Bellevue council moves to finalize decade‑long critical‑areas update amid debate over East Main TOD flexibility

Bellevue—s City Council on Nov. 12 accepted the Planning Commission—s recommendation to advance the city—s critical areas ordinance (CAO) land‑use code amendment for final action and directed staff to bring the finalized ordinance back for adoption. The Planning Commission, after multiple study sessions and a public hearing, recommended adoption without modification.

Nick Whipple, code and policy director, and Kirsten Mant, senior planner, said the LUCA updates are a required periodic review under the Growth Management Act and incorporate best‑available science, revised habitat scoring, clarified geohazard pathways, and a new pathway for limited Category 4 wetland fill (smaller than thresholds) combined with mitigation. The draft also proposes flexible approaches for degraded or piped stream segments — particularly in Bel‑Red and East Main transit‑oriented development (TOD) areas — to encourage redevelopment tied to ecological restoration.

Planning Commission Chair Khan Lou summarized the commission—s work: "We hold a public hearing ... and we have recommended adopted without any modification," he said, noting the commission had iterated through multiple sessions to balance public and agency comments. Developers and housing advocates testified they expect the draft to enable redevelopment in Bel‑Red and other TOD areas while generating private investment for stream restoration; developer Charlie Baumann told council, "This draft begins to change that," describing the draft as a "balanced modern policy" that provides pathways for redevelopment and ecological gain.

Council members asked technical questions focused on a particular East Main property whose wetland category had not been formally delineated on the record. Several councilmembers supported moving the package forward to meet the state deadline; others asked staff to return quickly with cost and timeline estimates for a separate work program exploring narrow policy changes to allow reconfiguration or replacement of low‑quality Category 3 wetlands in TOD where there would be net ecological gain and housing benefits.

Outcome and next steps: Council voted to direct staff to finalize the LUCA for final action at a future meeting (to be scheduled before the statutory deadline). Council also asked staff to report back (by Dec. 9, per staff availability) on options, timing and budget for a possible follow‑up work program to study narrowly scoped TOD wetland flexibility if council wishes to pursue that path.