BELRED ➔

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BELRED

WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS PLAN

• Overview
• BelRed Vision
• Goals and policies
• Project lists and map

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GOAL

To continue developing a sustainable urban development pattern that dramatically reshapes the future of the BelRed Subarea, while allowing the area to transition gracefully from its past.

OVERVIEW

Connected via light rail to Downtown Bellevue in the southwest and to Redmond’s Overlake Village and the Microsoft Campus in the northeast, BelRed is a geographically expansive area with diverse natural and built environments covering over 860 acres. The area has undergone several transformations in its past, and it is currently undergoing its most recent transformation from a light industrial area with large lots and acres of surface parking into a Countywide Growth Center with a collection of vibrant, diverse, and walkable neighborhood districts oriented around light rail.

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Undulating gradually from east to west, BelRed’s landscape contains a variety of topographies, geologic deposits and soils, influencing its hydrology, ecology and how humans use all of the above to grow and develop over time. Sitting lower in elevation than surrounding neighborhood areas, BelRed has seven streams flowing through it. Streams flow from every direction except from the south/southwest. They tend to follow glacial lacustrine and outwash deposits and contribute to BelRed’s varied landscape. Both streams and topography help to define the boundaries of different neighborhood districts within BelRed. Riparian corridors also provide opportunities for strengthening BelRed’s resilience to climate change, and opportunities for active transportation, recreation and connecting with nature.

BelRed Topography

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Elevations range from 118 feet along the West Tributary to 390 feet along 156th Avenue NE.

Elevation Low | High

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Public investments in the built environment, including transportation facilities and public parks and open space, provide a framework for defining distinct neighborhood districts. Private investment in terms of the types and mix of uses, different building typologies and the resulting urban form in terms of parcel size, block size, street width, and streetscape design also help to define neighborhood identity, aesthetics and how each neighborhood district functions. Seven such districts exist in BelRed today, defined by key natural and built environment features. Whether they remain the same over time, however, will depend on their resilience and adaptability.

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TRANSFORMATIONS

Before the arrival of Europeans, a dense forest of primeval old growth wilderness covered this land. The forest was so dense that the area was largely uninhabited, even by Native Americans who dwelt in the region. Europeans began logging the forest for timber in the late 1800s. Once the trees were cut, it was often Bellevue’s Japanese residents who performed the arduous task of clearing stumps and transforming the area into arable farmland.

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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Strawberry pickers on the Takeshita farm in Bellevue, 1933.

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Safeway Distribution Center - Looking East. First Building Complete - 1958. First Big Industry in Bellevue. Photographer - Bill Brant.

Photos courtesy of the Eastside Heritage Center

Several Issei (Japanese-born) families set up successful farms in the area, cultivating strawberries as well as other crops in the early 1900s. Most notably, in 1919, the Takeshita family bought 13 acres in what is known today as the Spring District. Bellevue’s Japanese farmers flourished, and in 1930, they formed the Bellevue Vegetable Growers Association and built the Bellevue Japanese Clubhouse (a community center also known as the “Kokkaido”). In 1933, they built a shipping/packing shed, to ship their produce far and wide via the Northern Pacific rail line.

In 1942, however, a second transformation began when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced Bellevue’s Japanese American residents to leave their homes and report to incarceration camps. Many lost their farm leases or never returned. For those who did return, recovering their land was a challenge since their fields had lain fallow for several years and required intensive prep work before farming could resume. Land in Bellevue had also become more valuable as King County’s population grew and increased demand for housing. In 1953, Takayoshi Suguro, the last Japanese immigrant (Issei) to farm in Bellevue, retired and sold their property to Safeway (see photos to left).

When the City of Bellevue incorporated and began to grow in the 1950s and 1960s, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and other low-density light industrial and commercial services emerged in BelRed. Development paved over farmland, channelized and piped streams underground and transformed BelRed into a light industrial area. Early industries included the Safeway bakery and distribution center and the Coca Cola bottling plant. King County Metro’s East and Bellevue bus bases followed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

BelRed remained a light industrial area through the turn of the century. However, during the 1990s, industrial uses in BelRed declined as several large employers moved out or reduced their operations. Between 1995 and 2004, employment in BelRed dropped by more than 5%, while it increased by 20% citywide. Artists and educational

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services, including the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, moved into the area, taking advantage of the relatively low-cost large spaces. PNB first expanded to the Eastside in 1986, opening two studios at BelRed’s 124th Plaza before relocating to their current location at 136th Place NE.

Meanwhile, areas east and west of BelRed transformed dramatically. Downtown Bellevue to the west grew into a dynamic high-rise employment and residential center, connected across I-405 to a major multiple-institution medical district. To the east, Redmond’s Overlake Village became a prominent high-tech employment center.

When Sound Transit began considering connecting Downtown Bellevue and Overlake Village with light rail, the city recognized that investment in light rail could catalyze redevelopment and the transformation of BelRed into a new urban center. It provided an opportunity to re-envision BelRed as a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented neighborhood. In the mid-2000s, the city undertook a major planning effort to articulate a new comprehensive vision for BelRed. Guided by a citizens steering committee and with extensive public involvement, this BelRed Subarea Plan is the result. The overall thrust of the plan is to guide BelRed on a path toward being a model of compact, mixed-use “smart growth;” a path to set BelRed on an economically and environmentally sustainable course for the future and to have BelRed take on a unique role within the city and the Puget Sound region.

This subarea plan informs a range of actions by both public and private entities. It establishes a vision and overall policy framework to convey the city’s intention for the future of BelRed, creating a sense of the area’s potential and helping inspire forward-thinking decisions by multiple actors. The plan will be implemented through a combination of development regulations and incentives, capital investments and other public and private strategies.

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Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) School’s Francia Russell Center provides an Eastside presence for the renowned ballet company and its prestigious school. Its opening in 2002 made PNB the first major local arts institution to have significant facilities both in Seattle and on the Eastside.

CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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The Vision for BelRed as illustrated by John Owen of Makers Architecture, Planning & Urban Design.

BELRED SUBAREA VISION

The BelRed corridor in 2044 will be an area that is unique within the City of Bellevue and the entire Puget Sound region. It will be an area where thriving businesses will be adjacent to, and sometimes mixed with, livable neighborhoods, all served by a multimodal transportation system that connects the area to the greater city and region. The area will also be distinguished by environmental and community amenities that will serve residents and employees in the area, as well as residents from surrounding neighborhoods and the entire city. The area will transition gracefully over time, with existing businesses finding new ways to thrive while new types of development occur as conditions warrant.

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Specifically, the area will be distinguished by the following attributes:

• A thriving economy: BelRed will be home to major employers, types of businesses and employment sectors unique to this part of Bellevue and services that are important to the local community.
• Vibrant, diverse, and walkable neighborhoods: BelRed will contain a broad range of housing types to meet the needs of a diverse population of varied income levels. Neighborhoods will have a pedestrian-friendly and walkable character, with convenient access to shopping, jobs, and community amenities, and will also be well-connected to the larger city and region.
• A comprehensive, connected parks and open space system: BelRed will have a park system that serves residents, employees, and visitors to the area and provides recreation and open space benefits for the surrounding community as well. System components will include trails along stream corridors, urban and natural open space areas, recreation facilities, community and neighborhood parks and cultural and arts features.
• Environmental improvements: Redevelopment of the corridor will result in major environmental improvements, including rehabilitated riparian corridors, enhanced wetlands, a greater number of trees and green spaces, removal of fish passage barriers, improved stream water quality, and more environmentally sensitive approaches to managing stormwater and other natural resources.
• A multimodal transportation system: BelRed’s transportation system will take maximum advantage of its proximity to Downtown Bellevue and Overlake Village by providing convenient access and short travel times within and outside the corridor for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, vanpools and access vans, and drivers while minimizing spillover traffic impacts on adjoining neighborhoods.

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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• A sense of place: BelRed, and the neighborhood districts within it, will have a distinct ambience different from Downtown Bellevue, Overlake Village, and other surrounding neighborhoods. The area will celebrate its natural environment, creative constituents and agricultural and ethnic heritage, while new intentional developments and open spaces will create diverse and unique experiences for residents, employees and visitors.

• A unique artistic and creative destination: BelRed will provide a one-of-a-kind cultural destination on the Eastside, featuring a thriving arts and creative community in the BelRed Arts District. Artists, arts and cultural organizations and creative businesses will have access to affordable space to create, perform, sell their wares and present their creative works. BelRed will be a place that leads in innovation, experimentation and collaboration in creative pursuits, which is reflected in its organizations, businesses, artists and art-filled public realm.

• Appropriate scale of development: Development and redevelopment in BelRed will complement, not compete with, Downtown Bellevue, and will provide graceful transitions in scale in areas adjacent to lower density residential areas.

• Timing of development: As the BelRed corridor redevelops over time, provision of transportation and other infrastructure and public amenities (such as parks) will occur concurrently with or in advance of development.

• Sustainability: New neighborhoods, buildings, streetscapes, parks and open spaces, environmental enhancements and infrastructure will support the land use vision and be planned, designed and developed using state-of-the-art techniques to improve the natural and built environments and create a more livable community.

GENERAL

Goal: To build upon BelRed’s existing economic, cultural, and natural assets, while integrating new places to live, work, recreate, and connect.

By taking advantage of BelRed’s unique location and the opportunities associated with high-capacity transit, this plan steers BelRed onto a new path.

Departing from its low-intensity industrial past, BelRed will become a model of smart growth and sustainability illustrating the land use pattern needed in this era of global climate change. It will occupy a unique economic niche for Bellevue and the Eastside, offering outstanding opportunities for living and working, while restoring its natural environment and ecological function and providing inviting places for people to come together, share ideas and celebrate. While this entails a major transformation, change will occur incrementally over time, with some areas transforming early on and other areas remaining very much the same for years to come.

S-BR-1. Cultivate a differentiated economic niche for BelRed and support creative mixed-use districts by retaining existing creative and cultural businesses, attracting new innovative businesses and ensuring provision of basic goods and services for nearby residents.

S-BR-2. Minimize the environmental impacts of population and employment growth and leverage opportunities provided by public and private redevelopment to improve ecological function and resilience.

S-BR-3. Provide for the needs of marginalized populations and those most vulnerable to specific impacts when designing strategies to achieve the vision for BelRed.

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Photo Credit: Georgia Congleton, CMCP™ Wright Runstad & Company

LAND USE

Goal: To develop a land use pattern that is environmentally sustainable, economically vibrant, and socially equitable, and that creates distinctive new mixed use neighborhoods.

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This Subarea Plan provides an opportunity to re-cast BelRed’s land use into a more sustainable, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented form, while accommodating existing uses and minimizing impacts on nearby neighborhoods. The intent is for BelRed to be a model of responsible growth with a land use pattern and urban form that promotes a healthy environment, community and economy.

The plan relies on a “nodal” development pattern, which concentrates future development near light rail stations. High development intensities allow for safe and convenient access to a variety of goods and services and support high levels of pedestrian activity and multiple transportation choices. Focusing development in nodes encourages growth to occur in places where transportation facilities can support development efficiently. However, buildings, both inside and outside of nodes, that are larger and taller than what the base zoning allows, will require participation in an incentive system that provides for a range of public amenities.

BelRed is a large subarea, with the potential for a number of distinct neighborhoods. These include the “development nodes” located around light rail stations, as well as the neighborhoods in between station area nodes. The intent of this plan is to capitalize on the various land use patterns within BelRed to break down the large expanse of the subarea and create a series of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct character and sense of place.

DEVELOPMENT NODES

The nodal land use pattern concentrates development in the vicinity of light rail stations, generally within a quarter to one half mile radius. Development nodes are located around the Wilburton Station, the Spring District Station, the BelRed Station and the Overlake Village Station. These nodes will be mixed-use in nature, have a high-level of pedestrian connectivity and multiple amenities. Development at the center of the nodes near the light rail stations can reach high height and intensity through participation in an amenity incentive system.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PLACES

S-BR-4. Encourage mixed-use development, providing places to live, work, learn, shop and play within close proximity and enabling people to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by walking, biking or taking transit.

S-BR-5. Utilize development regulations and incentives for building siting and design to incorporate stream corridors as a significant on-site amenity and to help rehabilitate and improve the ecological functions of these corridors.

S-BR-6. Make additional floor area ratio (FAR) and height available to incentivize infrastructure and amenities that contribute to the public good and respond to unique site characteristics.

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SOCIALLY EQUITABLE PLACES

S-BR-7. Provide for a range of diverse residential and supportive uses within each neighborhood district to create welcoming and inclusive neighborhoods that enable equitable access to opportunities.

ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT PLACES

S-BR-8. Provide for a range of distinct economic centers that build and expand upon BelRed’s existing and emerging economic clusters by tailoring dimensional standards and permitted uses to different center needs.

S-BR-9. Provide for small artisanal manufacturing and artist live/work and work/live uses.

S-BR-10. Accommodate existing light industrial uses that were legally established as of the date of this plan’s adoption, by allowing for their continued operation, expansion including site expansion outside of nodes and re-building if destroyed. Preclude new light industrial uses from being established, and discontinued light industrial uses from being re-established, with the exception that light industrial uses of limited size are appropriate outside transit nodes and stand-alone residential areas.

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S-BR-11. Accommodate the continued operation of existing, and allow new, service uses that are compatible with planned future land uses. Accommodate existing service uses that are less compatible with residential and higher intensity, mixed-use development, but preclude the new establishment of these types of service uses in transit nodes and in stand-alone residential areas.

NODES AND NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS

S-BR-12. Provide for land uses consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan map and the Neighborhood District policies listed below.

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S-BR-13. Concentrate the majority of BelRed development into a series of mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented development nodes around light rail stations, with higher density and height therein, as enabled through a land use incentive system. Within each node, provide for tiered building heights with maximums at the center.

S-BR-14. Limit commercial land uses with very low job and/or population densities, such as large standalone storage facilities, within light rail station area nodes.

S-BR-15. Support the transformation of BelRed into new neighborhoods distinguished by their unique natural and built environments and concentrations of uses.

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Neighborhood Districts

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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116TH AVENUE NE

S-BR-16. Provide for medical office, life science, and limited office uses along 116th Avenue NE allowing for high-intensity development within the half-mile walkshed of light rail stations transitioning to lower intensity development to the north.

S-BR-17. Provide for some residential mixed-use development east of 116th Avenue NE and south of NE 21st Street transitioning from high-intensity near the station to medium-intensity farther north.

SPRING DISTRICT STATION AREA NODE

S-BR-18. Provide for a mix of office, housing and retail uses near the station, with office as the predominant use.

S-BR-19. Provide for a mix of residential and retail uses surrounding the mixed-use office core, with residential as the predominant use.

S-BR-20. Provide for a mix of office and commercial uses along Northup Way near the interchange of 124th and SR 520.

S-BR-21. Allow for the tallest buildings around the light rail station transitioning down in height toward the southeast.

S-BR-22. Collaborate with Sound Transit and its development partners to ensure that housing affordability objectives for the transit-oriented development site located south of the Operations Maintenance Satellite Facility are achieved in a timely manner.

S-BR-23. Partner with King County Metro to determine the best use of its property in the future.

BELRED STATION AREA NODE

S-BR-24. Provide for a mix of housing, retail and services in this area, with an emphasis on housing.

S-BR-25. Provide for a pedestrian-oriented retail area along 130th Avenue NE.

BELRED ➔

S-BR-26. Provide for a thriving arts district in this node with abundant space for production, performance, participation and promotion of arts and cultural activities.

S-BR-27. Provide for the highest intensity high-rise residential mixed-use development closest to the station, and lower intensity high-rise residential mixed-use development farther from the station.

OVERLAKE VILLAGE STATION AREA NODE

S-BR-28. Provide for a mix of high-rise office and retail uses adjacent to SR 520.

S-BR-29. Provide for high-rise residential mixed-use development between NE 20th and NE 22nd streets west of 148th Avenue NE and north of NE 22nd Street/Place along 156th Avenue NE.

S-BR-30. Provide for a mix of mid-rise residential and retail uses south of NE 22nd Street/Place along 156th Avenue NE.

NORTH OF NORTHUP WAY & NE 20TH STREET

S-BR-31. Provide for low-intensity service and retail uses in this area, including auto dealerships and storage facilities.

SOUTH OF BEL-RED ROAD

S-BR-32. Provide for a mix of low-rise office and residential buildings in this area to transition between the higher intensity uses north of Bel-Red Road and the single-family residential neighborhoods to the south.

S-BR-33. Provide for mid-rise residential commercial mixed- use development within one-half mile of the Spring District station.

TWO CREEKS AREA

S-BR-34. Provide for a mix of mid-rise housing and retail uses in this area that is lower in scale than that provided for within the Station Area Nodes.

S-BR-35. Promote the preservation and/or relocation within BelRed of small ethnic grocery stores and food services.

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URBAN DESIGN

Goal: To achieve a pedestrian-friendly, transit- and trail-oriented built environment that promotes interconnected, human scale and welcoming places, evokes nature and creativity, and produces a dynamic public realm that encourages social interaction.

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Past development of the BelRed subarea did not allow for strong attention to the field of urban design. Development was loosely guided and rather discontinuous, with little attention to architectural form, connectivity, and the public realm. By contrast, transformation of BelRed into the dynamic mixed use place envisioned by this Plan will require a great deal of attention to high quality and sensitive urban design.

For new mixed use neighborhoods to successfully attract residents, employees and visitors, the design of the built environment will need to be pedestrian-friendly, integrated with transit and mobility options, and include deliberate “place-making”. Building and site design and materials will need to reflect the vision for the Subarea and provide quality and permanence.

The urban design process is also an opportunity to integrate environmental components with new development, where trees, water features and open space not only improve aesthetics, but also work to enhance the function of the natural environment, such as helping to manage stormwater flows.

SENSE OF PLACE

S-BR-36. Promote pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented design, ensure quality and a sense of permanence, promote environmental sustainability, and create a distinct sense of place.

S-BR-37. Encourage place-making and a dynamic public realm by incentivizing integration of art, places for performance, and other artistic expression into publicly accessible

plazas, open spaces, and other gathering places in both public and private development projects, particularly within the Arts District Intensive Area.

S-BR-38. Encourage diversity in the built environment through a variety of building heights and forms, building articulation and modulation. Encourage building rooflines and floorplates that break down the scale of buildings, help to differentiate BelRed from Downtown, and enhance the architectural variety of the area. Provide administrative flexibility to deviate from building standards to achieve these goals.

S-BR-39. Reinforce the area’s sense of place and Northwest provenance by encouraging innovative building and site design, construction techniques and materials that reflect the local historic context of the area while emphasizing its emerging urban character.

S-BR-40. Reinforce BelRed’s unique identity and characteristics through the use of gateways, neighborhood thresholds and public art.

S-BR-41. Use vibrant color as a feature in the Arts District Intensive Area, such as in murals, furnishings, architectural details, lighting, and other features, to highlight and distinguish the area as a creative and artistic hub.

PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE

S-BR-42. Design and develop a street environment that promotes streets as key urban places designed to be sensitive to their context and to provide an interesting and sensorially rich pedestrian experience for people of all ages and abilities.

S-BR-43. Integrate safe and convenient active transportation access to the Eastrail within adjacent development.

S-BR-44. Promote a safe, comfortable, integrated, and vibrant pedestrian experience.

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Mural by Lina Cholewinski of Overall Creative

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Illustration by John Owen.

CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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ENVIRONMENT

Goal: To redevelop the BelRed area as a model of environmental sustainability, realizing opportunities provided by new development to achieve significant improvements over current conditions.

Improving the natural environment and increasing environmental sustainability are overarching principles and hallmarks of this plan and are fundamental in the redevelopment vision of the BelRed subarea. This goal can be accomplished by improving stream and riparian corridors and aquatic conditions for fish and wildlife, integrating innovative development practices that include natural stormwater drainage systems, sustainable buildings and green streets, and focusing on non-motorized transportation to help decrease air pollution and greenhouse gases. Combining improved ecological functions and sustainable environmental practices with public trail systems, art installations and other social amenities will provide multiple benefits and more beautiful places for Bellevue residents and businesses.

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STREAM CORRIDOR RESTORATION

With a predominance of industrial and commercial uses in the subarea, natural areas in BelRed are not obvious to the casual observer. Nonetheless, a number of streams and natural areas exist and provide opportunities to restore natural systems and substantially enhance the area’s character. Surface water resources in the subarea include seven drainage basins that encompass six streams, a pond and two wetlands functioning as regional stormwater treatment facilities. Streams include: the West Tributary, Goff Creek, the Unnamed Creek, Kelsey Creek, Valley Creek and Sears Creek.

In general, these basins exhibit the typical characteristics of urbanized watersheds. Their streams suffered severe impacts from development in the 1960s and 1970s, prior to current environmental regulations. Impacts included fish passage barriers, impervious surfaces, buildings adjacent to streams and piped stream segments. Despite these impacts, most of BelRed’s streams support fish, including salmonids, at locations within and/or downstream of the subarea.

BelRed’s six streams are a major part of the area’s natural legacy. Rehabilitation of the streams will bear multiple benefits for the environment, for BelRed properties where nearby streams can become a significant area amenity and for the wider Bellevue community. These benefits include improved water quality, habitat enhancement, stormwater and flood control, human use buffering, aesthetic enhancements, noise attenuation and potential trail access where easements are available.

This plan encourages removing fish passage barriers, daylighting piped stream segments and restoring riparian habitat to transform BelRed’s streams into community and environmental amenities. Restoring a width of 50 to 100 feet of natural streamside vegetation and incorporating a public trail network will enhance fish and

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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wildlife habitat, improve water quality, increase open space and neighborhood buffering, link local and regional trails, encourage social gathering and result in other lasting benefits. Beautiful and vibrant stream corridors will encourage the community and new development to refocus on the streams as integral natural treasures in an urban environment.

Integrating public parks and stream corridors with public spaces in private development will provide a seamless connection of natural resources, education, art, neighborhoods, commerce and aesthetics. Based on parcel size and initial redevelopment interests, the West Tributary and Goff Creek corridors are anticipated to be early opportunities for enhancement, though rehabilitation opportunities have been identified for Valley and Sears Creeks as well. Achieving this vision will require wider riparian corridors than currently exist, plus acquiring and developing “opportunity areas” where elements of the parks and transportation systems interface with the streams.

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NATURAL DRAINAGE PRACTICES

Private-sector redevelopment, transportation projects and new parks all present opportunities for incorporating “green infrastructure.” In particular, natural drainage practices, sometimes referred to as low-impact development, manage rainwater runoff in a manner that allows it to infiltrate the soil on site, or even to be used on-site rather than running off into nearby streams. As redevelopment occurs, innovative techniques that go above and beyond flow control and water quality treatment requirements will be encouraged.

Natural drainage practices include features such as rain gardens, pervious pavement, vegetated roofs, amended soils and rain recycling. In many cases they are more cost effective, environmentally sound, and aesthetically pleasing than traditional stormwater treatment and storage measures. Although specific natural drainage practices may not be feasible in all settings, such as on sites constrained by poorly permeable soils, opportunities for improving stormwater management can typically be identified. These practices do not remove the need for conventional detention to handle large storm events, but they may reduce the needed size of these facilities. A variety and increasing number of stormwater management options are available. A customized approach may be needed for individual sites to attain the environmental and visual amenities identified in the vision for the BelRed area.

In some cases, providing combined offsite stormwater mitigation may help achieve some of the broader objectives of this plan. For example, several properties could combine stormwater management requirements on the West Tributary by expanding an existing wetland to provide fish and wildlife benefits, increase open space and provide stormwater detention and water quality treatment. Opportunities for off-site mitigation will be determined on a case-by-case basis, determined by overall ecological and public improvements.

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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S-BR-45. Promote the rehabilitation of streams and their adjacent riparian corridors, through a combination of public investments and private development incentives, as a means to improve the natural environment and provide multiple public benefits.

S-BR-46. Provide incentives to achieve stream protection and rehabilitation that goes beyond what can be achieved through application of the city’s critical area regulations.

S-BR-47. Explore and remove regulatory barriers to natural drainage practices.

S-BR-48. Look for cross-departmental opportunities for regional surface and stormwater facilities to provide for a more coordinated and effective approach to flow control and water quality treatment, and to achieve broader environmental and community benefits.

S-BR-49. Provide for density transfers within BelRed as a means to help achieve stream corridor and open space objectives.

S-BR-50. Consider renewing BelRed as a receiving site for regional Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) as a means to achieve conservation of rural resource lands outside the Countywide Urban Growth Boundary.

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PARKS AND OPEN SPACE

Goal: To provide for a diverse, functional and connected collection of parks and open spaces that weave through BelRed offering residents, workers and visitors convenient access to nature and a wide variety of recreational opportunities.

BelRed’s legacy of light industrial and commercial uses have left little in the way of existing parks and open space with the notable exception of Highland Park and Community Center. As the area evolves, a comprehensive and connected system of parks, open space, and trails will be needed to provide for the recreation and enjoyment of residents, employees and visitors to new BelRed neighborhoods.

New parks will also complement and connect to the citywide parks system, for the benefit of surrounding neighborhoods and the broader community. To accomplish this transformative parks and open space system and perpetuate the “City in a Park” vision collaboration with landowners, both public and private, will be required.

The Subarea Plan envisions a park system with an array of elements typical of a dense, urban setting, while also retaining natural resources. Stream corridors are considered an amenity and provide respite among dense urban growth. They will be managed to protect riparian habitat and promote natural drainage treatments designed as public amenities. Accessible community and neighborhood parks will be centered on stream corridors, providing plentiful recreational amenities and opportunities to connect to nature. Trails will parallel streams, connecting between parks and providing access for the community.

Upland parks, plazas and other open spaces will be integrated into the urban form and fill gaps in parks access, offering opportunities for recreation, performance, artwork and other activities. Open

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space may also be integrated with transportation facilities and in rights-of-way to accommodate linear park functions, neighborhood connectivity and green stormwater infrastructure. A comprehensive trail system on and off roads will connect between stream corridors and parks in BelRed to regional trails, such as Eastrail and the SR 520 trail. Beautiful and functional open spaces will help transform the area, support new residential and commercial uses, improve the environment and be an asset for the broader Bellevue community.

In addition to a range of community-oriented park, open space and trail opportunities, BelRed may be a suitable location for a potential major recreation facility that would meet an identified citywide need for both indoor and outdoor recreation. If this citywide facility were to locate in BelRed, it could also serve as part of a community park for the new neighborhoods in this area.

S-BR-51. Develop parks, trails and open spaces of various sizes and types in different settings to allow for a diversity of complementary activities that meet the broad park and recreation needs of BelRed’s residents, workers and visitors.

S-BR-52. Ensure equitable and convenient access to nature, parks, trails and open space by leveraging both publicly owned and publicly accessible land to create a dense network of greenspace as shown in Figure S-BR.1 and Tables 1 and 2.

S-BR-53. Use BelRed’s extensive network of stream corridors to inform the location and design of new neighborhood and community parks and to develop connectivity in the neighborhood through a series of adjacent, publicly accessible trails and natural corridors.

S-BR-54. Along the West Tributary, develop parks using city-owned land and expand parks and open space land in the corridor through partnerships with adjacent landowners and land acquisition.

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S-BR-55. Provide a community park serving BelRed residents, employees and citywide residents, comparable in size and utility to the Highland Community Park, in the western portion of the study area.

S-BR-56. Develop a series of open spaces adjacent or near the NE Spring Boulevard multimodal corridor to accommodate green infrastructure, connect park spaces, create active transportation access between districts and connect to other trail systems and light-rail stations.

S-BR-57. Centrally locate a park near the BelRed Light Rail Station with dedicated facilities for outdoor performance and community events to serve the needs of the community and the BelRed Arts District.

S-BR-58. Consider BelRed a suitable area to locate a potential major recreational facility to meet identified citywide needs for both indoor and outdoor recreation and sports facilities.

S-BR-59. Consider potential natural resource benefits to riparian corridors and upland areas in the acquisition of park and open space lands and integrate natural resource management with park system development and operations.

S-BR-60. Rehabilitate, manage and preserve riparian and upland park areas to protect habitat and restore natural functions.

S-BR-61. Provide an interconnected system of trails for recreation and transportation within BelRed that is connected to the larger, regional trail system, including the Eastrail, the SR 520 trail, and other active transportation facilities.

S-BR-62. Incorporate park, recreation, and green infrastructure into public rights-of-way and active transportation facilities.

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HOUSING

Goal: To accommodate people at all stages of life by meeting the housing needs of all household types, sizes and incomes wanting to live in BelRed.

Housing policy has many linkages to sustainability with economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Having an ample and diverse supply of housing near job centers will strengthen Bellevue’s economic competitiveness and provide access to opportunities for people of all incomes and abilities advancing social equity. Housing near jobs, services and light rail will also reduce transportation trip lengths and allow for a higher share of trips by transit, bicycling and walking, thereby reducing energy consumption and air emissions. By creating the capacity for thousands of new housing units in BelRed, the plan provides opportunities to strengthen Bellevue’s economy, advance social equity and minimize environmental impacts of growth and development.

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New urban residential neighborhoods will require an array of public and private investments in open space and other amenities to create high-quality, livable places. Providing for affordable and workforce housing will also be necessary to ensure equitable development.

Housing affordability is a citywide issue and is considered through a comprehensive strategy of which BelRed is a part. This plan creates the potential for thousands of new housing units, and provides opportunities not found in other parts of the city to create entirely new residential and mixed-use neighborhoods in close proximity to jobs, services and transit. It is critical to evaluate an approach to housing affordability upfront, at the time this new development potential is being created, or the opportunity for a coherent strategy may be lost. This plan establishes a multi-faceted strategy to address housing creation and housing affordability through a mix of land use designations, development regulations and incentives, direct public investments, and other public and private approaches.

S-BR-63. Encourage a diversity of housing types, including high-rise housing in transit nodes, mid-rise housing outside nodes, low-rise housing in transition areas and other innovative housing forms, such as live/work and work/live units.

S-BR-64. Promote owner and rental affordability in every BelRed neighborhood district through a combination of development regulations, incentives and public investment.

S-BR-65. Align strategies for promoting housing affordability in BelRed with the citywide approach and ensure each neighborhood district offers housing affordable at a range of income levels and household needs.

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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Reflexology path designed by GGN Architects.

ARTS, CULTURE

AND CREATIVITY

Goal: To build and sustain BelRed as a destination for the creative and innovative communities, anchored by the BelRed Arts District with a wealth of engaging and affordable arts and cultural spaces, events and programs, creative businesses and community-serving organizations.

Arts, culture and creativity are central to BelRed’s community, its economy and to the design of its built environment. Anchored in innovation by creative businesses, arts and cultural organizations, individual artists and collectives, BelRed is, and will continue to be, a regional destination for creatives across all ages.

It is important to recognize and acknowledge the tribal community’s historic and current cultural connection to the land in BelRed. Acknowledgement, recognition and storytelling through the arts have long been foundational elements of how cultures represent themselves or a place, and how they live and connect. The goal and policies within the Arts, Culture and Creativity Element and throughout the subarea plan are intended to reinforce

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that arts, cultural and creative attributes are inherent to community life, public space, and our relationship to nature. In addition to visual arts, space for production, practice and performance including studios, concert venues, and festival space is key to bring communities together.

ORGANIZATION

S-BR-66. Grow the creative capacity of the Arts District by providing operational support and educational resources to organizations supporting its growth, funding and management.

VISIBILITY

S-BR-67. Provide funding for a wide range of public art projects and events that explore the intersection of art and technology, draw attention to the Arts District, spark creative placemaking and reinforce the identity of BelRed as a creative destination.

S-BR-68. Integrate public art, performance and/or creative activity spaces that reflect BelRed’s creative character, heritage and ecology into public and publicly accessible indoor and outdoor spaces and building and wall facades, especially those adjacent to and visible from streets and transit corridors, and in new and existing street infrastructure, transit facilities and parks.

S-BR-69. Invest in technology-based art that fosters creative experimentation, enhances the public experience, and reinforces the identity of the Arts District as a creative destination.

CREATIVE SPACE

S-BR-70. Secure long-term affordable arts and cultural space in the Arts District through development incentives, grants for facility upgrades, direct investment and initiatives that serve as a pathway to facility ownership.

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Emerald Ballet Theatre dancers performing during the “Everywhere Art” event — funded by the City of Bellevue and produced by ArtMa in partnership with the BelRed Arts District Community Alliance.

CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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Daisy Wall at the Sparc Apartments.

S-BR-71. Designate the area shown in Figure S-BR.2 as the BelRed Arts District Intensive Area to prioritize incentives for the provision of affordable space for arts and cultural uses.

S-BR-72. Promote the development of flexible and affordable artist live/work and work/live units through provisions that lower costs, enable conversion of existing buildings and allow for arts-focused retail and artisanal manufacturing.

S-BR-73. Stimulate the development of affordable artist housing through public-private partnerships within the BelRed Arts District Intensive Area.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

S-BR-74. Develop a dedicated central meeting space in the Arts District for events, classes, programs and other arts uses.

S-BR-75. Promote and support programs, events and opportunities that facilitate collaboration between artists, other creatives and the broader community to reinforce BelRed’s identity as an innovative creative destination.

S-BR-76. Provide for infrastructure in public and publicly accessible spaces such as electrical hookup, stages and lighting to support artistic performance and events.

S-BR-77. Support the proliferation of arts and community events by providing grants, simplifying street closure and event permitting, lowering fees and other initiatives.

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Mural by Tori Shao

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Photo credit: King County Parks

TRANSPORTATION

Goal: To create a complete and connected, multimodal transportation network that is connected to city and regional facilities, while protecting neighborhoods from spillover traffic impacts and ensuring that transportation investments contribute to the area’s sense of place and sustainability.

To support the BelRed land use vision, this plan calls for improvements to the transportation system that will provide better active transportation, transit and vehicular transportation connections within the subarea and to other parts of the city and region. Access to light rail is key within the BelRed Station Area nodes.

CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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Transportation improvements will occur consistent with this plan’s emphasis on sustainability and on making BelRed a highly livable place. Providing mobility options is a key strategy for reducing vehicle trips. Efforts to promote transit service and encourage ride-sharing, walking and bicycling will further pursue this end. Designing transportation projects as “green infrastructure” i.e., to incorporate open space, place-making elements, and environmental design such as natural drainage practices, is another element of this plan’s focus on sustainability.

OVERALL TRANSPORTATION POLICIES

S-BR-78. Support the BelRed Subarea Land Use Plan with a multimodal transportation network that provides enhanced, multimodal travel connections within the BelRed subarea and to other parts of the city and region.

STREETS

BelRed subarea street network policies support arterial improvements including the NE Spring Boulevard multimodal corridor, plus new local streets to connect uses and enhance the aesthetics and function of BelRed in a grid system with small walkable blocks.

S-BR-79. Extend NE Spring Boulevard as a multimodal corridor that includes vehicular, transit and active transportation modes to serve east-west trip demand across the BelRed area, while incorporating significant urban open spaces and environmentally sensitive design features.

S-BR-80. Provide for local streets through development review to establish a new grid system with smaller block sizes, particularly in development nodes emphasizing continuity, connectivity and pedestrian-oriented design.

S-BR-81. Allow for flexibility to implement the intended alignment and function of local streets where site constraints exist.

S-BR-82. Minimize crossings of streams and wetlands by local streets and provide for environmentally friendly active transportation crossings where needed for local connectivity.

S-BR-83. Work with the Washington State Department of Transportation to improve connections to State Route 520 by completing the interchange at 124th Avenue NE, to allow access to and from the east and minimize impacts to adjacent residential neighborhoods.

S-BR-84. Include on-street parking where it contributes to the pedestrian environment and other elements of the desired neighborhood aesthetic and function.

S-BR-85. Promote the development of “green streets,” with an abundance of street trees and areas of landscaping, to improve the quality and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff, reduce the heat island effect and provide an attractive and comfortable pedestrian experience.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS

A complete, connected and accessible multimodal transportation system supports a mixed-use environment. Improvements to the non-motorized transportation system are planned, including facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel within and between neighborhoods and to provide connections to local trails and the regional Eastrail.

S-BR-86. Provide for pedestrian connectivity and a high-quality pedestrian environment with a complete and connected sidewalk and trail system, including through-block pedestrian connections, mid-block crossings and pedestrian amenities.

S-BR-87. Develop a multi-use trail system throughout the subarea that provides both local and regional connections, including major active transportation facilities along NE Spring Boulevard, the West Tributary of Kelsey Creek and

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other stream corridors, and incorporating the regional Eastrail corridor.

S-BR-88. Develop multiple active transportation access points to the Eastrail.

TRANSIT

Future land use will be served by a robust transit system, including both bus and light rail transit service and an integrated land use pattern that promotes use of mobility options.

S-BR-89. Work with transit service providers to serve light rail stations with buses and shuttles.

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT

The plan supports a mix and intensity of land uses that allows for fewer and shorter trips, and promotes a complete, connected, and accessible multimodal transportation system, making more trips convenient for transit and active transportation options.

S-BR-90. Encourage the development of a Transportation Management Association in BelRed to assist employers in providing commute options for employees.

S-BR-91. Manage the supply of parking and consider establishing maximum parking requirements to encourage the use of transit, car/van pool and active transportation commute options.

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BELRED ➔

IMPLEMENTATION

Goal: To ensure an ongoing and effective process, with the right tools available, to result in effective implementation of the BelRed subarea vision.

The BelRed Subarea Plan articulates an ambitious vision that calls for a substantial departure from the area’s past. In addition to sweeping land use changes in portions of the area, the plan calls for very significant investments in transportation, parks, and environmental improvements. Many of these investments will need to come from properties undergoing redevelopment. Some of this will occur as redevelopment brings sites up to newer land use and urban design standards. Some will occur with land use incentives, allowing greater building intensities or height in exchange for development contributions to infrastructure and amenities. A city funding strategy will likely also play a role, by utilizing both existing revenue sources and new financing tools.

The transformation will not happen overnight, but rather will likely unfold over a number of decades. Successful implementation will require a coordinated strategy, with ongoing commitment, a full array of tools, and dedication over time.

S-BR-92. Implement the BelRed Subarea Plan through a combination of development regulations and incentives, capital investments and other public and private strategies.

S-BR-93. Provide for the costs of public infrastructure and amenities needed to support BelRed development and identified as specific projects in this Plan by establishing a financing strategy to be borne by various parties based on their relative shares of impacts and benefits. Cause developing properties to contribute the principal share of needed public improvements, to the extent they are the primary beneficiary of such improvements. Implement existing and new financial tools as needed to carry out this strategy.

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S-BR-94. Allow for private development to voluntarily advance the building of public infrastructure improvements to enable land use to proceed in sync with the availability of needed infrastructure. Such investment may be repaid in part by latecomer agreements or similar device.

S-BR-95. Require the dedication and improvement of local streets at the time of development to enable implementation of frontage improvements and a local street pattern that provides for vehicle access and loading and improved transportation connectivity including safe and convenient pedestrian crossings.

S-BR-96. Encourage master-planned developments and other processes that better coordinate and integrate this subarea plan’s objectives rather than individual development of small parcels. Consider mandatory use of master-planned development approval for large sites to facilitate site planning for vehicle access and pedestrian needs.

S-BR-97. Monitor and assess the implementation of the BelRed Subarea Plan and make adjustments to ensure success in providing affordable housing, parks and open space, a mix of uses and other aspects of the BelRed vision. A review of the implementation of the BelRed Subarea Plan should occur approximately five years after the plan’s initial 2009 adoption and periodically thereafter.

S-BR-98. Develop rehabilitation and restoration plans for the West Tributary, Goff Creek, Unnamed Creek and Valley/Sears Creek riparian corridors to facilitate partnerships and coordinated strategies for improving water quality, flow control and wildlife habitat as well as for providing increased access and exposure to nature, aesthetic enhancements and noise attenuation.

FIGURE S-BR-1. BELRED PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PLAN MAP

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CITY OF BELLEVUE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

FIGURE S-BR-2. BELRED ARTS DISTRICT INTENSIVE AREA MAP

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TABLE 1. BELRED PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PROJECT LIST

TABLE 2 BELRED RIPARIAN CORRIDOR AND TRAIL PROJECT LIST