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Bellevue creates Office of Housing and lays out plans for affordable units, homeless outreach
Summary
The new Office of Housing will coordinate affordable housing strategy updates, pursue development on city‑owned sites, update multifamily tax exemption rules and continue homelessness outreach and a safe‑parking pilot.
Bellevue’s city manager introduced a new Office of Housing during the May 6 City Council meeting and outlined a 2025 work plan that includes an updated affordable‑housing strategy, revisions to tax incentives, requests for proposals for two city‑owned transit‑oriented sites, and continued homelessness outreach and service coordination.
Bianca Siegel, director of Bellevue’s Office of Housing, told the council the office will lead three core roles: strengthen cross‑agency partnerships, advance policy and program tools to accelerate production and preservation of affordable housing, and lead the city’s homelessness response. “The Office of Housing is really focused on increasing access for everyone to safe and affordable housing,” Siegel said.
The city’s near‑term priorities include updating multifamily tax exemption (MFTE) rules to reflect recent state legislation and administrative improvements; advancing two city‑owned transit‑oriented development (TOD) sites in Wilburton and Bel‑Red through a June RFP deadline and anticipated developer selections this summer; and continuing a C1 faith‑property program that pairs faith organizations with affordable‑housing nonprofits.
Specific projects and numbers cited: city staff estimate the two city‑owned TOD sites could yield as many as 400 affordable apartments combined. Linda Abe, Bellevue’s affordable housing planning manager, said two church‑property projects working with Imagine Housing could add roughly 100 units at Saint Andrews and another 100 at Saint Peter’s United Methodist in Crossroads if fully developed. The city’s Housing Stability Program has invested about $30 million to date in production, preservation and supportive services, staff said.
Homelessness services and outreach: the city’s homelessness outreach coordinator, Niko Quijano, said the outreach team has worked with 259 people experiencing homelessness in Bellevue so far in 2025 and helped 29 people find housing since January. Bellevue’s safe‑parking pilot, operated with nonprofit For Tomorrow, has housed 33 families since May 2024; the council approved extension of that contract on the consent calendar at the same meeting.
Funding and partnerships: the city created a consolidated housing reserve fund in the 2025–26 budget to coordinate multiple housing revenue sources, including development fees and existing program funds. Staff noted private philanthropy and corporate commitments (for example, an Amazon commitment referenced by staff) will be leveraged alongside city funds and state or federal grants to increase the city’s capacity to deliver units and services.
What council requested: councilmembers asked for regular briefings and for the office to return with recommended eligibility and administrative changes for assistance programs and MFTE details. Councilmember Vishal Bhargava asked about prevention strategies for homelessness; staff pointed to Human Services and tenant‑landlord assistance as part of prevention work and said they will coordinate with those programs.
Next steps: staff will return to council with detailed MFTE recommendations in the fall and bring proposed developer selections for the Wilburton and Bel‑Red TOD parcels this summer. The office will also complete an organizational study to refine how Bellevue aligns staffing, funding and partnerships to scale affordable housing production and homelessness response.
