City staff propose a 10-year starting target of 5,700 income-restricted units as Bellevue plans next housing push

Bellevue’s affordable‑housing team told the Planning Commission on July 24 that, as it updates the city’s strategy, it proposes a 10‑year “starting point” target of roughly 5,700 income‑restricted units for households earning under 80 percent of area median income (AMI).

The target is the team’s 10‑year slice of the city’s 25‑year growth plan: staff used the city’s 35,000‑unit, 25‑year growth figure, narrowed it to a 10‑year increment (about 14,000 units), and proposed that about 5,700 of those be income‑restricted, with subtargets distributed across income bands. “When we say affordable housing, we’re talking about income‑restricted housing … generally under 80% AMI,” Hannah Von Miller, a staff planner, told commissioners.

Why it matters: staff framed the target as a measurable, policy‑aligned way to track progress and resources.…