Eastgate Subarea Plan

GOAL: To preserve and promote the accessibility and appearance of residential neighborhoods, local amenities, and business establishments within the Subarea.

Discussion: The Subarea is mostly developed. It is important that subsequent development and redevelopment improves the function and appearance of the various land uses and that they are compatible with each other.

OVERVIEW

The Eastgate Subarea provides a gateway for south Bellevue and an axis for travel between the Eastside and metropolitan Seattle. Rolling tree- and house-covered hills on either side of the I-90 corridor surround a major commercial interchange located at the center of the Subarea.

Convenient access makes the Eastgate Subarea a desirable place to live and work. Jobs, stores, schools, churches, parks, and trails all are within easy walking distance of each other. As one of Bellevue’s older areas, the Subarea contains established residential neighborhoods, many with attractive views. Combined, these amenities have greatly enhanced the quality of life for the Subarea’s residents and business owners alike.

The Eastgate Subarea encompasses approximately 1,500 acres. Its boundaries are 137th Avenue S.E. to the west, S.E. 23rd Street to the north, 168th Avenue S.E. to the east, and S.E. 41st Street to the south. With the Eastgate annexation in 2012, all of the subarea is within City limits.

The I-90 business corridor covers 10 percent of the subarea and is home to major corporations, high technology industries, and community shopping areas. When combined with the adjacent Factoria commercial core, the area is the third largest employment area in the city. The corridor, which has developed primarily since 1980, owes its success to the area’s accessibility to I-90 and its proximity to major urban centers. The Eastgate Plaza Shopping Center, which serves the large residential neighborhoods in and near the Subarea, also is located in this corridor. The area north of the I-90 corridor features large and small parks; a deep, wooded ravine; about 160 acres of publicly-owned land; and numerous public facilities such as churches, government agencies, and Bellevue College. Parks, schools, and churches also are found within the Subarea on both sides of I-90.

In 2012, the Eastgate/I-90 Land Use & Transportation Project (Eastgate/I-90 project) was completed. The study area boundaries of that project, which establishes a long-range vision for the I-90 business corridor, incorporate much, but not all, of the Eastgate subarea, as well as portions of the Factoria and Richards Valley subareas.

The Eastgate/I-90 project supports changes intended to capture market demand, improve transportation conditions, address concerns of the employment sector as well as the general public, and position the corridor to grow gracefully over time. It includes the following key elements:

• It builds on the success of the corridor as a major employment and office center, by adding capacity for additional office growth and allowing a greater mix of support retail and service uses.
• It establishes a mixed-use Transit-Oriented Development center around the transit center and south of Bellevue College. A substantial portion of the future office and residential growth in the corridor is expected to occur at this location.
• It increases opportunities for residential development in the corridor, to add vibrancy to the area, provide housing in proximity to Bellevue College and places of work, benefit from existing transit service, and support nearby retail uses.
• It seeks to enhance Bellevue College’s visual presence and connections to the adjacent community.
• It promotes the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway by supporting the development of the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway trail through Bellevue and by incorporating sustainable design and abundant natural landscaping into the built environment.
• It identifies modest but effective motorized and non-motorized transportation improvements that may be accomplished through partnerships with other agencies.
• It supports increased floor area ratios and building heights throughout the corridor to meet demand for continued job and economic growth.

This Subarea Plan provides a framework for Land Use Code amendments that will implement the vision of the Eastgate/I-90 Land Use & Transportation Project as summarized above.

Land Use

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-1. Focus Eastgate growth into a mixed use center adjacent to the Eastgate Transit Center with greater height and intensity than the surrounding area.

POLICY S-EG-2. Establish a pedestrian-oriented street that provides a community plaza and allows for connections between Bellevue College, the Eastgate Park and Ride, and the office, retail, and residential development in the transit-oriented development center.

POLICY S-EG-3. Encourage office and retail land uses that take advantage of freeway access, transit service, and non-motorized transportation alternatives without adversely impacting residential neighborhoods.

Discussion: Intense office development can generate adverse traffic impacts and block residential views. Site design also can impact residential quality. To support this policy, office and retail development should be well designed so that it is compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and be oriented around a multi-modal transportation system that reduces vehicular congestion and traffic impacts.

POLICY S-EG-4. Encourage the integration of restaurants and other commercial uses that serve local workers into and adjacent to office development to enhance the mix of uses within walking distance of employment areas.

Discussion: The reason for encouraging restaurants and other commercial services within office developments is to reduce vehicular traffic between the office parks and retail areas. Retail areas are intended to serve primarily local needs.

Environment

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-5. Protect the Vasa Creek riparian corridor from development to improve water quality, fisheries, and provide open space.

Discussion: The Vasa Creek riparian corridor has major segments that remain in a natural state. This creek is one of the few natural areas left in the Subarea and should be protected. A trail along the creek may be possible if environmental impacts can be avoided.

POLICY S-EG-6. Ensure that increases in impervious surface area or stormwater runoff will not increase the quantity or worsen the stormwater quality entering public drainage systems, streams, Phantom Lake, Lake Washington, and Lake Sammamish.

Discussion: Construction activities should control erosion and sedimentation. This could include seasonal limitation on grading activities, natural vegetative filtration, and use of the best available technology. Storm water quality from developments should be improved prior to discharge into the public drainage system.

POLICY-S-EG-7. Explore sub-regional stormwater detention as a future step to provide a more effective approach to stormwater control and mitigation and to achieve broader environmental benefits through coordinated treatment and detention across multiple properties.

Residential Development

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-8. [Repealed, Ordinance 6811]

POLICY S-EG-9. [Repealed, Ordinance 6811]

POLICY S-EG-10. [Repealed, Ordinance 6811]

POLICY S-EG-11. Encourage more opportunities for affordable housing in the Subarea by maintaining and rehabilitating existing housing stock.

Transportation and Circulation

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-12. Discourage commercial traffic from passing through local streets in single-family neighborhoods.

POLICY S-EG-13. Consider allowing a reduction in parking requirements where it is possible to do so because of proximity to transit.

POLICY S-EG-14. Improve safety, convenience, and access by ensuring that internal circulation systems are integrated with the street system to improve multi-modal mobility within and between developments.

POLICY S-EG-15. Collaborate with the Washington State Department of Transportation to relieve congestion created by vehicles entering and exiting Interstate 90.

POLICY S-EG-16. Develop the Mountains to Sound Greenway trail through the subarea to provide pleasant, safe, non-motorized facilities that provide local and regional connections.

Discussion: The Mountains to Sound Greenway trail connects the Puget Sound with central Washington along 100 miles of I-90. Within Bellevue, there is a 3 mile gap through the Eastgate area from Factoria to Bellevue city limits. Closing this gap will provide a transportation and recreation resource that will benefit Eastgate residents, visitors, and businesses.

POLICY S-EG-17. Improve connectivity within the subarea for pedestrians and bicycles where opportunities exist by integrating land uses, improving roadway safety for all modes of travel, and linking commercial, office, parks, and public spaces with trails and pathways.

POLICY S-EG-18. Encourage improvement of transit facilities and service to and from key points in the Eastgate Subarea.

Discussion: 142nd Place SE should be established as a frequent transit network corridor that reinforces the Transit Oriented Development Area, enhances bus service connections to Bellevue College, and is designed to serve as a gateway feature for the area. In addition, it may be possible to serve more parts of the Subarea, and to serve the Subarea more efficiently, by working with partner agencies and organizations.

Community Design

Policies

POLICY S-EG-19. Reinforce the area’s location on the Mountains to Sound Greenway, accentuate Eastgate as a major entry into Bellevue, and emphasize the emerging urban character of the Eastgate I-90 corridor through the application of land use regulations, public amenity incentives, and design guidelines.

POLICY S-EG-20. Provide graceful edges and transitions between more intense development and existing residential land uses by maximizing the use of existing vegetation and topography to buffer and maintain compatibility between different land uses through land use regulations.

POLICY S-EG-21. Consider design review for commercial, office, and mixed use development that promotes pedestrian-friendly design, ensures quality and a sense of permanence, promotes environmental sustainability and creates a distinct identity.

POLICY S-EG-22. Preserve the view amenities of adjacent single-family neighborhoods as development and redevelopment occurs.

POLICY S-EG-23. Discourage new development from blocking existing views from public spaces.

POLICY S-EG-24. Support the overall sustainability and green identity of the I-90 corridor consistent with the Mountains to Sound Greenway by including visibly recognizable natural features in public and private development. Examples include, but are not limited to green walls, façade treatments, green roofs, retained native vegetation, and abundant natural landscaping,

POLICY S-EG-25. Diminish the effect of rooftop equipment on views from residential areas by requiring rooftop equipment to be low-profiled and screened to match the building’s exterior color, building materials, and styles.

POLICY S-EG-26. Maintain the Subarea’s predominantly treed skyline and encourage preservation of existing stands of trees and landscaping.

POLICY S-EG-27. Encourage the State Department of Transportation to provide landscaping that clarifies access patterns and improves the appearance of their properties.

POLICY S-EG-28. Create community character in commercial, office, and mixed use development through the use of standards and incentives that support public art, street lighting, landscaping, distinctive building design, and pedestrian-oriented site design.

POLICY S-EG-29. Encourage the development of a dynamic public realm by integrating publicly accessible plazas, open spaces, and other gathering spaces within private development in commercial, office, and mixed use areas.

Parks and Open Space

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-30. Integrate a system of parks, recreational facilities, and open spaces that will benefit surrounding neighborhoods and help create an environment that supports healthy lifestyles.

POLICY S-EG-31. Create and encourage an interconnected system of non-motorized trails as a part of public and private development within the subarea that will link community amenities, provide recreational opportunities, and offer transportation benefits.

POLICY S-EG-32. Develop local connections to the Mountains to Sound Greenway through the subarea in order to enhance the trail as a local and regional recreational asset.

Coordination and Partnership

POLICIES

POLICY S-EG-33. Coordinate with Bellevue College, the State of Washington, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, county and regional agencies, the private sector, and others to implement the desired land use and transportation changes in this subarea plan.

POLICY S-EG-34. Support the evolution of Bellevue College according to its institutional mission and encourage campus growth that is physically and functionally integrated into surrounding land uses.

Planning District Guidelines

POLICIES

Planning District 1

POLICY S-EG-35. Retain significant vegetation and supplement vegetation on the steep slope along the southeast edge of Kamber Road between 137th Avenue S.E. and S.E. 24th Street.

POLICY S-EG-36. [Repealed, Ordinance 6811]

POLICY S-EG-37. [Repealed, Ordinance 6811]

Planning District 2

POLICY S-EG-38. Retain sufficient vegetation on the eastern side of the Sunset property to visually buffer Bellevue Community College.

POLICY S-EG-39. Screen industrial development from residences to the north of Kamber Road from light industrial development with a landscaped buffer.

POLICY S-EG-40. Protect the surrounding neighborhoods from future development in the I-90 Business Park by observing transition area requirements from residential uses as well as maintaining landscape buffers.

Discussion: Encourage retention of significant open space in the I-90 Business Park in conjunction with utilization of the remaining Development potential. Apply the OLB-OS designation in support of this policy. [Amended Ord. 5392]

POLICY S-EG-41. Rezone master planned areas in District 2 to be consistent with the underlying Land Use designation and implement the Eastgate Land Use and Transportation project vision when existing concomitant agreements affecting the site are renegotiated or repealed and upon approval of a new Master Development Plan.

Discussion: Large master planned projects in Eastgate are subject to Master Plan/Design Review requirements and conditions associated with concomitant zoning agreements that may prevent implementation of zoning consistent with the Eastgate Land Use and Transportation Project vision. Portions of the Sunset Corporate campus, subject to concomitant agreement 14463 and the area generally associated with the I-90 Corporate Campus, subject to concomitant agreements 6015, 11390, and 33217 should only be rezoned when the existing concomitant agreements are renegotiated or repealed.

POLICY S-EG-42. Encourage a mixed use area between Bellevue College and I-90 into a walkable, transit-oriented center at the level of intensity needed to create a vibrant mix of offices, residences, and locally-serving shops and restaurants that are urban in character.

POLICY S-EG-43. Retain neighborhood-serving commercial uses through flexible zoning that allows a rich combination of neighborhood retail and services.

POLICY S-EG-44. Consider the use of a land use incentive system in office and mixed use areas that incentivizes provision of infrastructure and amenities that offer public benefits through the potential for additional floor area ratio (FAR) and height.

Figure S-EG.1 Eastgate Planning Districts

⬚ figure

• ▲ Fire Stations
• -- Bellevue City Limits (2024)
• ■ Public Schools
• Lakes
• — Planning Districts
• Outside of Bellevue

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