Council Member Lee and Councilmember Hamilton remotely, and we have uh Councilmember Bargava is absent tonight.

Uh so let's start with the roll call.

Here.

Deputy Mayor Malikutian here.

And Councilmember Bargava, as the mayor mentioned, is absent.

Councilmember Hamilton.

Councilmember Lee.

Councilmember Lee is uh connecting currently, so we should have him online shortly.

And Councilmember Newman House.

Here.

Councilmember Simidoria.

Councilmember Summeduiria, would you please lead us in the flag sleep?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and America.

And to the Republic for witches fans, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

And just the world.

And it will be accepted by Elaine Waite White, a member of our own Bellevue Network on Aging.

Elaine, if you want to come sit up here at the Dais.

Thank you for being here.

And we have Franz Lowenhurst, too, from our transportation, a champion of Vision Zero.

Councilmember New Enhause, go ahead.

Whereas the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed annually on the third Sunday of November to honor those who have lost their lives or have been seriously injured on roadways and to recognize the families, the friends, the first responders affected by those tragedies.

And whereas in 2024, approximately 39,500 people in the United States and more than 730 people in Washington State lost their lives in traffic crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Each one a devastating reminder that traffic deaths are preventable.

And whereas between 2015 and 2024, 22 people lost their lives, and 232 sustained serious injuries on Bellevue streets.

Each loss ripples through our community, touching parents, children, siblings, friends, and neighbors.

And whereas the City of Bellevue remains firmly committed to its vision zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

Through its safe system approach, the city prioritizes safe road design, responsible behavior, equitable enforcement, and effective emergency response.

And whereas the 2025 World Day of Remembrance remind us that ending traffic violence requires shared responsibility from engineers and educators to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.

Now therefore I, Jared Newman House, on behalf of Lynn Robinson, mayor of the City of Bellevue, Washington, and on behalf of the City Council to hereby proclaim November 16th, 2025 as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Bellevue, and encourage all residents to join in a moment of silence to remember those impacted by traffic crashes and to reflect on our shared responsibility to create safer streets for everyone.

Councilmember?

Certainly.

Okay, let's uh can you say what we're doing this again for?

Just reread that part.

The World Day of Remembrance for Road.

Put your mic on.

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

All right, we'll have a moment of silence right now.

And remembrance for the many road traffic victims that we so hard tried to avoid having.

Thank you.

My name is Elaine White, and I'm honored to have been asked here tonight to accept this proclamation for the World Day of Remembrance.

On the beautiful clear evening of December 21st, 2023, my favorite older brother was killed while out on his evening bike ride in West Seattle.

This was an activity he loved, cycling, and he did it often, all times of the day, and in all seasons of the year.

He was a member of Cascade Bicycle Club, was a ride leader, taught cycling safety, and was a member of Cascade's elite cycling team.

He was an accomplished, able and alert cyclist.

He had no chance against that Chevy Tahoe, which was making a left-hand turn.

The resulting impact ended Steve's beautiful life far too soon.

The entire story from the night of the collision to the resolution of the court case in June of this year, which resulted only in community service for that driver, has been sheer heartache for my family and Steve's entire community.

He was so well loved because he was a good man and he has deeply missed.

We simply must do better to protect vulnerable users.

Far too many people in our communities live with the senseless loss of a loved one due to road traffic collisions.

While many involve folks driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, this is not always the case.

Distractions, cell phones, inattentive driving, and unsafe speeds also contribute to these tragic road crashes.

The day of remembrance gives family members and advocates a chance to address our local governments to highlight the work we must do to improve roadway safety and to amplify the proven strategies, including redesigning dangerous roads, installing traffic calming devices, reducing speed limits and installing electronic devices to encourage compliance to existing laws.

I am an avid pedestrian in this city, and I have been nearly hit more than one on one occasion.

I am also a driver in this community, and I drive the speed limit.

Sometimes drivers speed past me, and I simply say, in the silence of my car, I pray you never lose a loved one or cause a fatality or injury because you're in such a big hurry.

It's time for us to care more for one another.

No municipality can legislate, can legislate kindness or common sense, but we can hold folks accountable for the driving choices they make.

Council surely understands the importance of street safety, and I thank you for acknowledging this world day of remembrance, and thank you all for your service.

Thank you.

Did you want to say anything, Franz?

Okay.

Look, can we come down and do a picture with you?

Would you be okay with that?

Okay.

Such a small crew here tonight.

Um, is there a motion to approve the agenda?

I move to approve the agenda.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Uh so city clerk, do we have anyone signed up for oral communications?

Yes, thank you.

There are nine preregisters.

So before I start calling names, I'll go over a few of the rules that the council has in place.

So the total time for oral communications is for a period not to exceed 30 minutes.

And all topics must relate to City of Bellevue government.

People speaking to items on tonight's agenda will be called first, and then if time remains, people speaking to items not on tonight's agenda will be called.

In both of those categories, the presiding officer has the authority to give preference to those who have not spoken to counsel within the last 60 days, or who will be speaking on topics that will come in front of council within the next 60 days.

And also I want to remind folks that in compliance with Washington State campaign laws regarding the use of public facilities.

No speaker may support or oppose a ballot measure or support or oppose a candidate for election, including one's own campaign.

If people begin speaking on those topics, they will be asked to stop.

And with that, I'll call our first speaker who is Court Olsen.

And just as a general rule to everybody, I hope that we can have be polite and speak without swearing or using bad words or calling people names, because I know that we all have the ability to do that.

I'm going to ask Mr.

Zimmerman when it's he's sitting there not to wave his sign and block the people behind him and not to disrupt the meeting because I will call you out on that.

And with that, welcome.

Thank you.

You've uh met each of us before individually and together.

Um so you know our faces.

Barb and Bill and I had uh planned give three-minute comments tonight, but um we've we changed our minds on uh not taking that time.

Last night we emailed you the three-minute comments that we intended to deliver, and so you've had the opportunity perhaps to uh look at them.

In any case, we decided not to take the time tonight to uh read those to you, and instead uh we want to just concisely say what uh we feel deeply in our hearts about the subject of the sustainable Bellevue strategy narrative that's in your consent agenda tonight.

Uh I'll just start off by saying time is short to curb global warming emissions before it is too late.

Uh strategic plan must shine a beam of light that precisely illuminates the right way forward.

There won't be a second choice.

Um so we what we're we're not against the adoption of the plan.

We would just like it to be delayed until all the edits that we've requested um have been incorporated, and we really feel like if we take a little bit more time to do that, that that will truly set Bellevue up to actually meet its targets.

We're afraid the way that it is now that we're not going to be set on a path to meet our 2035 or our 2050 targets.

So we'll help you take a look at those and seriously consider making uh the changes.

They're small, they should be quick and are pretty straightforward.

Um thanks for your consideration.

So please give this uh staff a little more time to uh shine a better focused light on the sustainability future that we all need to have.

Have a good evening.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

I will skip to our fourth speaker then.

Thank you.

Uh that is Mickey Larimer.

Okay, I never know how to use mics, so they're perfect.

All right, good evening, council members.

My name is Mickey Larimer.

I just want to briefly speak to you tonight about the next step in the creation of the new Eastgate Park.

Um, first, I want to sincerely thank all of you.

I want to thank the Parks Commission, and I also want to thank our wonderful Parks Department staff with a special acknowledgement for Zaryan Smith, who has been a really great collaborating collaborative partner to the community on this project.

Umborhood park from the city, and it will make such a difference to our neighborhood's community.

Um, particularly to the young families who really need a walkable green space where they can play, where they can make neighborhood connections.

Um, I just want to voice my support for the design option that's going before you tonight, and um, to encourage you to approve it.

Um I have to admit I'm not a fan of the current name choice, but I do understand that this is what the process has churned out.

Um, what is most important is that the crucial elements for a beautiful, useful neighborhood park are well accomplished in this design, and that we have begun chipping away at the parks desert that exists in much of residential Eastgate.

Look forward to moving out forward on war parks in the future.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker on our list is Christopher Randalls.

And Mr.

Randalls, if you're joining us virtually, if you could you please raise your hand.

Okay, I don't see a hand.

And I'll move to our next speaker, which is Christopher Peters.

Good evening.

Welcome.

Council and Mayor.

Um I'm Chris Peters.

I live at 1445, 159th Avenue, Southeast in Bellevue.

And I tried to bring in some documents for your review this evening pertaining to the issue that I'm going to address briefly.

Uh those documents include letters sent to council and some police reports related to activity from the offending party.

Uh the neighbor of mine who uh spent considerable amount of time trying to document much better than I did, uh the offenses that have been uh occurring pr primarily within the last three years, but these date back a total of 26 years.

They began in 1999.

Um and I'm uh aware of the petition itself because I was a signatory to that.

Um there were 22 neighbors, I believe, that were signatories to the petition uh to council to uh examine the issue and seeking remedies.

Um I also sent some correspondence to the city in the past, some of it goes way back, um, dating to the first uh visit that we had from Bellevue Police to develop a case and uh hopefully develop a path of rebu uh remediation.

So in 1999, Chip Bellgren, who resides at uh 15816 Southeast 16th, he is a 41-year-old son of the property owner, Betty Algren, and he has installed an amplified sound system consisting of equipment, uh PA equipment and uh musical amplification at that property, and he has purposely aimed uh physically pointed the equipment and directed the uh sound at residence along 159th.

He's played recorded music um at length, including uh ad lib profanity that uh is used with a microphone uh over the music, and um random uh hours uh would be at it any time during the daytime and also uh more effectively uh at night, and we've vlogged these between 10 a.m.

and 5 a.m.

in the morning, 10 p.m.

to 5 a.m.

in the next morning.

Um so following these high-powered audio system events, uh Bellevue Police have been called uh to 911 calls, and there have been over 45 of those calls uh just this year alone.

Mr.

Peters, yes, my apologies, but your time has expired.

I'd encourage you to email the rest of your comments to the council.

Thank you very much.

Please do our next speaker on the list is uh I'll circle back to Christopher Randalls because I do see him online now.

Mr.

Randalls, can you hear me?

Yes, I can.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Your time begins now.

Excellent.

Uh good evening, Mayor Robinson, Deputy R.

Malicutium, Council members and staff.

Uh Chris Randalls of Complete Streets Bellevue, expressing our organization's strong appreciation of your proclamation facing in honor of the World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic victims.

Um I also want to take the time to thank Ms.

White for sharing her heartfelt story and express my personal condolences, Ms.

White for the loss of your brother.

Council members, there's no need to tell you all that Delview residents care about safety.

That's a value that's ingrained in every level of our city government and municipal culture.

And that Delview has had a vision zero policy for so long is a testament to that culture.

But we need to think of community safety as more than law enforcement and police.

About social safety nets and infrastructure that gives everyone the tools they need to survive, thrive and live their lives with agency.

The proclamation issued tonight recognizes that everybody who has ever been seriously injured or lost their life to crashes on our streets with somebody someone.

That traffic violence can happen to any one of us, to any one of our families just while we're going about our day is a reason why we must refuse to accept it as normal or as a cost of doing business.

We have seen that vision zero is possible in other places, including right here in the United States, and it's possible in Bellevue too.

Our leaders are the responsibility to make it possible, not just through our proclamations and plans, but through our infrastructure and actions.

In the first 10 months of 2025, three people have died, and 30 people have been seriously injured on Bellevue Street.

That's 33 families whose lives have been forever changed, each because of one small moment.

And that's already on phase to exceed last year's record total.

This is not an indictment of the many actions that the city is undertaking or claiming that we don't work.

On the contrary, lower speeds, narrower travel lines, on street multimodal facilities, and other countermeasures outlined in our plans are all data backed solutions that save lots.

Who knows what our statistics would be if the city weren't doing anything at all?

What these data show, and what you should take away from them is the need for renewed urgency.

In a city of such great resources, strong values, and data-oriented leadership like Bellevue.

There is no excuse not to be the first major West Coast city to achieve zero serious injuries and fatalities on our streets by 2030 with a rapid implementation of proven safety countermeasures.

The work towards vision zero has already begun, but it continues in the many discussions to come in the MIP in the budget in informational briefings and beyond.

What we ask of you is to, at every stage of the process in every project meeting, at every opportunity.

Commit to the resources and infrastructure solutions that will guarantee that everyone is able to get around Bellevue safely in the way that works for them and their family, whether walking, biking, rolling, taking transit or drive.

Guaranteeing safe access for all who live, work, and travel in Bellevue is our organization's part, and it's how we look forward to engaging with you all into next year and beyond.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Enrico Hampton.

Great.

Uh good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Enrica Hampton.

I serve as the director of early learning programs at Kindering, a nonprofit neurodevelopmental organization that was founded in Bellevue more than 60 years ago.

Each year we serve over 600 Bellevue children with diverse abilities and needs.

Tonight I will focus on how child care and preschool consultation and parent education and family support, advance your vision of thriving people and communities, as I personally oversee these programs and also serve as a child care consultant.

Bellevue's Human Services Needs Update highlights a gap in child care access, especially for families with children with diverse abilities and needs.

Child care workers are the workers behind the workers.

Child care and preschool consultation is designed specifically to support child care providers in meeting the needs of the children and families in their care.

As expressed by one child care director, quote, it seems like there are so many children we have questions about.

End quote.

Teachers are reporting increased sensory and behavioral challenges, and many families are managing significant stressors, such as financial hardship, housing instability, and immigration concerns.

There are also major disparities in early learning.

Children with disabilities are more than 14 times more likely to be suspended or expelled from preschool than their typically developing peers, and black preschoolers are three times more likely to be expelled than white children.

Losing child care is enormously disruptive for families, sometimes forcing parents to reduce hours or leave the for workforce entirely.

Child care and preschool consultation helps prevent those outcomes by providing free on-site observation, consultation, and training to help teachers implement inclusive practices and support children who are engaging in behaviors that challenge.

Last year, 95% of the children referred to our child care and preschool consultation program were retained in their child care settings.

Our parent education and family support program also plays a crucial role.

In alignment with the human services needs update, which highlights the need for accessible developmental guidance.

We offer culturally respectful coaching sessions to help caregivers address behavioral concerns and reduce stress at home.

The city's investments in these programs support children, families, and educators, strengthening the early learning ecosystem as a whole.

Thank you for your partnership and for your commitment to inclusion and belonging for Bellevue's youngest learners.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I think our next speaker is Michelle Wanamaker, who's joining us virtually.

Miss Wanamaker, can you hear me?

Yes, can you hear me?

We can.

Your time begins now.

Mayor Robinson and Council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you.

My name is Michelle Wanamaker.

I live in Eastgate, and my address is on file.

I was really very disappointed with the naming ideas for our new park that Eastgate residents had to choose from and have heard from others who feel the same.

This is not the fault of the project manager.

It is just that no one came up with a really creative name, myself included.

I've also heard from some who just dislike the name chosen or would like to change a word or two.

I would love to come up with a park name as creative as we own a park.

But inspiration just isn't striking me, and it seems it didn't strike anyone else either.

I've heard that Nan Campbell, Bellevue's first female mayor, has been proposed.

But to the best of my knowledge, she had no ties to Eastgate.

In fact, I don't think Eastgate was even part of Bellevue during her tenure as mayor, given that we were annexed into the city in 2012.

I think Nan Campbell deserves to be honored by naming a parker building after her, but that it should be located in the neighborhood that she had ties to.

So I definitely oppose naming Eastgate's new park after her.

I wonder if now that the naming of the East Gates New Mini Park is a little more public, given that it is it is in the city council agenda, if it would be possible to reopen the naming suggestions, but reopen it for suggestions citywide.

However, I believe the Eastgate residents should still be the ones to decide which name is selected for the new Eastgate Park.

Instead of selecting from the current name suggestions, I would like to propose that after the holidays are over, we reopen the naming suggestions, but this time open it citywide and require that each suggestion includes what neighborhood and city the suggester lives in.

Plus, allow people to submit multiple suggestions at once or one or a time or one day at a time, and provide an optional field for an explanation of why they think this name makes sense.

IT people can be creative people, so maybe our vast brain trust here on the East Side can help us out by coming up with a more creative name.

Also, if we could come up with some sort of prize that would be given to the person whose suggestion is chosen by Eastgate residents, that would encourage people to brainstorm.

For example, a $50 MasterCard gift card.

I would even be willing to donate the gift card myself, so there would be there would be no cost to the city.

But I really think the city still needs to manage the naming process as they can publicize this much better and more widely than we can.

Can we make this happen?

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker on the list is Matthew Kervink.

Good evening, fellow neighbors and city leaders.

Uh I'm concerned about agenda item 12b, the adoption of ordinance 6879 regarding land use, fire survey, transportation, grading, and clearing review and inspection services.

Right now, pre-application fees and their connections to developers are happening behind closed doors.

This creates confusion, unequal access, and the real risk that decisions are shaped by influence rather than public need.

As a union representative for the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, and as someone who believes Bellevue must put its people first, I recommend the city adopt a transparency ordinance.

A transparency ordinance would require clear, timely disclosure of who is paying what, when meetings occur, and any relationships between applicants, city staff, and outside consultants.

This levels of playing field for residents, small businesses, and workers who rely on predictable fair planning.

It strengthens public trust, prevents favoritism, ensures our city grows in a way that benefits everyone, not just the well-connected.

Bellevue can lead the region with honest accountable government.

Pass a transpass a transparency ordinance for pre-application ties now for fairness for trust for the Bellevue community.

Also, as a representative, I'd like to say we visit workers on your guys' projects, and we get called out to deal with several issues to identify and help these people with certain worker exploitation uh cases, work like misclassification, wage theft, tax fraud, and passing a transparency ordinance would help close a loophole on all that.

So please consider passing the transparency ordinance.

Thank you.

I have language I'll share with you.

Okay, thank you.

The next speaker on the list is Joe Cunzler, who's joining us virtually.

Mr.

Consor, can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Your time begins now.

Why, thank you for calling on me this evening.

Um, as you can tell, I'm not feeling physically well this evening, but I'm all abent.

Uh, a couple of things come to buy this evening.

The first off is just so you're aware, I put uh on Reddit.

Um Mr.

Suburban's last disruption of your chambers, and it got 9.7k views of 9,700 views, and yet somehow he hasn't been excluded for six months, which really makes me wonder who's in charge of Bellevue City Hall.

This individual continues to disrupt your meetings, race to Kirkland and with the full support of Kirkland Mayer, Kelly Curtis, uh hurl hate at your you and your colleagues.

It's not acceptable.

And I've called on South City's association to address this.

Uh among others.

I go to Claudia Badass UT.

Um but um and I hope it's clear to Alex that you need to stop disrupting your meetings.

Period.

It's not okay.

It's uh not the way we not not the reason why I stayed up for people feeding exact over the years.

I worked on renovations for it.

But I also want to call it about something else to cap the pine if it's okay, and that is I've been thinking a lot the past two days about seafare as an air show guy.

Um, I'm really worried with the new mayor of um Seattle, the new mayor of Seattle is not a fan of the polygels.

New mayor is uh very progressive, very left-wing crazy.

Um, so I'm thinking maybe Bellevue might want to ask staff to prepare an initial report what it would take to turn Biden Hour Bay into show center for Seafare Air Show weekend.

Uh, I'm sure you'll like uh have the blue little fly by and also the hydroplates all uh tear up very higher bay, uh, or someplace on the east side.

Um figure that might be a good idea to make sure we continue to keep seafaring alive regardless of whoever delayed it, whatever happens in the mayor's office of Seattle.

Um I think we have reason to be concerned as a region about the future of C Fair.

And I know it's two topics, I know it's taking up a lot of your time.

I do not see a timer on my screen, so I hate it.

Oh, I do on YouTube.

Let's bid off by about 30 seconds.

So I got 30 seconds left.

So I I'm just gonna ask the Bellevue City Council, please make the order in your chambers and make sure that the mayor is actually in charge of Bellevue City Hall.

And if there's any more disruptions, that Suburban is excluded for the full six months.

Thank you for your public service as always.

Good night.

Is Alex Zimmerman?

Thank you.

Yeah, my name is Alex Zimmerman, and I want to speak about something that is, I think, very dangerous and a very hot potato now.

For my understanding, you speak today about how many people die in traffic.

Your statement look to me like you don't do nothing, and you don't feel responsible for death of dozen and dozen people.

So I right now show two people who can understand your principle.

What is you handle the city?

I live in the city for 40 years.

So by definition, everything comes from you.

You're guilty from every dead what has happened from traffic.

Number one.

We have right now, for the last few years, in exactly under six years of Mayor Robinson.

We bring people from different countries.

For example, 65,000 from India, 45,000 from Chinese.

I don't think so.

These people know how to drive car.

I drive car for 60 years.

I probably can be instructor or advise how this happened.

For drive a car, need minimum 10 years.

But Bellevue have right now a situation that is absolutely critical because Bellevue, you know, I talk about this many times for many years.

Don't exist for city what is have a big traffic.

So this only beginning, and when you bring another 30,000 Amazonian, you know what is meant.

That will be more and more.

You by definition criminal, your killer.

Is this exactly what is come from you?

Is this very important?

You dude, what is you doing?

Red camera, 15 years.

You talk, I'm talking about this.

This only 5 million dollars, 30,000.

This change nothing.

Right now you want 40 speed limit.

This cannot change nothing.

Speed not important.

Red camera not important.

Important how people drive.

So we have right now 120,000 people from different countries, only 30,000 white.

When I come for a year ago, there's 140,000 all white.

Probably best driving.

So these people cannot drive.

And you're very quiet about this.

You don't do it nothing.

We need to clean this city in stopping.

Maybe maybe from the many never touch car in their life.

It's a question, what is you have?

You're doing this now.

You prefer killer.

You talk, no, we're not guilty.

You're not guilty.

Who's guilty?

You all possibly be in jail because everything comes from government.

First fish always thinking from you from from head.

It's exactly what's happened.

So people that are skilled right now in Bell, it's your responsibility totally.

You're supposed to be all in jail.

This is exactly what's happened in civilized country.

Viva Trump, Viva New American Revolution.

Stand up, Slave and Happy Cow.

We need something doing about them.

Cleanse this chamber, cleanse this killer, cleanse this bandita.

Thank you very much.

That is the end of our pre-registered list, but we do have time for one additional speaker.

So I'd ask if anyone else is joining us this evening who would like to make a comment to the council.

Please raise your hand, and that includes those online.

Okay, Mayor, I don't see any additional hands.

I'll pass it back to you.

Okay, thank you.

Uh we are on to the report of the city manager.

Ms.

Carlson, would you like to proceed?

Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council members.

Um tonight we have um staff of our Bellevue Essentials program, Serena Miller, who runs the program, and two of the graduates um here, uh, Anjali Jane and Carlos Bassana.

And they are here to share a little bit about the 2025 Bellevue Essentials class.

Um, this program stands out as being a very successful model of uh welcoming our community members and informing them about Bellevue government.

And um participants learn about how the city works and they become engaged in our community as a result.

And with that, I'll hand it over to Serena to tell us a little bit about the 2025 program.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Mayor Robinson, Deputy Mayor, Malikutian, and Council members.

Tonight I'm excited to share information on the 13th year of the city's civic engagement program, Bellevue Essentials.

First off, I would like to thank the City Council for your ongoing dedication to Bellevue Essentials.

I'm also grateful for the one city staff effort across all departments who make the program possible.

Tonight's presentation is for information only.

No action is needed.

Throughout their classes, the 2025 cohort learned about the inner workings of city government, how it partners together with the community, and left with the tools and passion to create change.

To recruit this year's cohort, we promoted through social media, information sessions, and publications like It's Your City, Neighborhood News, and 425 magazine.

We also appreciated support from the Bell Red Arts District, Bellevue Chamber, Bellevue Downtown Association, Bellevue Farmers Market, and many others in spreading the word.

Now let me tell you all about the class of 2025.

Our 36 graduates were selected by an alumni committee that worked to create a cohort varied in age, representing all neighborhoods, and reflecting diverse backgrounds and experiences.

This cohort was incredibly inquisitive and delved deep into each session.

In the past 10 weeks, they have learned, questioned, explored, and connected with one another, now joining a network of engaged and knowledgeable individuals who can serve as ambassadors for the city and community.

Along with presentations and activities with most city departments, financial support from Amazon allowed the class to enjoy a day-long bus tour highlighting neighborhood character and city parks.

Other class highlights included a visit to many city hall and South Bellevue Community Center, Bell Red's art doc art district walking tour focused on arts and development, and an off-site utility session at the Bellevue Service Center.

A new session on affordable housing was also added this year.

Additionally, we are grateful to each council member for taking the time to attend a session and share your knowledge and insight.

With this graduating class, the Bellevue Essentials Extended, B's, Alumni Network totals 443 graduates.

The alumni remain actively engaged, with several volunteering at Bellview Essentials classes this year, many serving in their neighborhood and with organizations like Mary's Place, Jubilee Reach, Hopelink, and more, and over 80 having served on boards and commissions in the past 13 years.

Now, the best people to share the impact of Bellby Essentials are our graduates.

Introducing Anjali Jane, a Bellevue resident of one year, and Carlos Bassana, a Bell V resident of 10 years.

There's also a few members of the class in the room tonight.

They can just raise their hands.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you.

I'll now turn it over to Anjali.

Thank you, Serena.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Anjali Jan, and I'm honored to be part of Bellevue Essential 2025 cohort.

And to represent our class tonight.

When I joined this program, I had no idea how transformative it would be.

These weeks have been fully empowering, showing me the effort and dedication that make Bellevue the vibrant and inclusive city it is.

Every session taught me something new, but public safety and utilities were especially transformative for me.

They helped me understand the challenges, the decision making, and how even a small contribution can make a meaningful impact.

Having lived in different states and countries over the past two decades, I always believed in Fasudev Kutumbakam.

A Sanskrit phrase meaning the world is one family.

I try to give back wherever I go, and Bellevue has been no exception.

This program showed me there is so much more I can contribute to the community I now call home.

Bellevue Essential gave me not just knowledge, but belonging, purpose, and pride.

It reminded me that change begins with understanding and understanding begins with connection.

Lastly, I would like to thank City of Bellevue City staff, my class and my family for their support.

With this, I would like to hand it over to my classmate Carlos so he can share his experience and journey with us tonight.

Thank you.

Thank you, Anjali.

Sorina, good evening, everyone.

It is a pleasure to be speaking to you all.

My name is Carlos Passano, and for the past two months, I've had the amazing privilege of being part of a unique cohort where we embarked on a journey talking, learning about Bellevue's departments, governance, and community.

Going into a little bit of background, I moved to Bellevue 10 years ago at the age of 12, pretty much growing up here.

Having lived in crossroads and now the neighborhood of Northwest Bellevue, it feels good to call Bellevue my home in a place I'd want to stay for as long as possible.

After some previous engagements with the city, such as the Naturalist Program and as part of the 2044 strategy team, it's been always a pleasure to be doing specific engagement.

Like previous cohorts, this one welcomed many with such diverse backgrounds and from all ages as we learn about the city.

With every session, it's always something special, but with one reoccurring theme where we all that we learn is showing the importance of taking care and giving back to your city, where we understand and reflect on how things started, how things got to where they are, and what are the hard questions and next steps we all have to ask.

Doing this all together with our different perspectives is the best part of being in this program.

It would also be dismissive of me not to mention how this program allows you to learn both what the city has to offer and what you can offer to the city.

From community centers, arts, amazing technologies, such as adaptive traffic signals and new developments.

Bell V has done an amazing job at accomplishing this, and through this program and community building, it can only be done better.

To the rest of the cohort.

And once again, thank you for your support on Bell V Essentials and Mike, along with our new coordinator of the program, Serena, both whose tireless energy has always helped us in keeping us engaged during these evening sessions.

Thank you all as well for your work on this, which continues to inspire and engage our city's residents.

Thank you, Anjali and Carlos.

The class of 2025 graduates tomorrow here at City Hall, with the ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.

Graduation is open to the community, and we hope you can join us in celebrating the cohort.

For those interested in applying for the class of 2026, applications will open in the spring.

Visit the city website to subscribe for email notifications, alerting you to when the application period begins.

Thank you, Council, for having us here tonight and for your support of the program.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Sullivan, for bringing that for us.

Okay.

Uh next step or is the consent calendar.

Is there a motion to approve?

I move to uh I've approved the consent calendar.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, so we have two study session items tonight.

I think we'll do the first one and then we'll take a small break and move on to the second one.

So go ahead, City Manager.

Thank you, Mayor.

Council members, Deputy Mayor.

Uh, tonight, the first study session is Eastgate Neighborhood Park, as you heard from Oral Communications.

And this is the design and naming recommendation.

This new park is culmination of efforts to address the need for parks in the residential areas of Eastgate neighborhood south of I-90.

And it is in response to many years of engaged community activity from members of the area.

And the city acquired a couple of parcels in 2022.

Staff will share that background with you today.

And thanks to the parks and community services staff and the parks board for working with the Eastgate community to develop the preferred park design and a recommendation to council for the naming.

So we have uh Cameron Parker, our assistant director in Parks and Community Services.

Sorry and Smith, the Capitol Projects Coordinator, and the chair of the Parks Board, Rowena Klima.

And with that, I will turn it over to Cameron.

Thank you, City Manager Carlson, and good evening, uh, Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Council.

We are uh very pleased to be here tonight to share with you an update on Bellevue's next newest park that is coming soon to the Eastgate neighborhood.

After presenting the uh preferred design option for your review, uh we are hoping to leave this evening with uh consensus direction on a preferred name and bring that back for a final action at a later date.

For our presentation, uh presentation has two overall components.

Uh first we'll share details on the community engagement process that led to the preferred design.

And uh within that process, uh we also included outreach on uh name suggestions to solicit options and preferences on names as well.

Both design and name are included in a recommendation from the parks and community services board.

So this is a uh overview overview map of the city with uh the Eastgate neighborhood uh outlined in black on the southern portion of the map.

The red star indicates the approximate location of the park site.

Um the map to the left depicts areas that were mostly shaded in white that uh these are areas where uh that are outside of walkable distance for any parks, trails, or open space.

This is a close-up of uh the park site.

It's a two-parcel uh residential site at the intersection of 147th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 39th Street, and in total, the total approximate size of the site is about one half acre.

Throughout this project, uh we engaged in uh numerous uh public engagement and outreach activities, including uh participating at tabling events.

Uh we've created a project web page uh that is updated according to the project progressing.

Um it does have a pretty extensive subscriber list.

Um we've also used parks social media for uh including updates about the project amongst other items, including neighborhood news and other outlets.

We also have held a series of uh community meetings starting back in uh July of 2024.

Uh three community meetings were held at uh South Bellevue uh that's South Bellevue Community Center, and uh we also had uh three park board meetings.

All of our planning processes have uh referred to and use the Bellevue Parks and Open Space System plan as a guideline uh for some of our design and concepts.

Uh any park amenities or items that were identified in the parks and open space plans, such as the need for shelters was considered for this project and added where appropriate originally there were three conceptual designs developed for this park.

Uh we took feedback from the community and from the park board about each of those designs and consolidated the three of them into two designs.

Both of these designs consider and contain the same major features, which include play structures, open lawn areas, and a covered shelter, although the design and the layouts um change uh drastically between the two.

Option one A features a large centralized open lawn area with a more formal rectangular shape with a large covered shelter on the south end of the park property and um a place structure area to the north.

Option two A has a split oval design with a covered shelter in the middle that opens up to a centralized pavilion area.

And again, it contains also the same major features such as play structure areas, covered shelters, and also an open lawn area.

We shared uh both of these designs with the community and with the park board uh and asked for uh what they value most in the park amenities and infrastructures, and we had a consistent um response for again the flexible lawns, gathering areas, covered shelters, and structures.

We also asked uh what the preferred design option between the two were, and uh there was a substantial uh preference for option two A, which was the curvilinear uh oval design.

We also asked as a part of a public survey uh what uh what suggestions might be out there for names.

Uh in cons in consistency with our park naming policy.

We this effort resulted in about 70 submittals for names.

We balanced each of those names against our policy, and that left us with five about five um name results that we also put back out to the community to determine what would be the preferred choice out of those five.

Um Eastgate Commons emerged out of this group of five for park names.

Some of the others that were considered repeater right park, uh, which was a name of an individual that uh was a former resident of Eastgate and was uh influential when starting the neighbors association.

Uh Conifer Green, um, which kind of references the nature of the site and its many uh large uh mature trees.

Lang Team Park, um, which refers to a uh Chinese historical Chinese garden, and Tai Yi Park, which just referenced the proximity to Tai Middle School.

And now I will turn it over to Rowanna for uh perspective from uh the parks board as far as recommendation and considerations.

Thank you, council members, for inviting us into the chambers tonight to discuss this exciting park project in the Eastgate neighborhood.

During the past year, the Parks Board studied and discussed the design concepts for the neighborhood park in Eastgate at three park board meetings.

Board members also also attended the public outreach events, including the three community meetings at the South Bellevue Community Center and the parks table at the Eastgate Neighborhood Block Party.

The sentiment from the community has been mostly positive with very constructive commons.

Neighbors, including members of the Eastgate Neighborhood Association, uh showed extreme excitement to finally have a park in this area that's relatively underserved by parks.

The project strongly aligns with the goals of the parks and open spaces system plan, which included development priorities for things like additional smaller neighborhood parks, open areas for unstructured play, and improved walkable access to parks.

This project also aligns with the voter-supported City of Bellevue Parks open and open space 2022 levy, which had a goal to use funds to acquire plan and develop a park in the Eastgate neighborhood.

At the September 2025 Parks Board meeting, the board deliberated over the final options for the conceptual park design and park name.

I'm here to share that the board recommends to council conceptual design option two A and the park name Eastgate Commons.

These recommendations are based on the following considerations.

First, the design.

Community feedback showed significant support for option two A.

The design reflects a type of park amenities which were identified by surveys, and that the board heard from neighbors during community outreach.

The amenities, again, an open flexible lawn space, play structures, a community gathering area, covered shelter, comfortable seating, and keeping the existing trees.

In addition to amenities, the board dove into discussions about safety.

Due to features such as this new park being on the corner of the street, there's significant concern about children's safety.

And 2A is well designed so parents could comfortably keep an eye on their kids playing and that kids wouldn't easily run off onto the street.

And being that this is a conceptual plan, as the final touches become more refined, staff reassured us safety for children at play will remain a top priority.

We also had some talks about concern for the immediately adjacent neighbors.

Once again, as this is a conceptual design, staff reassured us that they will continue to work with these neighbors to discuss topics like fences and buffers to address concerns for privacy, safety, and noise.

In short, concept two A incorporates the public's feedback for amenities and safety, is a very efficient use of space, and is aesthetically pleasing.

And for additional insight, the board voted on concept 2A unanimously.

Next a name, the board recommends the name Eastgate Commons, a name that evokes the sentiment of an area belonging to the whole of the community.

The community showed support for this name on the survey, and the board also voted on this name unanimously.

So once again, the park sport parks and community services board recommends the city council conceptual design option two A and the park name Eastgate Commons.

I'll pass it back to Zaryan for next steps.

Thank you.

This is a uh project timeline.

Um after tonight, we hope to return to council for an official name adoption um later this quarter.

Uh, and then followed by remove uh moving directly into design permitting and construction documentation.

Uh possibly a two-year, one and a half to two-year process uh with construction coming afterward in 2028.

So at this point, um I'll be happy to take uh any questions actually may have.

Great.

Thank you so much, and thank you, Chair, for being here tonight.

We'll start with Councilmember Hamilton, who's uh liaison for the parks and community services board.

Any comments or questions, Councilmember?

Yes.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um so appreciate the presentation.

Um good to see uh everyone there.

Um appreciate uh Cameron and Zarian for sure, and a big thank you to the Parks Board and Chair Klima for all of the effort they put into this work.

Um the board actively engaged with the community, listened carefully and right relied heavily on community input and drafting their recommendation.

The board followed the council approved naming resolution and drafting their recommendation.

The board also benefited from a tremendous amount of community input on the design and naming recommendation for the new park.

It's exciting to see all of the support and enthusiasm.

One of our annual neighborhood walks took place in Eastgate this last summer, so many of us have already had the chance to see the location of the new park, what's there now, and be able to imagine what will be there before too long.

The new park in East in the Eastgate neighborhood will go a long way to adding much needed park space in an area of the city that definitely needs and deserves it.

I believe the board has advanced a thoughtful recommendation.

I'm interested in hearing from my colleagues and ready to move forward with the community supported board recommendation.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember Lee Thank you, Madame Mayor.

Uh, since uh I'm not meeting in person, I miss it.

I would love to be in person.

So I want to make it short and sweet.

I appreciate the box board taking on this uh great uh task because I believe that a city park is what Bobby is called, and they do does need a community park, uh, even though it's a newly relatively annexed.

The last piece of annex uh significantly piece of land to Bellevue.

Uh we appreciate you know its residence and it's been there for a long time.

It's almost like few like Paul of Bellevue.

So I think uh we do have facilities like South Community Center, we have the Thai Junior High.

We've got uh uh, you know, the um number of uh facilities amenities around there.

Uh so I believe that is appropriate.

So I support and I appreciate having the money and the plan because of the open space park levy, uh the resources available to do so.

So I think it's a good timing, it's a right place.

And uh the question is about the naming, and I heard what uh some of the residents suggested, and uh I think it's appropriate that perhaps some source can be put into it.

Um this being somewhat of a uh confusion to me.

Uh and not even sort of venting when we discuss uh naming in the the last couple of years, I remember we talk about Mursa Salo.

And also Newport Hills has some questions regarding how this should be named.

So I think this is probably a good time to spend some time uh looking at it, thinking about it, how it'd be appropriate to honor Bell use uh past, present, and future.

So uh I support this, and uh at this time I think we probably should have a little bit of a conversation on the naming.

Otherwise, I support this concept to support the location.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Councilmember Newenhouse.

Thank you, Mayor.

I love it.

This is uh uh been a goal for this council for quite some time, as you've rightly pointed out.

Uh Cameron uh Zarian and uh Chair Kleiner, thank you for being here.

Thanks for the great presentation.

Uh it's been the park desert or sorry, uh yeah, park desert for quite a while, right?

So um where we're one step closer.

Question with that timeline there.

Was it 2728 for permitting can construction or construction would start in 2028?

So we're looking 2029 for potentially it opening?

2026 and 2027 for committee.

Okay.

2028 for construction.

Okay.

Construction and then actually opening.

Roughly.

Roughly 2029.

I mean, I'm giving you a lot of 2028, 2029.

Okay, thank you.

See?

Wasn't that hard?

Um, great presentation.

Uh, I'm happy with the uh with the uh level engagement with the uh with the community.

Um it's always challenging when it comes to uh to to naming.

We we we we've this is always just it's tough.

And uh as um um one of our community members mentioned, you know, maybe not all the um you know, all the ideas were were were coming at once.

We did have over 70.

Is it is is that what right?

So it's a challenge.

Um, you know, part of me is like, yeah, let's keep it open a little bit longer, but if we do, it's no guarantee we're gonna come up with a better name than we have already.

Um I appreciate the time that the uh commission took to um to um you know look at all the different names.

Um I like Eastgate Commons.

Um, I think it's uh it's a it's a great name, and hopefully it is not the last park in the Eastgate area.

So I would encourage any of our residents that are not you know particularly fond of this name, write them down because we're gonna have another park, hopefully, to name in Eastgate at some point in the future.

So with that, very very enthusiastic that uh we're gonna be able to move forward on this.

Um, and uh thank you for all your hard work to get to this stage, and I look forward to being there at the ribbon cutting in 2029.

Thank you, Councilmember Sumadourian.

Thank you.

First of all, I'm this is so exciting, like everyone else, and also our residents too.

Um Eastgate was actually the first place I land um when I moved to Bellevue, and then growing up, I have to go to the park next door in different areas.

So thank you for doing that.

And then you know, it's such a great every neighborhood at beautiful park as our city stands for.

And I I love that how professional our staff and also with the board and how passionate our residents put into a park that we can nurture and put the safety and equity of the community first as a goal.

And who doesn't love a no fiscal impact on the park?

I was reading the memoir.

Thank you for doing that, because you know we work hard to make sure that the budget and also while creating um equitable and accessible park that's for everyone in the city.

Thank you.

Um the name, I love the name, and then the fact that we have over 73 names.

That's me just how exciting we are.

Is there's like whole there's so many good names.

So I'm with Jared.

I'm looking forward to having more parks in the area.

Thank you so much for the work.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

I also shared the excitement in the room.

Uh thank you so much, Cameron, sitting on the back.

Uh sorry, Cameron, Michael.

And Zeryan, this is the first time I'm meeting you, so nice to see you in person.

Uh welcome if you're new, if you're here for a long time.

I haven't had a chance and opportunity to meet with you.

Uh Chair Kilima, thank you for being here and the whole parks and community service board for your great work.

Councilmember Hamilton, thank you for being a great liaison.

Uh, I also appreciate the thoughtful outreach, the surveys and the way you incorporate people's feedback into the design options.

It is always great to see a project where the community voice is so visible in the final recommendation.

Uh supportive of everything you guys mentioned.

The only thing that I just wanted to wish for is hopefully one day we just say there is just six months permitting time for uh one half acre park that is a park instead of instead of two years, but uh that's for maybe another time.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

So I've received a lot of compliments about the process uh that has gone on here, and um things I love about this is the covered shelter in the middle, so that a parent can watch their kids uh on either side of the park.

I love that you're preserving the trees and uh that the safety for children was uh at the front of your values there.

I think whatever is good for a child is good for the whole city.

So I really do um appreciate the process.

I know that um councilmember Lee feels perhaps we should spend more time on the name, but I'm hearing a majority of people wanting to move forward, and so let's go ahead and see what a vote comes out with.

Let's hear a motion.

Okay, can we keep going?

Okay, and we have a second.

All those in favor say I.

Any opposed?

All right.

Thank you very much.

Congratulations.

Okay, we're gonna take a break till twenty after.

And Kevin McDonald McDonald, our principal planner, and also from the Transportation Commission, the Vice Chair, uh Drew McGill.

The mobility implementation plan is a very robust body of work that the Transportation Department and the Transportation Commission spend a considerable amount of time on, and particularly this year.

And this plan uh establishes performance metrics and targets for different modes of our transportation system, and then identifies gaps in the existing system where the targets aren't met.

So the they are here tonight to give you an overview of the update for the twenty five twenty twenty-five plan, and also ask for um council direction.

And with that, I'll hand it off to um directors and galakas.

Uh tonight we're here to review the Transportation Commission's recommendation to the update of the mobility implementation plan.

Uh, the MIP is the city's primary document that defines uh in the completed and connect connected network for all modes on our arterial system.

Um, the MIP is not a funding document.

What it does is identify the gaps that we need to know about in order to uh bring projects into the fiscally constrained transportation uh facilities plan or the TFP, uh, which provides the basis for Canada projects for funding in the CIP, the capital improvement program, uh, which was adopted with the biennial budget.

Next slide.

And um, the direction that we're seeking tonight uh to for the council uh to prepare a resolution to update the MIP and to return at a future meeting.

And with that, I'm turning it over to Kevin.

Good evening, or Andrew.

Good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Council members.

So in our in our presentation tonight, um, we have a brief agenda that will describe the background of the mobility implementation plan.

Um, why the city and the Transportation Commission have up um recommended an update to that plan in twenty twenty-five, and um the the timeline that the commission used to develop their recommendation and some specific um highlights of the commission's recommendation to the the city council, and again we'll seek your direction at the end of the presentations.

And again, we'll seek your direction at the end of the presentations.

So the mobility implementation plan is a a major source of project concepts for development in development to achieve conformance with the performance target gaps.

And from the transportation facilities plan, projects move to the Capital Improvement Program Plan where they would receive full funding for design and implementation.

In April of 2022, on recommendation of the Transportation Commission, the Council adopted the first mobility implementation plan.

And the overall vision for the implementation plan is to define and implement the complete connected and accessible network for all modes of transportation in the city.

And it embraces the four goals that council set for the MIP back in when we started this project to accommodate growth, to improve safety, to consider equity in project development and prioritization, and to improve access and mobility to all the land use for all the modes.

The MIP develops the measures that will achieve those goals, those are the performance metrics and the targets, what we expect the transportation network to how we expect it to function when it's complete.

The performance metrics and targets are informed by the geography, which are in uh known as performance management areas, where the alignment of the transportation network meets the land use vision.

Mr.

McDonald.

Could you bring the microphone and message in a little bit closer?

Thank you.

Okay, Shermain, we'll do.

So the concept of the MIP considers a layered network.

It recognizes that in order to support the land use, the various transportation modes have to work together.

And in doing so, the layers describe how those transportation modes are interconnected.

In some ways, the the different modes of transportation support each other in addition to supporting the land use.

And in a layered network, uh you can identify priorities that support land use, project concepts, and also possible constraints where it may not, because of uh factors of geography, land use, right-of-way, um, it may not be possible to meet the performance target on for every mode at every location.

And this layered network concept uh helps to identify where those opportunities are for synergy and where there are constraints.

Just a little closer.

Okay.

How about that?

All right.

Um so the MIP has been um adopted and it has been recognized as a best practice around the state from the governor and uh from the Puget Sound Regional Council.

Uh it we've the staff has been implementing the MIP for the last few years.

It has informed the design of capital projects that the city is building and uh projects that uh are subject to development review.

It has identified and scored uh all the performance target gaps.

So it it it's it's taken the the the entire network for each mode and identified those locations where the performance meets the target and those locations where it doesn't meet the target and where the performance doesn't meet the target.

The the MIP helps to describe project concepts that could be implemented so that the network does meet the target.

And those project concepts then are referred to the transportation facilities plan for consideration and then ultimately um to the city council for um funding through the CIP.

And just a uh a highlight of some of the projects for the bicycle mode that the MIP has had some role in informing the the project concepts and the design.

Not not not all of these are the direct result of the MIP, but the MIP helps to inform the design of some of these.

And I want to mention that some are in design right now.

Some have been recently the design has been completed and construction is imminent.

There are several sections of the the bike projects that provide connections to East Trail and then East Trail itself and the Mountains of Sound Greenway are major um regional projects that are uh in various stages of design and implementation.

There's a few corridors that we're awaiting some funding to proceed on design and implementation.

And we want to celebrate projects that are just finished on 130th in Bell Red, and the South Bellevue station access in the Southeast Bellevue or South Bellevue that provides access to the Bellevue station.

So the question may come up why do we want to uh update the MIP now if it's been so successful in achieving performance targets for different modes around the city?

The transportation element includes a policy that provides direction.

There's two considerations for the timing of an update of the MIP.

One is when the comprehensive plan is updated, and one is when there's changed circumstances.

And the the staff and the commission believe that both of those circumstances have occurred since the comprehensive plan was updated last year.

That that is one of those circumstances.

And the other is as the staff has has been implementing the MIP, we've identified some gaps that could be addressed through an update.

One of those is to add the uh the metric and target of pedestrian level of traffic stress.

One is to look at the bicycle level of traffic stress as those network corridors intersect or at intersections.

Um is to um update the data and the forecasts.

That the data on the in the existing MIP is a little bit old.

Some of it dates back to the late teens, and we wanted to update the forecast to be consistent with the comprehensive plan, which would be 2044.

And significantly, also the MIP will incorporate the components of the 2009 pedestrian bicycle transportation plan.

And with that, I'd like to turn it over to Vice Chair McGill to talk about the Transportation Commission's role and highlight some of the uh the major um uh recommendations for the MIP.

Okay, thank you, Kevin.

And good evening, council members, deputy mayor, mayor.

Uh the Transportation Commission spent the better part of a year in um study sessions, as you can see from this chart up here, um, to review each part of the MIP update.

On September 11th, the commission voted unanimously to recommend the MIT MIP update.

Uh Kevin talked about this a little bit, but the major updates really come down to four parts.

The first two are related to uh metrics uh for pedestrians and bicycles.

Uh these metrics, as Kevin mentioned, are in the MIP to give direction on where to look for deeper for where there might be issues, and uh then uh do further study and whatnot based on that.

Uh so the first one is pedestrian level of traffic stress, which describes the experience of people walking along an arterial.

The metric uh adds to the current MIP metric that uses only the presence of a sidewalk as an indicator of system completeness.

PLTS or pedestrian level of traffic stress uses traffic speed and volume together with the width of the buffer and sidewalk to describe a one through four rating system where PLTS one is comfortable as shown on that's northeast first up there, right, Kevin?

Yeah.

Um and PLTS 4 as an example, and I think that's Bell Red Road.

You can also see that on Northrop Way.

Um PLTS4 is of course not a target.

So the PLTS builds on the BLTS, bike level of uh traffic stress methodology that's in the existing MIP, a lot of uh acronyms here.

Um so but there's uh some changes made um to the to the BLTS.

So the current MIP establishes a BLTS target for network corridors, but it emits consideration of intersections.

So an intersection may be a location where a bicyclist would feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and it may be a barrier for some people who are otherwise comfortable riding a long corridor.

So the recommended uh bike level of traffic stress target for intersections is intended to ensure that the comfort level of a corridor is maintained through an intersection so that you the cyclist will ride all the way down the intersection, I mean all the way down the corridor and through the intersection on a similar level of uh bike traffic stress.

There are a couple examples shown on the screen up above uh of an intersection treatments that can be used and improved BLTS.

The third reason for the update of the MIP, as Kevin mentioned, is that much of the information is now over five years old.

And so if we go to the next slide.

There it is.

Uh so the MIP update refreshes the existing conditions with the most current data available.

The fourth one, uh the fourth reason for a major reason for the MIP update is it also extends the forecast from 2035 to 2044 to be consistent with the comp plan time horizon.

That's something that we've talked about doing on the Transportation Commission for some time.

So it's good to be able to put that into this update as well.

With that, I'll turn it back to Kevin to describe how the MIP update incorporates the 2009 pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan.

So for over 32 years now, after the 1993 adoption of the very first pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan, um that document has been used to express the vision for the active transportation network in Bellevue.

And many of the projects that you see on the street today that you use every day are the direct result of the pedestrian and bicycle transportation planning that has been done over the years and is documented in in these um various updates of the pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan.

However, so um best practices have evolved and are continually evolving towards um a more complete and connected transportation network that is comfortable for all users, and the the bicycle and pedestrian plan um did not incorporate all of the best practices, and so there's been some inconsistency that we've experienced between the MIP and the performance targets expressed in the MIP with the detailed project descriptions that are in the um pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan.

So the intent is to have the mobility implementation plan be the one source of pedestrian and bicycle uh project concepts that can be implemented through the Capitol project and through private sector development.

One thing the MIP does is retain all the trail network maps and project descriptions, and those are you know basically cut and paste from the pedestrian bicycle transportation plan into appendix A of the MIP.

And this this one picture illustrates the example of the pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan project description for this corridor, which happens to be Main Street west of 112, looking west uh on the north side of Main Street.

The pedestrian bicycle transportation plan calls for a five-foot wide bike lane on this section of Main Street.

The mobility implementation plan uh performance target is BLTS one, which is intended to be uh comfortable for all ages and abilities of riders.

And so the outcome of the MIP is the project that you see that's built on Main Street today.

Arguably it's a better outcome for all ages and abilities of bike riders than the five-foot wide bike lane would have been.

So I'd I turn it back over now to Andrew to ask for your direction, and we will be happy to respond to comments and questions.

Please, yeah.

Whatever questions you have.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And Chair Bigel, thank you for joining us here tonight.

We'll start with uh Councilmember Newenhouse, who's a liaison to the transportation commission.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um great presentation.

Thank you so much, Andrew Kevin, and Vice Chairman McGill.

Thank you so much.

Uh, I want to thank the entire commission and entire staff for all the uh the many hours and the many conversations that you've had uh regarding the MIP.

Um it's uh is important work as you mentioned.

Um, you know, the importance of updating it now.

Um, the comprehensive plan update, uh, the change circumstances in terms of the pedestrian level of traffic stress, the bike um level of uh traffic stress uh distress, uh, the the new data, the new forecasts, right?

Um, as we continue to grow as a city and then incorporating all the different um pedestrian bicycle uh transportation plans um is is an important uh piece of work here um and worthy of all of our time as a city as we continue to uh continue to grow.

I am uh having been the uh liaison to the transportation commission familiar with this and really happy with um where we've um uh ended up here at at this point.

I do have do have a couple of questions, some of them um uh arising due to some concerns here once we've uh published the packet, and I think more people have gotten some eyes on this now, or maybe they weren't paying as close attention previously.

But um and Kevin, you mentioned that the MIP would be kind of that one-to or or that go-to source for I think a lot of um uh decisions or uh transportation development decisions.

Was the MIP previously the award winning MIP previously meant to do that as well, or did do you mean that going forward once this one is approved in 2025?

The MIP has been a source of information that guides the design of projects for the for pedestrians and bicycles.

It is not I mean the the land use code does provide the standards.

And the the MIP is is supplemental to the land use code in a lot of parts of the city like downtown, where the the standards for sidewalk width and and buffer width are established in code.

Where the MIP adds value is um with largely with the locations where there are um bicycle network corridors that need to be married with the pedestrian network and the vehicle and transit networks.

It's part of that that layered network approach where you try to look at it all and you see what um what projects are what project concepts are compatible with one another, where you may need to make choices.

Right that that's the value of the tool that the MIP gives you.

The MIP isn't a prescriptive document.

It provides you a mechanism to make decisions using performance targets that are established.

It provides staff or it provides developers, property owners guidance.

It is a document that staff and developers would use in an iterative iterative process to see what um frontage improvements would be required of new development.

Um again, largely on back of CURB, that's largely defined by the land use code.

Okay, front of Curb, you know, or or to accommodate the the bicycle network projects, there may be some iterative conversation about how that is done.

Okay.

Um well, because the reason uh I asked that is just um uh in in conversations with the community to understand that there's a couple of projects right now that are um seeking some clear guidance there in the Wilburton area on these projects.

And um they're having a difficult time getting clear guidance, um, and I'm not sure if it's directly coming from the MIP or from land use, but and and maybe with the update of this document that might solve that issue, I'm not sure.

Um, but um they're just looking for that predictability or or or that one-time guidance so they understand what their responsibility is, the property owners and or developers of their redeveloped piece of property, um uh in in terms of the the the pedestrian and and and bike plans um right on their property.

So do you think this will clear up any confus or make it easier as as a one-to go-to source for that, or are we still gonna have a bit a bit of a back and forth uh in terms of what the overall plan is or what we want the overall plan to be and what their commitment will be to that plan.

I believe this update of the MIP is the one the one source that can provide uh performance metrics and performance targets.

Okay.

Um it is it is not prescriptive, so there will be some iterative conversation about how these uh improvements for the pedestrian bicycle mode in particular get implemented along a corridor.

And that that's the same as if it was the city doing a project.

It would look to the MIP for guidance on what the targets are, and then work with the the resources and the constraints that are available to work towards achieving those targets.

Okay.

Um those conversations though, I just I just want is it clear enough with each of those.

So go ahead, Andrew.

Yeah, I just want to make it as clear as possible for everybody, and there's no guessing um uh or or back and forth in terms of you know, you know, five, ten years from now, we're like, oh uh they're interpret it interpreting Kevin's thoughts in the in a document, if you will.

Well we're putting together a proposal for a transportation master plan.

It's a a piece that's missing from this as well.

Okay.

It's really kind of prescribe, you know, what are the cross sections are for uh the the arterials.

So it's really clear for the development community and as well as for uh for staff.

Um so that is something that we are working toward.

It would add to the MIP.

It would add to it.

Yeah, okay.

And make it a little bit more clear exactly, you know, that what the development community is looking for is like what exactly is it without so much the negotiation.

This would provide a mechanism.

So if there's a deviation from it, having a process in place as well.

It could be, and it does happen sometimes too that the developers want to do beyond what the standard is, and this would uh provide a way for that to occur along with a robust public process.

Okay, okay, great.

Um though uh I'm happy with that, and I hope we can get to that point because I think the more clarity we have, the more we can streamline everybody knows the expectations um uh uh of that property, and then I think we ended up with better uh bike facilities as well or pedestrian facilities around the city as well.

So um okay, so um also wanted to ask about um uh and I remember we talked about this quite a bit uh in in in the commit commission.

Uh but can we um explain a little bit better how we came to the BLTS targets and how we got there as well as for the uh pedestrian the the PLTS target?

How did we how did we land on that?

Um so for example, um you know, most sidewalks in downtown Wilberton, Bell Red don't meet the PLTS targets right now.

So what does that mean for property owners right now if their sidewalks don't meet that target?

And what does that mean going forward?

What are the um the steps that they need to take, knowing that, or do they not need to take immediate steps?

If they do, what do they need to do?

I I can start with that.

Okay.

And and I I can I can start with the recognition that the pedestrian level of traffic stress targets are informed by four metrics.

The the speed limit factor on the arterial, the traffic volume on the arterial, right, the width of the buffer, and the width of the sidewalk, and and where the per the actual performance is where those metrics are used to calculate the actual performance.

What we've discovered is that the speed limit factor metric, which is 1.2 times the speed limit.

So if a speed limit is 30 miles an hour, the speed limit factor is 36.

It's difficult to get to the performance PLTS one, because you you don't have enough buffer and sidewalk widths to get there.

Okay.

Um the the reason that we used speed limit factor is the intent was to use the actual speed of vehicles moving along the arterial because it's sort of commonly recognized that uh sometimes the speed limit is not how fast people go.

So we wanted to use a metric that really recognized how fast people go along an arterial.

We have some information about some corridors in the city, but it was not universally available.

So our our our consultant team looked at best practices and recognized that uh a good conservative metric for the actual speed people travel along our arterial is about 1.2 times the speed limit.

Okay.

So that definition of speed limit factor applies to that one metric.

Applying that metric creates a situation where most of the sidewalks in downtown that are really um meeting the land use code requirements do not meet the PLTS one target.

Now, does that mean that the frontages of develop their developments that have already built their sidewalk and their buffer need to rethink about how that works?

No, it doesn't, it's not retroactive to require existing development to do anything with their frontage.

Okay.

What it does do is is help to inform the design and dimensions of future frontage.

Okay.

Um as I mentioned a couple times, most of the dimensions of future frontage are guided by the land use code requirements.

So those are standards.

And as Andrew mentioned, there may be an opportunity to exceed the standards, but if the MIP does not require any retrofit of existing conditions or a new development to exceed the standards documented in the land use code.

Okay.

Okay, thank you.

Um just to add to add to that.

Just a half a second.

Yeah, yeah.

The the MIP uh it is a document that when you use the the existing conditions, when when you see the the map that shows those locations where the existing conditions don't meet the target, yeah.

The the MIP uh it is a document that when you use the the existing conditions, when when you see the the map that shows those locations where the existing conditions don't meet the target, yeah, it it tells you where to look to see what you could or should do in those locations.

It doesn't tell you what to do, it tells you where to look and what the target is that you might want to try to achieve in those locations where the um existing conditions don't meet the target.

So again, it's not prescriptive, it it's a guidance that that helps you make decisions based on uh the metrics.

Okay, okay.

That's very helpful.

Thank you so much.

And now uh shifting to the to the the BLTS.

So I think it was on page 42 or 43 um that about um 17 percent of downtown, you know, I'm talking about already um uh does not meet um uh the BLTS target.

Um and this surprised me because I think if I'm looking at it correctly, that on 108th does not meet the target, or did I look at that incorrectly?

Okay, so it doesn't meet the target, which I thought a lot of thought and and um I I always thought that for sure.

That that's one of our um I I thought one of our best examples of bike facilities in this in the city was a hundred on a hundred and eighth, and it and it and it doesn't meet that standard.

So how do we um I guess upgrade or look at bike facilities going forward when um one of uh what I thought was on our best bike corridors does not meet that standard.

And what does that mean going forward then?

Uh I'll I'll start with a doc uh uh recognition of a corridor that does meet the target, okay, which is the Northeast 12th Street uh shared use path between 108th and 112th.

Between 18th that is a performance target meter section of bike network in downtown.

Now as I mentioned earlier, um the the MIP provides targets, not standards, and sometimes based on constraints, you can't meet the target.

And that is the situation along several segments of 108.

There's some segments that do meet the PLTS one target, and because of constraints related to the width between the curbs, there isn't say uh a buffer between the bike lane and the moving traffic.

That is a location where it wouldn't meet the target.

But where there's the planters and and a wide buffer, those locations do meet the target.

So if you look really close at the map on page 43, you'll see some places are blue, which means there's an existing facility that doesn't meet the target.

Right and there's some places that are green where it says the existing facility meets the target.

So it's not that the whole corridor is is is deficient.

It's that recognition that sometimes you can't meet the core the the target in all locations.

Fair enough.

Sometimes lastly, and thank you for that explanation.

I think that's really helpful and for everyone to to hear.

Uh uh also just to just want to call out all the great uh projects that we currently have in the pipeline.

So thank you for including that in the presentation on uh slide eight as well.

That's a lot of great bike facilities uh uh cut coming our way.

So with that, thank you so much, appreciate it.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Um Councilmember Sumaduria.

Hi, thank you.

Um thank you by the way, thank you for the briefing.

It was really helpful to hear from a different uh and then I thought it was very important to understand the PLTS different levels and then put the safety and equity side of it, make sure that every um level of physical ability to be safely crossed the street and also walk on any streeting belly.

I thought that was really important.

Um I just have a few, and also congratulations on auto awards.

They are amazing.

I thought there's two awards, so there is I have a few, I just have two questions I want to ask.

Um one of them was um since we cannot meet all the goals for the corridor.

How what kind of specific criteria do we use to identify the highest priority uh target gaps for the inclusion in to be part of the TFP?

One of the tools that the MIP provides is a scoring system.

And for each mode of transportation, there is a separate scoring system that's largely based on the four goals that the city council has provided, but also based on some of the guidance that the Transportation Commission has inserted uh during this update.

So there's uh an initial scoring, um safety, equity, um, connectivity supporting land use.

Though those are the four goals, and they you you get points if your project addresses those four goals.

And then there's supplemental scoring related to things like the presence and frequency of driveways, for instance, or if it's on the Vision Zero high injury network, it will get more points in terms of prioritization if it is on a corridor where there's a demonstrated history of uh injuries, for instance.

So each individual mode gets a score.

And then when um when project concepts are referred to the transportation facilities plan, that's where you you you that that process applies the um the financial constraints so that um the projects that we could conceivably afford to build over 20 years are included in that TFP, and then the council makes decisions on which ones to to fund through the CIP.

So this applies both um public and private properties.

It applies on arterial network corridors.

Okay.

So regardless of of you know what what property is is fronting, uh it the it's the arterial network that the MIP addresses.

So the requirement clears out where they uh meeting the criteria and where they add meeting the goal for each project.

Well, the that that's part of it, and part of it is is a geographic metric as well.

Um, in the performance management areas, there is different weight given to different um different modes of transportation.

So, in in downtown, for instance, um, the pedestrian mode gets a higher weight than really even than the bicycle mode, but more weight than the the vehicle mode as well, recognizing that the for equity considerations and for supporting of the land use concepts that downtown embraces, the pedestrian network has to be complete and connected.

And you know that there's places in downtown that uh are not a complete and connected network, and those places have shown up in our scoring as needing to be addressed through future investment.

Thank you.

Um my next question is um, because I see on the document was saying that the um East Bellevue Greenway was selected as uh substitute as the um uh the Spanish River Connection.

Can you kind of help me to understand how does it compare to terms of safety and community connection?

The there is a um priority bicycle corridor that goes along 164th.

And um there was a rip uh a request from the community and with staff support to provide a an alternate parallel um non-arterial network for the for the bicycle mode.

Um the reason is is because 164th doesn't currently have any bicycle network facilities.

There's no dedicated facilities on that section of 164th, and so there is a recognition that will maybe for an all ages and abilities, north-south connection, an alternate parallel route on uh the East Bellevue Greenway would be a reasonable um option for for people to take.

And so the commission selected to put that line on the map, um, which will be accompanied by you know signage, perhaps share a lane markings, etc., to recognize that this is a parallel corridor to that 164th arterial corridor, which you know without any with any dedicated bicycle facilities may not be comfortable for all ages and abilities.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you for having the options.

Uh, my last question is um, because we see that we are retiring the 2009 pedestrian bicycle transportation plan.

Um my question was what about the off-street trail projects and the legacy priorities?

Like, how are we gonna is how would the cost on these projects be allocated?

The the the MIP, as you recognize, does incorporate the the arterial network of the pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan and does also incorporate the off-street trail system in in an appendix.

Um most of the off-street trail system is on land managed by the parks and community services department, and it would be their responsibility to design and implement and maintain those trails.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, Councilmember Hamilton.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Uh appreci the presentation.

Also appreciate uh Council Member Newenhouse's work as liaison on the Transportation Commission and uh all of his uh earlier comments and and the answers and clarifications given.

So thank you for that.

Um certainly appreciate the efforts of the Transportation Commission, Chair Stash, Vice Chair McGill.

Uh this is really a tremendous body of work.

I think the plan focuses on the right goals, supporting growth, improving safety, making sure the system meets the needs of all Bellevue residents and visitors and improving access and mobility.

I think it makes a lot of sense for us to always keep the user experience of our transportation system in mind.

That doesn't mean that we can always make the improvements when we want to, but the user experience data point is a critical guide.

Also appreciate the continued focus on complete and connected pedestrian and bicycle ulterior ulterior networks.

This is so important as we continue to add housing and jobs in the city.

And as we implement the comprehensive plan.

So again, uh just appreciate all this good work that's gone into the update, and I'm ready to move forward.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilmember Lee.

Thank you.

Well, I want to uh compliment the staff uh you know, talking about a real historical uh tool and process, and I want to uh say that uh I highly respect the Transportation Commission and also uh you know, Vice Chair McGill uh for uh handling and tackling uh such uh uh difficult and uh historical and rather uh challenging uh way of getting to uh what we can do to uh improve uh our multimodal system.

Uh when it was first you know started with this program in 1993, uh, you know, I actually before I became council member I was on the transportation commission.

I was the the one that's I was in the first transportation commission that's ever formed and then became uh chair of that commission.

So I realize how important uh these tools are, but things have changed so much.

As I know that, you know, the commission and also the staff mentioned the interrelatedness of everything we're talking about regarding land use, regarding utilities, regarding environment.

It's all tied together.

Uh you know, how they uh work with each other and how they make sure it improves the transportation connection as well as mitigate uh these danger, the risk to multimodal system reliability.

Uh so it's very, very difficult.

Uh so I even you know, I I appreciate uh Councilmember Newhouse asking very, very uh insightful questions.

Uh I think these are to me generate more questions.

Um I think we need to understand them, need to work on them.

But the answer here is it's only a two.

It's not uh what's uh what's the word?

Uh right.

You don't you know we're not we're not saying something you can do to prevent something from happening.

We can say some something, we can do something to figure out uh what what have we done wrong, or what can we do to prevent something from happening.

So at this moment, one of the things that we are very much, I believe connected to what we're talking about is really vision zero.

Vision zero is a tool that connects not just a tool, but it is a tool.

It's actually a system that can reduce conflict between bicycle, pedestrian, uh various models of transportation system.

And uh, you know, we use tools such as MIP mobility invention plan uh to study, take not uh run not a whole bunch of numbers, and maybe uh say, well, we should do something to fix something.

But it's in a sort of reactive mode.

Uh so I would want to emphasize uh putting a vision together that vision zero is still what we want to accomplish.

And based on that, we can use MIP as a tool to see how we can do what we can do to make our system better.

That it will prevent uh, you know, stat and damage and harm to all the people traveling on the road.

You know, we'll talk about uh the um you know, comprehensive plan, uh FEIS.

That also is something we we we haven't really done completely.

Uh the thing that uh shone some light for me is when we're discussing uh housing, we're predicting how many units of housing we're gonna have 35,000, 70,000, how many people will be coming to Bellview, growth factors, all these other things that's related to what mobility implementation plan are calling out for.

But you know, if you put them together, they all affect each other.

So how can we make plans, develop TFP, and so we can accommodate the growth you're talking about, the housing unit we're gonna have, the utility needs we we need to have to make sure they are affordable.

So it's very challenging.

How do we manage all this?

So I I'm in a way, I appreciate doing all this stuff.

But the set when on the other hand, it kind of confuses uh me.

I don't know if anybody else is, but based on the questions, because I'm a conservative neural house.

To me, it's it's just as confusing.

Uh so what we should do, we're looking for is how do we make it work better?

How do we prevent it from happening?

And so I would like to suggest that we need to understand better uh what all the land use codes are, land use plannings for the future, what the camp plan is for 2044, 2050, PSRC is doing uh, you know, PSRC uh vision 2050.

So they are also talking about all the very much same thing as we're talking about.

They also mentioned vision zero, and they are they are going to talk to legislators in the state, even in the country.

How do we prevent traffic deaths, traffic fatality?

We heard very uh uh you know much uh uh affectionately at the beginning, you know, about traffic deaths.

We want to prevent one is more than there's too much too much, too many.

So how do we do it?

Uh so I would really like to see uh using this as a tool, but not just figuring out, well, we put the planter here, maybe it would do it differently.

If we move this over there a little bit, maybe it would help.

But we want to make sure that the plan we set up, uh TFP, uh CIP would do, uh, they would be done in a way that would prevent uh you know fatality.

They would actually help improving the connectivity between all these things that we're talking about.

So I again compliment, I want to show my appreciation.

And I I think that one solution may be uh the transportation commission, a planning commission.

One is trans transportation, one is land use and utility uh, maybe the commission, and maybe environmental commission.

We all need to be looking at how do we link them together?

How do we address growth?

How do we address environment?

You know, uh the officials, they're gonna be polluted if we don't take care of the the in the multimodal system of transportation in the future, environment.

So I think if we do understand each other, we plan for that, perhaps we can have a better uh goal, better result, better planning, and moving forward together.

Otherwise, you know, again, it's we we can say we can use this to this, but then how do we connect to again customary new houses?

108.

We thought that's the first project we did without acceler accelerated, multimodal or bike bike transportation system, which is so ably, so so wonderfully uh implemented by our staff, you know, because it's beginning of a vision zero.

And that's when one then still we're saying, oh, how come it's proved to be one of the worst sections in the city for bicycle?

That doesn't make sense, right?

Because they're not connected.

So I wish we can uh so I have all but uh uh compliment for you guys that's working on this staff and the tr the commissioners and uh and what we're struggling.

I hope as a council, you know, as I I do, uh, but we need to figure out working together, have a regular conversation and picking the brains of people who have done that in the rest of the world, some places in the world has done that.

Hopefully that's true.

I mean, we should use examples, and I don't know where they are.

We we've seen some of them, you know, some of us visited Europe and look at some of the models.

Do they work just like we hope they will?

Maybe they own also only doing pieces, but with pieces with knowledge, with learning from one another, maybe we can do something better than we've got now.

So I compliment a support this, but I wish that it could be do it could be done um more collaboratively, more effectively, and more uh intelligently.

Thank you.

Okay, uh Deputy Mayor.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Uh thank you, Andrew, Kevin, Molly, Mark, and the whole transportation staff.

Uh thank you, Chair Stash, uh, wise chair McGill and the entire transportation commission for a tremendous amount of work uh behind this update.

Uh thank you, liaison.

Councilman Younghaus for your uh support and continuous effort on this.

As Councilwoman Lee mentioned, the MIP is one of our most important uh planning tools, and I know this kind of work takes months as you mentioned voice share a year of detailed analyses, community conversation, and technical evaluation.

So I really appreciate you all for the clarity, the modernization of the metrics and the work that you did to bring our pedestrian bicycle system into alignment with the best practices.

Uh hopefully all of these efforts will keep Bellview to be positioned as a leader into uh multimodal planning.

Uh all of my questions have been asked, Mayor.

I don't have any question.

Thank you so much.

All right, thank you.

So I have a few things I wanted to say.

Um I was looking at the four goals that you laid out, and you said that the Transportation Commission had come up with four other ones.

Do we know it those have are those printed somewhere?

The the four goals are supplemented by uh components that the Transportation Commission recommended be included in the scoring and development of project concepts, and I'm not sure exactly where they are.

Um are we approving that tonight?

They're in embedded in the document, yes.

Um it looks like in in the um in about what page is that like uh 70 in the 70, 71, 72, 73.

Those those are where the um the the scoring system is and it it it shows how the the scores relate to the council goals and the other components that the commission identified.

Okay, I probably should have asked this a long time ago.

Ha well I'm all for the council goals, and if it's consistent with those, then I'm sure it's good that I would like to get that those changes spelled out next time, just so that's front and center for us to look at.

Um so you know, um when new employers are thinking about moving to Bellevue, the question I always get asked are what are the multimodal ways our employees can get to work.

Everybody can drive, we know that, but what are the other options?

And so I really appreciate prioritizing alternative modes of transportation that are going to be safe and efficient and fun for the many workers that are coming here, which is still trying to attract businesses to Bellevue, and so um that's still going to be important.

Um it doesn't escape me that on some bike projects we've waited 30 years and now they're obsolete.

But I like to do better than that, and I know it's a funding thing, and I I hope that the council that we can support your programs better and your goals better when you say you recommend that we do these projects, I hope that we can get them done faster.

I think it's imperative that we do.

Um that you know the result is more multimodal infrastructure.

Um you know, uh Deputy Mayor brought up something really interesting at our our briefing where we were talking about the PLTS goals, and you know, having transportation weigh in while we're having the conversation at the land use level, that if we're choosing between sidewalk width buffers, things like that that affect the level of safety for pedestrians and bikes, then we should be always aspiring to have a level of a one or two.

We shouldn't be building, we certain certainly shouldn't be building four, and we shouldn't be uh aspiring to three.

So I would love to have that coordination between transportation and planning so that whatever is advanced to the council as a recommendation, you know, we have some consistency there since we've already acknowledged that that's our goal.

And then just the last thing, uh when we have an incomplete corridor, when you we have a corridor where we know we cannot meet the PLTS goal.

Should we not then create an alternate corridor where the entire thing can be that?

I mean, what is the answer to that?

Because as somebody who rides their bike a lot who feels that worse than no infrastructure is incomplete infrastructure, and it it really is dangerous.

How do we handle that when we know that we can get maybe five segments, but we can't get the sixth segment, but we can get seven through eight.

The city has traditionally historically done an incremental approach, but as council member Smaruera noted, that there is a in some cases there are alternate um corridors or parallel corridors that can be that can be used.

Umsportation commission member um Albert Ting is always asking that question.

Can isn't there an alternate parallel corridor?

And often the answer is no, because of the way Bellevue's developed, right?

It it it was developed on a you know arterial system that didn't necessarily recognize that there needed to be parallel corridors proximate to one another.

And so you you've got a Bell Red Road and you've got a North Up and you've got you know an incomplete Spring Boulevard in between.

The completeness of Spring Boulevard will help fill that gap in in that particular location.

But there's a lot of other locations in Bellevue just due to topography, land use constraints, other things that there will never be a parallel corridor.

And so the effort should be then to construct the complete and connected corridor where we have the right of way to do so.

Well, let's make sure they're complete.

However, we have to do that.

Um, because I just don't think it makes sense not to have a complete corridor.

And you know, it's interesting because I've lived here long enough, I know the safe corridors to take.

I know to go to 108th if I'm going north and south, and I and I know well, kind of main streets, not quite complete, but that's not a bad option.

But then I watch these new delivery drivers who are new to Bellevue, they don't know that, and they're all over the place.

They're going down Bellevue Way, they're on the sidewalks there, and so I really struggle with how do we direct people.

If you're gonna start riding your bike, this is the preferred route that you should take.

And and especially with all the new employees coming into our city, how do how do we get that message out to them?

Do we do signage?

Do we um have a special app?

Do we do outreach to people?

I just I'm really curious.

Like all of the above, Mayor Robinson.

Is that part of the plan?

We we we incorporate wayfinding, and we have done a lot of that in the past on designated bicycle corridor routes.

And we're intending to do more wayfinding along the Grand Connection, especially between the light rail station and 108th, where there is that nice, not necessarily complete L BLTS one, but pretty nice North South Bike Corridor.

Um we have uh a bicycle map that is downloadable so you can refer to it as you are trying to plan a route.

Um one thing that that really you know is useful that I use is my phone app.

If I want to go from point A to point B and I select bicycle mode, it will prompt me to use the either most direct or more safe or less hills.

Uh it the number of different options that so the the use of apps is is really becoming more and more important.

Yeah, well, um I would just like to ask the city manager if this is maybe a topic we can bring up at the retreat where we talk about some of the goals we have.

Good question, Mayor.

We are going to be talking about transportation.

Okay, that's great.

Thank you very much for all your work.

I really appreciate it.

Chair, did you want to add something?

Just because you mentioned the commission uh to your first point.

We need to make sure we're flexible uh that we don't drive ourselves down uh to force to your point.

I think a good example is when we looked at 100th as a bike corridor, and we thought, well, what about 98th?

Um, because it keeps you away from all those driveways going in and out of LV Square, and it's quite a nice road.

It actually actually has a ramp down to the park.

Um so that's one of those things.

Actually, um Kevin brought us on a little uh field trip out there, which was really pretty good.

So I to your point, I think that's uh something we need to take back that we have this methodology, but we also need to look at the big picture and be flexible.

And I love your comment by the way about the waypoints because 164th is a great bike corridor, and it has waypoints on it.

You will find them if you know where to look.

They're from like 1964 or something like that, and they're all faded.

And then the parallel corridor that that the transportation uh team identified next to it, it's even better, but it needs to be marked.

I don't know if you've tried the parallel corridor, it's a little bit like this.

I have not.

But it is super calm.

You can take your kids out there.

164th is also quite nice because there's not a lot of traffic.

So it's fine, but to your point, I I love that you brought that up because I had this a similar experience.

Like it took me forever to find 164th as a north-south corridor.

And then sure enough, those signs are there.

But that is um, that is something we need to figure out how to do as well.

Not just the map, but maybe make it more maybe maybe we can work with Google or whatever, so that it knows that that's a that's a good corridor.

Yeah, I wonder if there's something we can incorporate onto the My Belle View app as well.

Yeah, yeah, but anyway, something to aspire to your point also.

We've got choose your way Bellevue and other programs.

We're working with uh some of the larger employers at least and giving them travel options for their employees.

Great.

That's good to hear.

Okay, thank thank you very much.

Uh is did you want to say something?

Okay, is there a motion?

I move to direct staff to prepare a resolution to adopt a mobility implementation plan 2025 update for consideration and action at the future meeting.

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, thank you very much.

Okay, now this is gonna be what they call the rapid fire game segment.

Uh we have a number of ordinances that we have already asked staff to bring forward.

We've already had quite a bit of discussion on these, so uh, I think I asked staff to bring them one at a time so that we can hear them, vote on them, move to the next one so we all have a really strong idea of what we're voting on.

So go ahead, city manager.

Thank you very much, Mayor.

Deputy Mayor and Council.

So this is the final um uh night for consideration of our mid-biannual um budget update.

Staff presented this to you in October, primarily technical adjustments, uh, but also some selected um fee and rate adjustments, which will be part of the um rapid fire consideration tonight.

So last week um council gave direction to prepare the one resolution and the multiple ordinances for your consideration this evening.

So um our chief financial officer John Risha and um our director of financial strategy and planning, Evan Phillips, will go through those um to give you an opportunity to understand briefly what each one is and then to consider taking action on it.

So with that, I'll turn it over to John.

Thank you.

We have motion language in the blue papers right in front of us.

And I would love to ideally give everybody a chance to make a motion as and I'll just tell you which one to do as we go through.

So look at that, have that language in front of you and go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Council members.

Um, I'm actually gonna turn this over to Evan very quickly, and we'll go through each one.

I'm here and we're available for questions as you as you go.

Evan.

All right, thank you.

Uh again, this is our abbreviated mid-by uh calendar.

We've just had three touches.

Uh we first brought this to you October 28th, where we had an overview of the mid-by, which is largely technical and some personnel adjustments, as well as the rates and fees updates, which include updates from staff from utilities department, development services and transportation.

On November 12th last week, we had a public hearing as well as your direction and conversation.

And tonight we do have our tentative adoption, which has already started within the consent calendar.

So there were two items within the consent calendar, which included ordinance 6876, which was the school impact fees for Isaqua and Renton.

Um this was good news.

This brought those impact fees down to zero dollars for both of those school districts.

So again, that's a nice place for us to start this evening.

Um and then ordinance 6877, which adopted our pay plans and classification lists.

This is an annual item that in previous years was included in our budget adoption materials later on.

Um, but this is now a standalone item within the consent agenda that adopts our plate pay plans as a city and our classifications.

But this is the meat of our agenda, the rapid fire, the um photorama that we have this evening, and at a very high level, and we will stop at each one of these items as we move along tonight, but just to give you a high-level overview of where we're going.

Um, item A is to adopt and authorize the CDBG funding.

Um, items B, C and D are all related to revenues.

Um, development services fees as an annual item.

Um, a transportation fee ordinances for telecommunications facilities.

Um, that is a new item this year.

Um, something that we normally do on a biennium basis is our utilities service charges.

But this year we have ordinance six eight eight one, which is um to adjust our sewer rates to account for some pass-through charges from King County.

Um, as usual, we have two actions tied to property taxes.

We have the annual 2026 property tax ordinance that adjusts our levies, and then we do a resolution for banking our property tax capacity.

And finally, all of the we have our last action, which is ordinance six eight eight three, um, which is what we would call our umbrella ordinance, which adopts all of the technical changes and reflects appropriation adjustments to funds as well as our 2025 through 2030 capital improvement program plan or RCIP.

So that's the lay of the land for this section of the agenda, and we will go forward with ordinance six eight seven eight, um, which is to adopt and authorize the CDBG funding for 2026.

Um, again, this is an annual item to uh adopt the Human Services Commission's recommendation for funding and authorizing staff to move forward um with those contracts.

Mayor, I turn it back to you.

That's a good news story.

Yes, very good.

Councilmember New Enhouse, could you make the motion, please?

Certainly.

It's on the screen too.

Oh, thank you.

Uh I move to adopt ordinance 6878, adopting the Human Services Commission recommendations for the use of 2026 community development block grant funds authorizing the city manager or designee to submit a proposal to the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 2026 CDBG program, accept a grant award contract from HUD, and authorize the city manager or or her designee to enter into agreements with grant uh sub-recipients and contractors.

Second.

All right, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, and that passes.

Let's move on to ordinance 6879.

Do you want to do that?

Yes, absolutely.

So ordinance 6879.

This is the annual um adjustment of the repeal of the previous years or the 2025 development services fees and rate ordinance and updating it with the revised 2026 development services fees and rates.

Councilmember Lee, would you like to make the motion?

Yes, I stove to adopt ordinance 6879 regarding development services under development city code.

Fees full application, requiring construction, land use via survey, sign transportation, utility, and clearing and grading review and inspection services.

Establishing the school impact fees, schedule for Issaqua School District, number 411 and rental school district number 43.

Providing for celebrability and repeating ordinance number 6870.

Second.

All right.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

Now we're on to ordinance 6880.

All right, ordinance 6880.

This is a new item for the mid-by.

This is transportation fee ordinance, um, specifically related to the wireless facilities and the public right of way.

Okay.

Councilmember Hamilton, would you like to read this motion?

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

I move to adopt ordinance six eight eight zero regarding various fees for wireless facilities and the public right-of-way.

And fees for city electrical facilities access, whole reservation, and annual wireless communication facilities.

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

Ordinance 6881.

All right, ordinance 6881.

Again, this is the 2026 sewer service changes.

Normally this is a biennium item, but this is a mid-biennium utilities rate adjustment to account for King County pass-through fees on sewer uh sewer charges.

Thank you.

Councilmember Summa DeWerio, would you like to make this motion?

Yeah.

I move to adopt ordinance 6881 as opening revised sewage service charges for the sewage utility for the city of Value.

Repealing ordinance number 6832.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

Ordinance 6882.

Ordinance 682.

This is another annual item and is required to be passed before the end of this month to meet the King County assessors deadline for the 2026 property taxes.

This sets our property tax levy rate for 2026, including all voted and non-voted property tax levies.

Deput Mayor.

Sorry.

Deputy Mayor, would you like to make this motion?

Absolutely.

I move to adopt ordinance 6882 establishing the amount of property taxes to be levied for the year 2026, the second year of the City of Build Views 2025-2026 biennium.

Can I ask a question?

Excuse me, just a second, Councilmember.

Go ahead.

Okay, that's second.

Go ahead, Councilmember Lee.

Thank you.

For clarification, does it refer to the 1% property tax increase?

This also includes the 1% property tax adjustment as was approved included in the 25-26 adopted budget.

Let me make a statement.

Because he said that there's a designated use for this.

However, because of the so many taxes increases has been proposed and passed by the state and by other jurisdictions.

So I would uh request still vote against it.

Thank you.

Any other comments or questions?

Go ahead, Councilmember New England.

I'm just confused by this because I specifically asked multiple times, and maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought we were going to have a separate vote on the 1% uh property tax increase.

But in the memo here, it also shows that we're also voting on banking the capacity.

It also shows other levies that are included in this.

So can you explain to me why this is different than what I had mentioned previously because as we did this last year, this specifically came up.

I specifically asked, can we do this do the separate vote on the one percent property tax increase?

I've asked multiple times that that's what we're gonna do.

But then again, here it seems like we're including multiple items in in this vote tonight for uh 6882.

Councilmember, the bank capacity will be the next piece of legislation.

So the bank capacity is not included within this.

It is referenced uh in the um in the agenda memo, but the banked capacity is a separate item following this.

Uh the property tax isn't the one percent is included in this property tax vote.

Yes, it is not two votes on the property tax.

There isn't on a base plus an additional one percent.

This is the uh solely focused on the property taxes.

Solely focused.

Okay, so the property tax levy ordinance is the first with a resolution for the banking of levy capacity as the second item.

Is the next item on the six oh okay.

My apologies.

Thank you so much.

No problem.

And I believe this was something that we most of us voted for to put into this part of the budget when we voted in the biennium budget a year ago.

So this is not a surprise.

This was what we for the reasons that uh council member Lee had mentioned previously.

I will be voting against this as well.

Okay, please don't interrupt me.

Oh, sorry, I thought we were uh so uh we we agreed uh a month uh a year ago to move this forward at the biennium.

So this is now what we're doing.

Okay.

Um so any other comments or questions?

Go ahead.

What did you say?

Oh, thanks, Mayor.

And I apologize, I didn't mean to interrupt you.

I thought you were done.

Um, for the same reasons that uh council member Lee had mentioned, uh, given um uh how our community is struggling right now with affordability across all areas, um, be it for housing, food, etc.

Um, I don't believe this is the this is the right appropriate time to be raising uh property taxes, even if it's one time, so I'll be voting against this as well.

Any comments?

Because I I'll make a comment in support of this.

We for years had a very conservative approach to our budget at Bellevue and did not use our ability to raise a property tax one percent every year, and as a result, our we did not have the reserves that we needed, and we did not we were not meeting the our revenues were not meeting the demand that the city had.

And um, so we had to start making up for the rev for the property tax increase.

We did not take all those years, and we have had to do it every year.

I think this is the first time we've had to do it twice in one year.

I mean in two years, excuse me, in the biennial budget.

No?

Okay.

Well, anyway, when you look at the trajectory of revenues versus the trajectory of expenses, expenses that include public safety that include human services that include all the things that make a city healthy.

Um without levying this, we we cannot afford to provide the services that we that we provide, and I agree that the um demands of the taxation from other areas make it hard.

Really does, but that does not pay for what we uh the services that we require in Bellevue in order to have the high quality life that we have and to make it fair and equitable for everybody who lives here.

So for that reason, I will be supporting it.

Any other comments or questions?

I see councilmember Lee has his hand up.

Here thank you, Miss Amendment Men and Media.

It was due respect to uh Madame Media.

Uh you know, I always support the uh tax increases where now where it's going.

And uh, we've always been able to do that.

And Bellevue has never really run red.

We've always pay our fees, our dues.

We pay as we go.

And uh the only reason I voted against the one percent increase because it was uh uh speculation that revenue would uh fall behind uh expenses, but we haven't got that yet.

Every time we are able to meet our needs, and I still I just want to ask this time again what John Reese said uh do we have any deaths in the place where the one percent would go?

It's not just a conjecture.

Uh and I think we're well prepared in the next year, you know, uh well I'll buy in the budget and also future budget.

If the future budget proves that we need more money, then we've got to figure out how to prioritize how to spend the money as we see fit.

So without that consideration with discussion by the council, you know, I we have not done that.

So I feel uncomfortable.

Uh so I would state my reason uh as council member new house had uh what would not support it.

Thank you.

So I have no problem with the different votes happening, but I would like some clarification, John.

So can you um tell us why you're recommending this increase in the property tax and did we have any discussion about this in the past?

Madam Mayor, as uh part of our biennial budget process a year ago, um this was baked into the fabric of the discussion, and we actually did spend some time discussing property taxes as a hedge against the volatility that we have right now.

Um there is a high level of volatility in our business and occupancy tax revenues and in our sales tax revenues, and our property tax is one of our most stable revenues, and there was considerable discussion with the council on trying to balance those issues and trying to hedge and figure out what's our best path to have a very balanced equation to our our various types of taxes.

When you made your expenditure decisions, it was based on the assumption that the one percent adjustment was include was included, and you gave us direction to bring this back this year.

Um the economy has continued to be volatile.

There are all of the considerations and and those issues, but this has been a subject of your discussion and a subject of your votes that you took on the actual expenditures.

And one more clarification: what is the impact of this on the average property tax bill for that uh for our residents?

The median property in the C of Bellview now is about 1.5 million dollars.

Um other comments or questions?

All right.

Any other comments or questions?

All right.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed?

No.

No.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um look where are we?

We are on resolution 1055.

Yes, so this is resolution 1055.

Um, this is the banking of the property tax.

So this is the um for the years where the city of Bellevue did not take the one percent, it is reserving the right to utilize that bank capacity at a later date, so therefore banking it.

Okay, councilmember Newenhouse, would you like to make the motion?

It's on the screen.

Yeah.

I move to adopt resolution uh 10555, providing for the banking of levy capacity pursuant to RCW 84.52.070, 84.55.005, 84.55010, 84.55.10120, and 84.55.092.

Well done.

Okay.

Councilmember Sumadouria seconds.

Are there is there any comments or questions?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay.

And then the last one is ordinance 6883.

Ordinance 683 is the what we call the umbrella ordinance.

This adjusts for all of the fund appropriations for the 2025-2026 biennium and reflects adjustments to the 2025 through 2030 capital improvement plan or RCIP.

Okay.

Uh Deput Mayor, would you like to make the motion?

Absolutely.

I move to adopt ordinance 6883, adopting the modification of the 2025-2026 biennium budget and 2025 2030 capital improvement program, as both have been previously amended and setting forth the estimated appropriations.

Okay, any comments or questions?

I will just thank staff and our city manager for guiding us through this process, this two-year process of uh having uh again a balanced budget.

It's uh it's robust, it's um uh it's thoughtful and it's responsible.

And I just I really appreciate all the work that the council and the staff have done to get us here.

So uh all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Okay, fantastic.

So we are done.

Thank you for that.

And uh we are adjourned.