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Council approves next phase of Great Neighborhoods planning for Crossroads and Newport
Summary
Council directed staff to initiate comprehensive-plan amendments to update the Crossroads and Newport neighborhood area plans and scheduled subsequent neighborhood planning for Eastgate/Factoria and Lake Hills/Westlake Sammamish in a multi-year sequence.
The Bellevue City Council voted Sept. 17 to direct staff to begin neighborhood-area plan updates for Crossroads and Newport as part of the Great Neighborhoods program. The motion instructs staff to prepare comprehensive-plan amendments and to return with recommendations for sequencing additional neighborhood plans (Eastgate and Factoria in 2025'026; Lake Hills and Westlake Sammamish in 2026'027).
Community Development staff described a four-phase planning approach (discover, define, refine, adopt) and emphasized equitable engagement strategies targeted at historically underrepresented groups, including cultural outreach assistants, school and faith-based outreach, mailed questionnaires and a mix of in-person and online events. Staff noted that neighborhood plans focus on local land use, urban design, neighborhood identity, public realm improvements and mobility hubs that link transit, biking and walking.
Councilmembers asked questions about outreach to "micro neighborhoods," how competing interests would be balanced, and the relationship between neighborhood plans and the citywide periodic comprehensive-plan update. Staff said the neighborhood-area updates will follow the periodic update and allow more granular policy work where needed; schedule and planning commission review were outlined.
Next steps: staff will begin relationship-building and outreach in Crossroads and Newport, deploy targeted engagement activities, accept site-specific amendment requests that meet established criteria, and return to the planning commission and council with draft amendments and recommendations.
