draft, urges more neighborhood engagement
Summary
A Newport Hills resident told council the city's outreach on the Land Use Code Amendment (LUCA) had been minimal and asked the council to reconsider outreach and consider interim controls until broader engagement occurs.
A Newport Hills resident told the Bellevue City Council on April 1 that outreach about the city’s draft Land Use Code Amendment (LUCA) has been inadequate and urged the council to expand engagement with neighborhood groups before adopting changes she said could significantly affect setbacks, density and accessibility.
Anne Rittenhouse, chair of the Bellevue Network on Aging and a Newport Hills Community Club board member, said that LUCA outreach materials were short and general and failed to address future impacts such as changes to setbacks and density or accessibility standards (ADA). She contrasted that with the Newport neighborhood area plan outreach, which she described as substantial and included neighborhood walk‑throughs and a 38‑page summary of findings.
Rittenhouse asked the council to consider “interim official controls” while staff undertakes more in‑depth and balanced engagement. "The draft LUCA has not involved the very citizens whom the city should be representing and protecting," she said in her remarks.
Council did not make a formal decision on LUCA during the meeting; staff previously said LUCA is part of an ongoing land‑use update process and that additional outreach and planning steps are planned as part of the periodic update process.
