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Bellevue staff preview critical areas code changes; commissioners, public press for flexibility to support housing and stream restoration
Summary
City staff presented a gap analysis and policy options for a required decadal update to Bellevue's Critical Areas Ordinance, prompting public calls and commissioner questions for more performance-based flexibility, incentives for daylighting piped streams, and clearer rules for steep slopes and reasonable-use exceptions.
City staff told the Planning Commission on June 25 that a draft of proposed land‑use code changes to Bellevue's Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) will be released for public review in late July, continuing a process required by state law to ensure local protections use the best available science.
The commission heard from residents and property stakeholders who urged the city to combine environmental repair with development flexibility in urban areas such as BelRed. "Static buffers are outdated... the outcomes buffers are meant to achieve can now be reached through flexible performance-based design," said Charles Bowman, representing the BelRed Property Owners Group. He told commissioners that large prescriptive buffers on already‑degraded urban stream segments can block redevelopment that would otherwise fund habitat restoration.
Staff framed the gap analysis as a technical review of the code's clarity, consistency with best available science, and ease of use. Christina Gallant, planning manager in Development Services, and senior planner Kirsten Mant walked commissioners through a short list of…
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