Planning Commission asks staff to schedule public hearing on 2026 omnibus land-use code amendments, adds East Main fee option

The Bellevue Planning Commission on April 8 voted to ask staff to schedule a public hearing on the city’s 2026 omnibus land-use code amendments, a package staff described as a mix of code cleanups, state-law compliance updates and narrowly scoped policy changes.

Staff said the omnibus — which planners call the LUCA and BCCA in materials — consolidates permit-process language, clarifies extended-vesting rules, implements several state-law compliance items and proposes modest policy edits such as how property-line trees are credited and whether single-family homes remain a permitted use in some higher-density districts. Staff recommended moving the package to a public hearing and tentatively targeting council action in July to meet several state compliance deadlines.

“The goal here is to get ahead of the state compliance timeline and tidy up a number of cross-references and small policy items,” said Christine Mance, senior planner, who outlined the LUCA’s three buckets: cleanup items, state-law compliance, and limited policy changes. Nick Wipaul, code and policy director, said staff had focused engagement on internal and development-community review and described the omnibus as a…