Great.

We can start the meeting.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you so much for being here.

You're spending your time with us, and we love that.

We love to hear from you.

City Clerk, can you please do the roll call?

Thank you.

Mayor Malikutian?

Yes, here.

Deputy Mayor Hamilton.

Here.

Councilmember Bargava?

Here.

Councilmember Bryan.

Here.

Councilmember Newman House.

Councilmember Robinson?

Here.

And Councilmember Simon DeWarria.

Thank you.

Councilmember Sumoderio, would you please lead us in the flag salute?

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

We have four proclamation.

I am definitely not going to pronounce all of our guests who are receiving these their name or last name right, so please forgive me.

But the first proclamation is Jewish American Heritage Month, is going to be read by Councilmember Neuenhaus.

I will invite Regina of Friedland and Stephanie Schujman on the table.

You guys are receiving the proclamation, and after Councilwoman Ewenhaus is done, we would love to hear your comments.

Councilman Newhouse, please.

Thank you, Mayor.

Honored to read this proclamation this evening.

Thank you both for being here.

Whereas Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans to our nation and to our state and our community.

And whereas for generations, Jewish Americans have contributed to the cultural, economic, scientific, and civic life of the United States, including right here in Bellevue.

Through leadership in education, business, the arts, public service, and social justice, and whereas Jewish Americans have demonstrated resilience in the face of discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence, and continue to advance the values of equality of religious freedom and human dignity.

And whereas the city of Bellevue stands in solidarity with the Jewish community in condemning anti-Semitism and all forms of hate and remains committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and a welcoming city for all.

And whereas Bellevue is strengthened by its diverse faith and cultural communities, including Jewish organizations, congregations, and families who contribute to interfaith understanding, civic engagement, and community life.

And whereas Jewish American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to celebrate these contributions and to reaffirm our shared commitment to inclusion, to respect, and to belonging.

Now, therefore, I, Councilmember Newmanhouse, on behalf of Mo Malikutian, Mayor of the City of Bellevue, Washington, on behalf of the City Council to hereby proclaim May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month in Bellevue and encourage all residents to recognize and celebrate the history, culture, and ongoing contributions of Jewish Americans to our community and to our nation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Newhouse.

Welcome, please.

Thank you, Mayor Malakutian and members of the Bellevue City Council with special mention to Councilmember Jared Newenhouse on behalf of AJC, American Jewish Committee, and part of the Jewish community.

This recognition matters every year, but this year, as our country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, it feels especially meaningful.

The Jewish story of America is not separate from the American story.

It's woven into it.

Jewish Americans have helped build our cities, serve our country, strengthen our democracy, advance civil rights, support the arts, create businesses, care for neighbors, and give back to the communities that we all call home.

And from the beginning, America offered a promise that was extraordinary in world history that Jews would not merely be tolerated, but would belong.

In 1790, President George Washington wrote to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island.

In that letter, he said that the United States gives to quote, to bigotry, no sanction, to persecution, no assistance.

He went on to describe a country where people of all faiths could live safely under their own vine and fig tree, with none to make them afraid.

That promise has often been realized, and generations of American Jews have found safety, opportunity and belonging in this country, but today that promise is being tested in ways we cannot ignore.

Rising anti-Semitism, growing extremism, and the normalization of hatred are threatening the sense of security that every community deserves.

America's promise remains powerful, but it depends on people and leaders who are willing to defend it clearly, consistently, and without hesitation.

Jewish American Heritage Month reminds us that America is strongest when it lives up to its highest ideals.

It reminds us that pluralism is not just a nice idea, it is a civic responsibility.

It's how we build trust across communities.

It's how we make sure that every person can bring their full identity into public life.

Here in Bellevue, this declaration sends a clear message.

Jewish history is American history.

Jewish belonging is a part of Bellevue's story, and standing against anti-Semitism is part of standing for the inclusive democratic promise of this country.

Thank you for honoring Jewish American Heritage Month and for helping carry that promise forward as we approach America's 250th birthday.

My name is Stephanie Schumann, and I'm a board member at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

On behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and the Jewish community, thank you.

We accept this proclamation for Jewish American Heritage Month during a season that is uniquely defined by both deep pain and profound hope.

I stand here not only as a community leader, but as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who came to this country in search of a better life, a place where they could live freely and proudly as Jews.

That legacy of hope lives on in me, in my children, and the Jewish community here in Bellevue.

We cannot celebrate our heritage without acknowledging our current reality.

Today, the Jewish community is experiencing harm at levels unseen in 45 years.

Following the horrific events of October 7th, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, we have seen a staggering 300% increase in anti-Semitic incidents right here in Washington State.

And this is not abstract.

Two years ago, as a kindergartner, my daughter was the victim of anti-Semitism by a classmate.

No child should have to encounter hatred before they even learn to read.

When Jewish American stories are absent from our city's collective narrative, a void is created, one that is too often filled with misinformation, ignorance, and prejudice.

This is why proclamations like this matter.

They are not merely symbolic, they are foundational.

They help people see themselves reflected in the communities where they live and work.

They affirm that Jewish identity is not invisible, not peripheral, but an integral part of the civic fabric.

Representation fosters understanding and understanding builds belonging.

Working toward true Jewish belonging in Bellevue means more than just a proclamation.

It means listening to and believing these experiences.

It means continuing to act, like Bellevue has, and adopting a definition of anti-Semitism and committing to the safety and well-being of Jewish residents.

From that foundation of safety, celebration becomes not only possible, but meaningful.

And there is so much to celebrate.

Our region's Jewish community is one of the fastest growing in the nation.

We are home to the third largest Sephardic Jewish community in the country, and we grow more racially and ethically diverse every day.

This diversity is our strength.

For generations, the story of the Jewish people, one of resilience, faith, and hope in the face of adversity has been woven into the fabric of our nation's story.

That story is still being written.

And despite challenges we face today, I remain hopeful, hopeful because of leaders like you, hopefully because every act of recognition, every step toward inclusion helps ensure that the next generation will grow up in a community where they are safe, seen, and proud of who they are.

Mayor and council, thank you for seeing us.

By valuing our lived experiences and celebrating our history, you're helping to preserve the beautiful fabric of Bellevue.

We are proud to be your neighbors, and we are grateful for your partnership in ensuring that the Jewish community can be vibrant and thriving today and tomorrow.

Thank you so much.

If you hang out around after our fourth one, we come and take a picture of you two guys and we give you the proclamation.

Thank you.

The second proclamation is Affordable Housing Week, read by Councilmember Robinson, I.

Councilmember Robinson, we read the proclamation, then we would love to hear from you.

And please go ahead, Councilman.

I don't see, but I didn't see him in the audience.

Oh, okay.

Um, thank you, Mayor.

Whereas access to safe, healthy, and affordable housing is a cornerstone of vibrant, equitable communities and essential to the well-being of residents, and the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development defines affordable housing as housing for which a household pays no more than 30% of its gross income on housing costs, including utilities.

And whereas the Washington State Department of Commerce projects that by 2044, King County will need nearly 200,000 net new housing units for households at or below 80% of the area median income, underscoring the continued urgency of expanding affordable housing options.

And the City of Bellevue is actively advancing solutions through implementation of its affordable housing strategy with a goal of producing or preserving 5,700 affordable homes over the next decade, alongside continued investments and partnerships to support housing stability.

And whereas Bellevue is increasing housing supply through actions such as making city-owned land available for affordable housing development, supporting transit-oriented development, expanding housing opportunities through land use changes, and investing in services that support residents experiencing housing and stability.

And whereas affordable housing week is a time for communities across King County to raise awareness, promote solutions, and recognize the importance of ensuring access to affordable housing for all.

Now, therefore, I Lynn Robinson, on behalf of Mayor Malacoutian and the entire city council, do hereby proclaim May 11th through 15th, 2026 as affordable housing week and encourage all residents to recognize the importance of affordable housing in building a strong, inclusive community and to support efforts that expand access to safe, healthy, and affordable homes for all.

Thank you, Councilmember Robinson.

Welcome, please.

Honorable Mayor, Councilmembers, and community, my name is Troy Draz.

I'm with Imagined Housing.

It is an honor to be here tonight to participate in this proclamation for the preservation and promotion of affordable housing opportunities in Bellevue.

This kind of housing is absolutely impossible without partners such as the City of Bellevue and our other funders.

And speaking of partners, it's also very impossible to do it without land partners.

So with that, I'll hand it over to our friends at St.

Andrews.

Good evening.

My name is Tom Getzinger.

I'm the uh council president at St.

Andrew's Lutheran Church.

St.

Andrews has been a strong supporter of affordable housing for over 30 years.

The Forest Edge Apartments, which uh will provide over 100 units, affordable housing units on a portion of our land, is but the latest of those, and so we are looking forward to that becoming a reality very soon.

But it would not have been possible without strong support from the members of St.

Andrews, without a strong partner in Imagined Housing, and most importantly, without the financial and other support that you all and the City of Bellevue has provided.

So from the hearts of the members of St.

Andrews, thank you so much for making this possible.

I'll add a few words.

Good evening.

I'm Sahara Mini with Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat's mission statement is that we want to build a world where everyone has a safe, decent, and affordable place to live.

The City of Bellevue has been an incredible partner in getting closer to that mission.

Last year we uh received funding from the City of Bellevue to help us move forward with the Orchard Gardens project, which have we has now started demolition as of a few weeks ago, and we are really excited to bring homeownership opportunities to the City of Bellevue, as well as the Office of Housing and Director Siegel's incredible leadership and the affordable housing strategy that the council adopted recently, including homeownership as part of that priority and investing money and time and prioritizing it as a policy objective.

So we thank you very much and we appreciate your partnership.

And I'll say a few words as well.

Mary Kutralakos with SRM Development.

We were awarded funds for our Altair at Meet at East Maine project in partnership with Hope Link.

We are going to be building 146 units of housing, 30 to 60% area median income with wraparound services in the building.

And I mean, I think everyone has spoken to this, but we're really appreciative of the city, uh, city council and at a higher level, um, but also the uh people that are on the ground doing the work, helping us get permitting or permitted, um, helping us with the the fee waivers, you know, this work means a lot, and it is really great that the entire city is on the same page about providing affordable housing.

So thank you.

Thank you all.

Please hang out at the end of the fourth proclamation.

We will take a picture.

The third one is bike everywhere month.

Read by Deputy Mayor Hamilton, I will invite Mae Ling Ho, Yoon Ji Ma, and Han Wen Yuan to the table, and after our deputy mayor is done with the proclamation, we would love to hear from you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Whereas across Washington State, thousands of people choose to travel by bicycle for transportation and recreation, contributing to improved public health, a cleaner environment, and more connected community, and whereas the transportation sector remains a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, making travel choices an important part of reducing environmental impacts and advancing climate goals, and whereas building bicycle-friendly communities enhances safety, supports healthier lifestyles, and improves neighborhood connectivity while reducing air pollution.

And whereas the City of Bellevue, through programs such as Choose Your Way Bellevue, and in partnership with community organizations, actively supports Bike Everywhere Month each May.

And whereas Bellevue continues to invest in safe, accessible and connected bicycle infrastructure, including regional trail connections and multimodal corridors to expand transportation options and support a more inclusive and sustainable transportation system.

And whereas Bike Everywhere Day on May 15th, 2026 encourages residents to experience bicycling as a convenient, healthy, and sustainable way to travel.

Now, therefore, I, Dave Hamilton, on behalf of Mo Malicutian, Mayor of Bellevue, Washington, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as Bike Everywhere Month in Bellevue, and encourage all residents to consider bicycling for both transportation and recreation and to enjoy the many benefits it brings to our community year-round.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Welcome.

Dear Mayor Malikutian, Deputy Mayor Hamilton and Council members, thank you for inviting us.

My name is Mailing Ho, and I have been volunteering with the Little Masters Club since I was 10.

Little Masters Club is a youth-led nonprofit based in Bellevue, serving over 2,000 Chinese American families across the greater Seattle area.

Since 2015, the Little Masters Club has been organizing annual bike-a-thons in order to promote a healthy and eco-friendly way of life, both of physical strengths for youths, and enhance parent-child relationships.

Over the past decade, on the first Sunday of October each year, 150 to 200 youth riders ages five to 18 bike along uh their family bike alongside their families on the beautiful Samamish River Trail, choosing distances of either five, ten, or twenty miles.

Each year, around 50 to 80 high school volunteers worked on site to ensure a smooth delivery of the event.

Biking not only helps reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, but also supports physical health and well-being.

Let's bike together everywhere together.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other one of you want to say something?

I was the bikeathon lead for last year.

And I think this event was one of the most fun and fulfilling event I've ever been a part of.

Thank you so much.

Thank you to the Bellevue City Council.

And I'm Yunjima, I'm nine years old, and I bike 10 miles in the bike everywhere event of the Middle Masters Club.

We are very proud of you.

Thank you so much.

If you hang out, we will take a picture after the last one that is the next one.

Please just sit and then uh we will take a picture.

The last uh proclamation is building safety months.

Uh read by Councilmember Briar.

I will invite Jake Hesselgasser and Lauren Eck to sit down on the table.

Uh, please go ahead.

Whereas the City of Bellevue recognizes that our growth, resilience, and quality of life depend on modern building codes that ensure the safety of our homes, buildings, and infrastructure consistent with development services mission to protect the quality, safety, and integrity of the built and natural environment for an equitable, inclusive, and livable city.

And whereas building codes and standards safeguard the public from hazards and emergencies and support safe, sustainable growth of responsibility shared across Bellevue's development services line of businesses, and whereas our confidence in the safety of the buildings that make up our community is possible through the dedication of building safety and fire prevention officials, as well as architects, engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, and city staff who work every day to ensure safe construction.

And whereas Building Safety Month, sponsored by the International Code Council, highlights the critical role of these often unseen protections and professionals who support safe, sustainable, and resilient buildings that contribute to Bellevue's long-term prosperity.

And whereas the 2026 Building Safety Month theme, Bill to Last, emphasizes the importance of durable construction, disaster preparedness, and forward-looking practices that help ensure our community remains safe and resilient for generations to come.

And whereas this month provides an opportunity to recognize and thank the professionals who dedicate their work to protecting lives and strengthening the safety of our community.

Now, therefore, I, Councilmember Noreen Breyer, on behalf of Mayor Mo Melakutian of Bellevue, Washington, and on behalf of the City Council do hereby proclaim May 2026 as Building Safety Month in Bellevue and encourage all residents, businesses, and community partners to recognize the importance of building safety and support practices that create a safer and more resilient Bellevue.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Welcome.

Good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council members.

We're certainly humbled to accept this proclamation this evening and appreciate the recognition that building and fire codes play when it comes to creating the high quality built natural environment that we enjoy in our community.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council members.

On behalf of all the professionals designing, constructing, inspecting, and maintaining the many thousands of buildings in Bellevue.

Recognizing their outstanding work, ensuring that our buildings are safe and healthy for us all.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Let's take a picture of it to you all.

And then we go reverse order.

Now we are all back.

Do I have a motion to approve the agenda?

I move to approve the agenda.

Is there a second?

It has been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Council Member New House.

Any discussion.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

City clerk.

The best part.

Oral communication.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, so this evening there are eleven pre-registered speakers.

So first I'll mention that um, of course, the council appreciates members of the public engaging and contributing their perspectives, and also supports everyone's right to express themselves.

However, I want to mention comments shared during oral communications, represent the views of individual speakers and do not necessarily uh reflect the views or values of the city council or the city.

So a few of the rules before I start calling names.

First, the total time for oral communications is for a period of not more than thirty 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.

And then one final reminder that in compliance with Washington state campaign laws regarding the use of public facilities during elections, no speaker may support or oppose a candidate for election or a ballot measure.

If anyone begins speaking about those items, you will be asked to stop.

So with that, I will go to our first speaker on the list, who's Tim Carr.

Welcome.

Mayor Malcusian, Deputy Mayor Hamilton, Council.

City Manager Carlson.

My name is Tim Carr.

I'm the CEO of the Bellevue Convention Center Authority that operates Maidenbauer Center, Maiden Barrow Theater, and Visit Bellevue, Washington.

I currently serve as the chair of the board for the Bellevue Downtown Association.

I'm also on the steering committee for the Friends of the Grand Connection.

And I'm here to express strong support for the Grand Connection Crossing Project and the tax increment financing as a funding tool.

Maiden Bower Center and Maiden Barrow Theater are longstanding examples of successful public projects.

Drawing on that experience, we recognize that tax increment financing, which captures increased property tax revenue from surrounding development, provides approving funding strategy to move the Grand Connection Crossing forward.

Exercising sound financial stewardship, insignating our collective investment in the region.

From my role with the Bellevue Downtown Association, we see the Grand Connection Crossing as a way to reconnect our city, increase mobility and accessibility, and provide a critical link for the overall Grand Connection Corridor.

Bellevue's signature placemaking initiative linking people and places.

Helping Bellevue meet its long-term livability, economic competitiveness, and environmental sustainability goals.

We truly see this project as a strategic equity investment with impacts well beyond Bellevue by connecting thousands by connecting affordable housing, employment centers, transit, essential service, and recreation through a car-free pathway.

The crossing advances our commitment to ensuring every resident can access economic opportunity and healthy connected lives.

Thank you for your time, consideration, and leadership, advancing the TIFF and the Grand Connection Project.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

The next speaker is Catherine Hollis.

Welcome.

Hello, Mayor Malikushin, Deputy Mayor Hamilton, Council Members and City Manager Carlson.

I'm Catherine Hollis, Executive Director of East Trail Partners, an executive committee member for the Friends of the Grand Connection Crossing.

On behalf of East Trail Partners, I'm here to express strong support for the Grand Connection Crossing project.

East Rail Parker Partners is a nonprofit stewarding the 42 Mile East Trail, the Rail to Trail Project running from Renton to Snohomish that connects two counties and six cities with direct connections to Light Rail, upcoming Stride Rapid Ride stations, and our wider regional trail network.

The Grand Connection Crossing will create a protected car-free pathway across 405, linking where we are right here in downtown Bellevue to the 42 Mile East Trail and other direct connections to our regional trail system.

The crossing and east trail are integral to each other, forming a seamless regional active transportation network that will serve communities from Bellevue and beyond for generations to come.

This connection is especially transformative for households without car access by providing safe walking, biking, and rolling routes connecting to four light roll stations along the East Trail.

The crossing removes a major barrier to economic mobility, giving residents an affordable housing, which we heard about earlier proclamation, direct access to employment, education, health care, and child care.

The crossing, much like East Trail, will function both as transportation infrastructure and public green space, unlocking access to King County's 175-mile regional trail system.

From downtown Bellevue via the crossing to East Trail, users will be able to reach the Mountains of Sound Trail running east-west through Bellevue as well as a 520 corridor in Bellevue and beyond.

This dramatically enhances our region's interconnected trail system and ensures that communities historically underserved by parks and recreation infrastructure can more easily enjoy equitable access to outdoor spaces and nature.

And let's not forget the proclamation from just a few moments ago that May is National Bike Month.

The Grand Connection Crossing will be one piece of still much needed pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Bellevue.

At East Trail Partners, we know firsthand the benefits of public private partnerships.

Having worked with RII, Meta, and Amazon for direct investment in East Trail and Bellevue.

For the Grand Connection Crossing Tax Increment Financing, TIFF, which captures increased property tax revenue from surrounding development, offers a powerful mechanism to advance the Grand Connection Crossing project.

Thank you for taking steps tonight to make the Grand Connection Crossing a reality.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Armand Bilga.

Welcome.

Hi everyone.

Hi, Mayor Melakussian, Deputy Mayor Hamilton, Council members, on behalf of Eastside Urbanism and Complete Speaks Bellevue.

We're just so excited for the proclamation that this is a bike everywhere month and upcoming Bike Everywhere Day.

Of course, I cannot.

It was such a sweet story from the about the Little Masters Club.

I did not know about that.

It was, and I'm so excited to hear learn more about what they're doing and their um their bike ride.

But I wanted to tell my own small story, which was I did my first bike everywhere day two years ago, and it happened to fall on my birthday.

And I have to say it's a really great way to spend your birthday because you get to be out.

It was a beautiful day.

You get to go to these different stations and there's like snacks and lots of really cool apparel from projects like Choose Your Way Bellevue, all these things.

But most of all, you get to meet your friends.

I was just running into people.

One of the people I ran into besides my friend was actually uh Emil King, who is your uh uh community development at the city.

And so it's just this amazing community thing.

Like what a great thing to be just going around where you live and running into your friends, running into people you know.

And like this is really what like this is what biking is about in the community building we talk about.

Um, another thing I ended up doing that day was there's a project called Pedaling Relief Project.

Um, this is something Cascade Bicchol Club runs, and I want to mention it because they did their first ride in Bellevue recently, and it was actually a partnership I understand between Amazon and Hopelink, where they rescue food and bring it uh to Hopelink or other uh food banks to make sure it can be distributed to the people who need it most.

So it is really cool that they do this on bicycles using trailers and cargo bikes, and like it's just amazing to me.

Like in two years, this is where Bellevue has come.

The Cascade is expanding this important program to our city as well.

So, congratulations to all of them.

I think that's that's amazing.

Um, thank you to all of you as well for your strong uh support for uh projects for bicycle infrastructure and and on all users, uh pedestrians and uh people of all abilities.

It is so important.

Thank you for your emphasis on safety, especially as we head into the next uh budget cycle and planning.

Um complete streets Bellevue and East Side Urbanism are part of this coalition, Safe Bellevue.

Streets are for everyone, and we're working together and we're excited to work with you and uh 20 uh community organizations across Bellevue and the East Side to we're really excited to work together to um uh advance the projects that will really make a difference in in advancing safety for the members, all members of our community, and uh bringing people together in all these you know different ways in our neighborhoods and in our wonderful city.

So, yeah, thank you to all of you.

Thank you to our partners like East Trail who spoke a bit earlier, and yeah, uh look forward to seeing you out all on bikes this month.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And the next speaker is Peter Bert.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Petter Burt, and I am the president and CEO of Kids Quest Children's Museum, a nonprofit currently located at 116th Northeast, here in Bellevue, and in mid-2029, we will relocate to 510 Bellevue A, the building previously known as the Bellevue Arts Museum.

I want to thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

KidsQu strives to be the community's museum and not just a museum in your community.

Our move to SmackDeb in the middle of Bellevue is an exciting opportunity, located amid some of the greatest retail opportunities, right on the Grand Connection, and accessibility to the amazing newly opened Crossflake Connection.

Our expansion is the answer to the call from our community.

We need to be able to serve more visitors in our exhibits, more children in our classrooms for field trips, camps, and workshops.

KidsQuest never turns anyone away because they cannot afford to pay.

We work or afford to play.

We work diligently with our human service partners to ensure that this is a reality.

We are a hub within our community, highlighting multi-generational educational opportunities, and most importantly, sparking joy right here in Bellevue.

Thank you, Mayor, Council members, city manager, and deputy managers, all of you for your belief in us, and we are excited to do amazing things now and in the future.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Kevin Willis.

Welcome.

It's nice to be here.

Nice to see all of you.

Glad you're feeling better, Councilmember Breyer.

Kevin Wallace, I live in the Lakemont neighborhood, and it's a great honor to get to talk to you tonight about the tax increment financing opportunity that you have in front of you.

I'm sure that I don't need to twist your arms too hard to support it, but kind of wanted to talk about a few different things that are uh kind of related to it.

One is uh this is a really high degree of difficulty thing to do, and I really want to um congratulate and thank the staff, your staff that have really done an incredible job in putting this complex proposal together in front of you.

Uh, second, it requires a commitment from our partners in the region, especially King County, um, who doesn't always do all the things we want them to do, but this time they did, so I'm really grateful that that they all came together and supported this uh this opportunity for the city.

Um, the second element is the overall transportation budget.

We learned a couple weeks ago that you guys have a massive ball of transportation projects in front of you, and this project, the Grand Connection Crossing, is one of them.

And so for the community, what's important to understand is this is a fairly painless way of generating a lot of tax revenue that can be applied to the largest project within that transportation pot.

And every dollar that you can take from the tax increment financing opportunity to apply to the transportation budget is a dollar that gets freed up to get spent from other sources on those other projects.

So it's a really important reason why, you know, assuming we're going forward and doing all of the projects that and we do need to do them because the density has been already authorized to require really the projects, the other projects, in addition to this Grand Connection Crossing project.

Uh, it's important that we support this funding source to free up the dollars for those other projects.

And I look forward to continuing to talk to you and Armand and everybody else about that great multimodal transportation package that doesn't just address bikes but also addresses all the other modes we need to address.

Um overall, um, really uh grateful for this uh this opportunity that the city that you all have in front of you.

Um looking forward to you establishing the legacy you have.

I think you know, from my perspective, as I look back when when I was on the council, the thing I remember most are the infrastructure votes that we took, whether it was parks or roads or the light rail alignment.

Uh, those are the things when I drive through the city now, and I think back on my time that I remember the most.

So it's cool that you guys have the opportunity in front of you to participate in creating a legacy of your own by approving these great projects that we need to approve for the next next generation.

And I look forward to this playing out over the course of the year and you guys ultimately doing it.

So support the TIFF.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Jessica Rowe, who I believe is joining us virtually.

Ms.

Rowe, can you hear me?

Yeah, I can hear you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, good evening, council members.

Jessica Rowe, Landy's attorney with McCullough Hill, speaking tonight on behalf of the Plus Committee.

Um, wanted to express our support generally for the downtown Livability 2.0 initiative and say that we're looking forward to working with you as always, you and staff on this initiative.

We, as you probably saw, submitted a more detailed letter on this, but I'll just recap our ask at the end of the letter, which is uh respectfully urging the council to direct that the initiative include express enabling language for pedestrian connections between private spaces above the right-of-way with objective design standards and a clear permitting pathway.

Updated and streamlined standards for compact parking, build scene line departures, parking reductions, active use definitions, weather protection, and weather protection to reflect the realities of modern urban development.

Third, downtown is a special place, as I'm sure you agree.

Do not simply align the downtown code with the mixed-use zones that please give specific direction that downtown should be treated directly in many respects differently in many respects.

Um particularly special place.

Please incorporate rational and functional design standards that reinforce that sense of place without creating inconsistency with state law regarding landmarks.

And finally, I'll propose the above the prior bullet.

Um but broadly speaking, ensure that the use of incentives to encourage the outcomes council is looking for.

Again, really value our ongoing partnership and thank you for the opportunity to comment and looking forward to collaborating with you all on this.

Welcome.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members.

My name is Matt Jack, and I'm here on behalf of the Bellevue Downtown Association to voice support for the launch of Downtown Livability 2.0.

In addition to support for downtown livability 2.0, I would like to promote five themes that are sourced from our past work on the downtown code.

And those themes are one, seek to improve clarity, predictability, and usability, two, ensure that the updates translate well into an efficient review process.

Three, maintain flexibility as a means to ensure high quality design, four, support housing production and project feasibility, and five, integrate calibration tools that allow for an iterative update as needed.

So that's the core of my message.

And now I'd like to use the remaining bit of my time to tell a short story about the last time the BDA engaged in a downtown land use code update.

And it was in 2017.

No, it's the one year that we don't want to remember, and it was in 2020.

So if you recall, there was that weird moment where we couldn't meet, and we all had to buy cameras and figure out how to use teams.

Tell us like what worked, what didn't work, and gather those insights and then bring it forward to the council.

Well, it was it was an effective gathering.

We even worked with the uh development services, um, and we talked through many different aspects of the code at that time.

And by the time we had completed this body of work, um, planning commission was up and going.

City council was meeting on screens.

Um, and we realized it was not an appropriate time to transmit that work before council because there was a backlog of land use code initiatives that you had to work on.

East Maine, Wilburton, the periodic comprehensive plan was coming up.

So we decided to take that work and turn it into a memo, and we provided that memo to city staff.

And so the gist of it is that there was this one message, one theme, that we want a periodic update of the land use code to avoid 30-year overhauls of the code.

And I think it's a really important part.

And the city staff is doing that.

Mr.

Jack, I'm sorry, I have to cut you off.

Ah, you should.

Thank you so much.

This is a positive note.

Good job.

Thank you.

Paul Rood is next.

Welcome.

Thank you.

I didn't plan that.

Thank you, Council.

I want to give you a history of noise regulation and enforcement in Bellevue over the past 30 years.

This is my perspective.

In about 1997, vehicle exhaust modification kits were put on the market, and Bellevue became noisy.

The police enforced on the modified exhaust law, and Bellevue became noticeably quieter.

Then several things happened.

Manufacturers began offering cars designed to be noisy.

Rather than enforce noise on manufactured cars, the police stopped enforcing noise on all vehicles.

Second, gasoline powered leaf blowers became much more prevalent.

And third, in 1998, there was an apparent event of regulatory capture of City Hall.

Regulatory capture is when the offenders gain seats on City Council or gain influence at City Hall and eliminate regulation of their offenses.

While this can never be proven, you need to look no further than the display of deference by council to the noisemakers on April 23rd, 2024.

Example.

In 2003, I worked on explicit noise violation up BPD to the captain level.

The captain spent three hours reading the regulations, then we read them together.

He could not refute the clause I was quoting, but closed the conversation by saying when you take the regulations as a whole, these this clause does not apply.

Implicitly, he had been instructed that there will be no noise enforcement on any construction activity, even explicit violations.

The last two violations I called in 2425, the police simply said, call the non-emergency number, we'll check on Monday.

Catch 22.

We will enforce noise regulations, but only when noise is legal.

When it's illegal, we won't investigate.

After 28 years, we now have a cohort of police who think noise enforcement is not their responsibility, do not know how, and will not take initiative.

For noise, Bellevue is not service first.

A couple months ago, I read redlined the noise regulations for you.

This would give Bellevue police unambiguous criteria on which to enforce, restore quiet in resident residential zoning areas in the evening, and allow 60 hours a week for necessary noise.

Want to call out to the three new council members.

Don't be shy.

You can introduce updates to the noise regulations.

And I think there are several members on council that would support you.

Council, please get this done.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Arlene Northhorn.

Welcome.

So thank you, really.

Uh Mayor and all of you.

And um before I start, Jared, I would like to uh make an observation about you.

This is our second uh visit before you people, and both times we've been here, you've been a proponent of the Jewish community.

And I understand that you do have a background of the Jewish community in Denmark.

Is it true or not?

Yes.

Okay.

So therefore, you're probably aware of a family in Europe called the Ellenbogens.

Huh?

Very famous family.

That's Frieda's.

That's Frieda's heritage.

Her father was at Allen Bogan.

So I think we we thank you.

Okay.

So the subject, huh?

Discount programs for 100% disabled veterans.

Huh?

We spoke about that, what, three or four months ago.

And other than a visit with the mayor, not much has happened that we're aware of.

Does that mean that there's apathy on the council?

If nothing happens, I don't know how to interpret that.

Now I spoken to the assistant manager uh two ladies that you have.

And the last memo I got was several months ago.

And she says, at this time, this is what I know of the progress that has made since you came to speak to our council, which was in February, huh?

Number one, the utility department staff are actively reviewing the program and the stated that they will be reaching out to connect with you.

Never happened.

Number two, the Environmental Service Commission will be included your request to review and update the utility rate relief program.

Once discussions have been made, the policy will alter to come back to council for review, direction, and adoption.

Has that happened?

Is anybody from anybody spoken to any of you about this program?

Mayor, can you explain how public comments?

Yeah, we don't just engage with you.

You finish your comments and the staff will get back to you.

Yeah.

So I have been told that the uh it's called the ESC.

They have a meeting like this.

This is coming Thursday, uh, which is also limited to a three-minute discussion.

And so we will go there and uh I'm just hoping you know that you people will give this some more serious thought, honestly.

And I've been advised, Jared, that I should ask to get on your schedule to come in and talk to you.

And somebody will call okay.

All right, thank you.

And thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Council people.

Thank you.

Doesn't look like Mr.

McWilliams is here.

Uh so we do have a few minutes left.

I'll make a call out to see if there are any others who would like to make a comment to council this evening.

If there are, please raise your hand.

That goes for those online.

Um, I will note that we have already had three speakers in support of the Grand Connection TIFF item, so we can hear no more speakers on that.

Okay, no hands, Mayor.

I'll turn it back to you.

Thank you so much.

And uh thank you, everyone again who took the time to share comments with us.

You all should be assured that we are listening and we follow up if and when necessarily.

We have uh council business and new initiatives, uh council liaison recommendation for appointment to the Human Service Commission.

Um Councilmember Robinson, do you want to talk about it and make a motion?

Um yes, thank you, Mayor.

Um I'm going to be uh nominating uh Carolyn Bassana to fill a partial term on the Human Services Commission.

The uh Human Services Commission is about to embark on the uh grant process, which is very involved, and Carolyn has uh tremendous experience in public benefits at with Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, and so she comes highly recommended, and we know she'll be able to hit the ground running.

So I move that we appoint.

Um I don't have the motion in front of me, I'm sorry, but I'm just gonna make it a I move that we appoint um Carolyn Bassana to fulfill the partial term remaining term of the Human Services Commission.

Is there a second second?

It's been moved by Councilmember Robinson, seconded by Deputy Mayor Hamilton.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

The motion passes.

Before we go to public hearing, we have a city manager.

No, you're going back.

Thank you.

Great.

It was not in my board document.

Um just thing.

You go back to the city man uh city manager uh report.

Please go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Council members.

Uh, before you get to your consent calendar, I would like to highlight one item on the calendar for tonight.

That's item D.

It's ordinance 6915.

This includes a funding agreement with Kids Cat Kids Quest Children's Museum to provide up to 10,000 10 million in funds over the next two biennia to be used by KidsQuest to open a new facility in Bellevue.

And the second uh component of that ordinance is amending the city of Bellevue 2025-2026 general fund budget to increase the appropriation by 4.5 million from the long-range planning reserve to fund the initial installment of this agreement.

KidsQuest Museum is a vital community asset, um, serving over 200,000 visitors annually with their steam-centered learn through play.

And having grown their uh current outgrown their current facility, which you heard um earlier about, uh, they are planning for a new facility.

It will be very much in the heart of our city downtown in the former uh Bellevue Arts Museum building.

And having this larger facility will certainly allow Kids Quest to serve more more, more families, more children, and increase public access to arts and the sciences.

In late 2024, during our biennial budget process, council supported identifying long-range planning funds in the in the biannual budget for this potential investment in a new kids' quest facility.

I want to thank you that allowed us to start these conversations with KidsQuest.

We have taken appropriate steps in the proposed agreement to secure the public investments through deed of trust and restrictive covenants.

And we've also identified a range of public benefits that will be required by KidsQuest in return for those public funds.

In addition to the direct public benefits, there are also significant economic benefits and social impacts generated by the expanded facility.

I also would like to acknowledge some very significant efforts of our staff, Courtney Popp, our city attorney's office, and Lori Hoffman, our arts and creative economy manager.

This is a very exciting next step for KidsQuest for the city, for the children and the families who will benefit from the larger and expanded museum in the future.

So thank you, Council, for your consideration of this ordinance.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

Indeed, very exciting, and I cannot wait to celebrate this big event in a very exciting and more fun manner at some point later.

Now we can go to our public hearings.

We have two off.

Oh you have you don't have something else?

Councilman.

Great.

Do we have a motion to approve the consent calendar?

I move to approve the consent calendar.

Second.

It's been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Councilmember Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed.

The motion passes.

Now public hearing city manager, please introduce that to us.

Thank you, Mayor.

Deputy Mayor and Council members.

We have two partial easement releases being brought to you this evening.

They do require two separate public hearings, and they represent two different properties in the redevelopment process.

Happy to welcome Lauren Matlick, our real property manager, to describe these properties and also the partial easement releases, and to then turn it back to you, Council Mayor, for uh the public hearings.

Lauren.

Thank you, Ms.

Crosson.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members.

Our staff report this evening is on a request to release portions of two easements.

One sidewalk and utility easement and one sidewalk utility and wall easement, both located at 1425, 120th Avenue Northeast.

On March 17th, Council declared these portions of two easements is no longer necessary to the city's needs and set today as the date for holding the public hearing.

The purpose of tonight's hearing is allow to allow public an opportunity to comment.

Whoops, there we go.

Headed a couple times.

I hope it stays.

For consideration this evening are the releases of portions of two separate easements.

The first, shown yellow as part of a sidewalk and utility easement that will no longer be necessary upon development.

A new easement will be granted to the city addressing the needs of the redeveloped site.

The second shown in red is a sidewalk utility and wall easement.

For release is the wall portion of the easement, which will no longer be any required as the property will be developed to back of sidewalk, replacing the necessity of the wall.

Following public hearing, staff request council action on the proposed resolution authorizing partial release of these two easements.

I can answer any questions following the public hearing.

Thank you so much.

Do I have a motion to open the public hearing?

I move to open the public hearing.

Is there a second?

It's been moved by deputy mayor and seconded by council member Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

We are in public hearing.

Thank you, Mayor.

So this evening there are no pre-registered speakers for this public hearing.

So I would do a call out and ask if anyone joining us would like to make a comment.

Please raise your hand.

Uh no hands, Mayor.

I will turn it back to you.

Thank you so much.

Do I have a motion to close the public hearing?

I move to close the public hearing.

Is there is been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Council Member Robinson?

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

Any further discussion.

Can I get the motion, please?

I move to adopt resolution number 10629 authorizing the execution of document necessary to release portions of two easements, one sidewalk and utility easement, and one sidewalk utility and wall easement located at 1425 120th Avenue Northeast, which have been determined to no longer be required for continued public service.

Second.

It's been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Councilmember Robinson.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Everyone said aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

Thank you.

Let's go to the second one.

All right.

Sounds good.

All right.

There we go.

Okay.

Our second staff report for this evening is on a request to release a portion of a water easement located at 12835 Northeast Bell Red Road.

On March 24th, Council declared this easement is surplus to the city's needs and set today as the date for holding the public hearing in order to be allow the public the opportunity to comment.

The property is located along Bell Red Road near the intersection with 130th Avenue Northeast and is being redeveloped into a 31 unit market rate town home community.

The existing facilities within the easement shown red will be removed.

A new water easement will be acquired from the property owner at no cost to the city, avoiding uh new roads and reconnecting to the existing remainder of the water line that extends beyond this parcel to adjacent properties.

Following this public hearing, staffers request council action on the proposed resolution releasing this easement.

Thank you so much.

Do I have a motion to open the public hearing?

I move to open the public hearing.

Second.

It's been moved by deputy mayor and seconded by council member Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

We are in the open public hearing.

Thank you.

Again, no preregistered speakers for this public hearing.

So do a call out for those that want to make a comment.

Please raise your hand.

And no hands, mayor.

I'll turn it back to you.

Thank you so much.

Do I have a motion to do the to close the public hearing?

I move to close the public hearing.

Second.

It's been moved by deputy mayor and seconded by councilmember Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

Any further discussion?

Can I please get a motion?

I move to adopt resolution number 10630 authorizing the execution of documents necessary to release an existing water easement located at 12835 Northeast Bellevue Redmond Road, which has been declared surplus to the city's needs and is no longer required for providing continued water service.

The granting and recording of such release being deemed in the best interest of the public.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Council Member Robinson.

Any discussion.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

Lauren, thank you so much for always being here.

Thank you for doing this kind of easement.

We can jump into our first exciting study session item.

Bellevue Grand Connection Tief and City Manager, please introduce that to us.

Thank you, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council members.

It seems like it's been a long and an incredibly short year, maybe 10 months of active work on tax increment financing proposal.

This tool was provided via the legislature last year, and it is a key component of what we have proposed for the Grand Connection funding.

Staff is here tonight to review the proposed structure in Bellevue.

And I want to give significant thank you to our taxing jurisdictions who have agreed to participate in this.

You'll hear more about this in the presentation tonight.

And I must uh take a moment to offer just great appreciation to our staff and consultant team that worked on this.

And much thanks to Genesee Adkins and John Resha and Katie Halsey for really incredible, as you heard, difficult detailed work and strategy to get to the point of bringing this to you tonight.

So I want to thank them, the Office of the Grand Connection team for their support also in working through this.

I will notice here that we have Genesee Adkins, our deputy city manager, John Reesa, John Risha, our chief financial officer, Nathan Torglelson from the Office of Grand Connection, and Bob Stowe, who has served as our consultant through this process.

So with that, I will hand this over to Genesee to kick off the presentation.

Great.

Thank you, City Manager Carlson.

Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Honorable Council members, it's a pleasure to be with you tonight with an update for you on tax increment financing and the Grand Connection Crossing.

All right, we'll just move right into it.

There we go.

All right.

So this evening, we're hoping that we will receive your direction to uh consider having us come back to you with an ordinance that would establish the tax increment finance area for action at one of your upcoming meetings.

Our one.

There we go.

All right.

Our agenda for this evening is a brief uh recap of the Grand Connection Crossing.

Uh, and then we're gonna talk for a little while about tax increment financing to make sure that uh that tool is understood by everyone.

Uh and then we will also talk briefly about the adoption of uh TIFF and our status with the taxing districts.

Uh and with that, I will hand it over to my colleague, um, Mr.

Torvalson.

Hey, good evening, Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Council members.

Um, I just want to recognize the Bellevue City Council has been instrumental in creating the vision for this really exciting project, um, and I'm thrilled to be part of that.

Um, I'm gonna walk us through the vision and the anticipated impact of the Grand Connection.

And uh I just want to thank you, uh, Mayor, for providing public comment uh earlier today before the Metro King County Council about this project.

So thank you.

So since 2012, the city has been advancing a vision for a 1.5 mile civic corridor stretching from Maidenbauer Bay on Lake Washington through downtown Bellevue.

Uh and then uh across Interstate 405 to East Rail in Wilberton, and the East Rail Trail spans from Snohomish and Woodenville all the way to Renton.

Uh, and we know that the Port of Seattle has made a significant investment uh in the East Rail Trail.

The Grand Connection creates a cohesive civic experience by linking uh spaces across the corridor and further Bellevue's long-term livability, economic competitiveness, and environmental sustainability goals.

The project helps to decrease the anticipated uptick in auto traffic in Bellevue, which is significant.

While there are other crossings across Interstate 405 in Bellevue, this one will be much friendlier for walkers and for wheel crossers.

Uh, and one that will be not next to car traffic.

In many cases, uh, this project will allow people to cross I 405 faster than getting into your car and having to find a parking space.

And the actual crossing will be a little less than a half mile long.

It'll be more like 2,000 feet long.

The city began early design work in 2021 for this project with support from key stakeholder Amazon, which cumulated in the selection of a design firm, WSP to perform 30% design, which was completed in 2023.

The city further committed to this program with the creation of the Office of the Grand Connection last year.

And furthermore, received state permission to pursue an alternative form of construction delivery for this crossing, known as general contractor, construction manager project delivery.

Mr.

Torposon, I'm sorry, I'm gonna stop you for a second.

We're having a problem with the clicker.

If you could indicate next when you want the slide, we'll run it from here.

Absolutely.

So this is a rendering from the 30% crossing design for the Grand Connection.

This is a community shaping investment.

It will support people choosing new ways of getting around.

It will encourage them to step out of their home office or their daily routine and make it easier for visitors to weave Bellevue into their weekend plans.

It provides a healthy and sustainable travel option.

The improved connection makes a new development possible in Wilburton and in downtown Bellevue.

And we project that that growth will translate into more than 2.5 million in new property tax revenue every year.

These resources will help pay for services, parks, safety, and transportation that benefit all of us in Bellevue.

Many people who live and work in Bellevue use transit or light rail.

And in many cases, using the Grand Connection crossing will be faster than driving.

In many cases, driving across 405, it may take too long to drive and to find parking.

Next slide.

This expanded network connects our region for more seamless work, play, and travel opportunities.

This is the kind of infrastructure that attracts major employers whose workforces value healthy sustainable travel options over long car commutes.

Now I'll pass the mic over to John Risha, the city's chief financial officer who will continue with the presentation.

Thank you, Nathan.

Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Council Members.

Next slide, please.

And next slide.

As we get into the specifics of tax increment financing, um, it's really important to start from uh remembering that the state legislature provided us with a unique opportunity.

The underlying tax increment financing uh statute provides for a base assessed value for a district of up to 200 million uh dollars.

They've provided us with a special uh section of code that allowed us to go up to 500 million, but in exchange for that, they did request that for any of the participating jurisdictions to participate, they must take a legislative action.

Uh, that included King County with King County EMS, the King County flood control district, King County Library System, Port of Seattle, and Sound Transit.

We've had a wonderful few months working with these jurisdictions, and uh have really come to a very positive uh conclusion.

But this section of code was part of what the legislator provided Bellevue with as a unique tool.

Next slide.

As we think about tax increment financing, the easiest way to think about this is when an increment area is formed, the assessed value is frozen.

So that theoretic 500 up to 500 million dollars stays frozen, and all of the existing taxing districts continue to collect taxes on that base assessed value.

But all of the growth above that, with the exclusion of school districts and schools, all that assessed increment value is accrued to the City of Bellevue's project, and we receive those tax revenues.

And at the end of that increment area or the payoff of the debt associated with the project, then those underlying districts receive all of that full economic value.

So this is really a tool where we capture the taxes that are being paid by everyone, but we capture them locally instead of shipping them off to other jurisdictions.

Next slide.

Because we were very thoughtful and careful, because we have competing policy interests.

We wanted to respect and encourage the housing and the multifamily housing tax exemption supercharger that you brought forward with the last set of uh Wilburton work.

And at the same time, wanted to work very closely with the developers to get those properties that were ready for development.

And so in that process, we literally talked to all of the developers and property owners and said, what is your likelihood of developing and what type of development are you anticipating?

It was a very uh simplified approach to get at the market of what could be.

We then use those data to create three scenarios.

A full phased out, we're gonna do all the things that we heard.

A market, uh, a phase where we're gonna do some of those along the way, or the limited build out or the most conservative of those, where we think these are the ones that are likely to pop, if you will, and get into development within this 25-year period.

We did that analysis.

Uh, Mr.

Stow and his uh uh company did the work for us.

We got that analysis to the state treasurer who has gone through a process of certifying that we have followed uh state law and met all of the statutes, and we have used that methodology that stands up to that test.

So the but four analysis, or the we believe that the uh this project will actually spur this development to happen or happen earlier.

And so all of that came forward, and we met all of those tests.

Um, and we ended up with the parcel with a district of 33 parcels, 64 and a half acres.

Um it's an odd shape, but this is what it looks like, and it does not overlap with that housing and that anticipated housing.

Next slide.

As we look at looked at those scenarios, each one of them was estimated to generate different levels of property taxes.

We carried our philosophy of being very careful and cautious and being conservative about our general fund, and we chose to utilize the most conservative of those, the market responsive limited build-out, which we anticipated to generate up to 84.4 uh million dollars of tax revenue across the total of the 25-year period.

There's less in the early years, there's much more in the out years as that property begins to uh accumulate its value.

But we wanted to be very careful, and this is we said let's not assume a high or aggressive or highly speculative approach, but we chose the most likely scenario for the development.

Next slide.

So, as I was starting to explain, um with if you think about the property taxes and about the TIFF, if we think about it in year one, you're imagine you are paying about $100 in property taxes.

The TIFF gets established, we're doing the work to construct it.

You do a remodel of your property, and now your property taxes are $300.

Well, that underlying 100 continues to go where it used to go, but the additional 200 are now coming to Bellevue and to the project instead of going out to those other locations.

But the additional 200 are now coming to Bellevue and to the project instead of going out to those other locations.

So it is a way, this is a simplified way to think about how we capture that value.

Next slide.

So a few of our frequently asked questions is there's some really wonky parts of this legislation, and I will share with you.

We have gotten really technical about things.

But if we boil it down, is it an additional tax on Bellview property owners?

The answer is no.

Everyone pays the same rate.

We just capture more of that.

Does it divert tax revenues from schools?

And the answer is no, it does not.

Those are outside of the purview of apportionment, and they continue to go where they were always intended.

What happens if the development happens sooner?

That means we pay off the loan the debt sooner, and we actually uh close up the TIFF early because it can only be used to pay for project costs, and the economic value is returned or moved back to the underlying districts.

So it's here for a single purpose to help us fund this project and the debt associated with it.

Next slide.

So what does that mean?

Well, all of our districts have come together and have said yes to their participation.

And that totals, including Bellevue's own property, own property taxes within it within the district.

About 67.7 or almost 68 million dollars of revenue coming in to help fund the project.

This is a very welcome piece of the funding.

It follows some of the policy guidance of trying to draw uh growth paying for growth and really tying that in.

Um, but this is how the participation uh pencils out.

Next slide.

TIFF adoption timelines.

All right.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Risha.

Uh so uh we'll talk for a moment about uh the timeline and next steps ahead of us and just recently behind us.

So this is the adoption timeline that we have been moving along for a little less than the last year.

Uh we came before you last July on the heels of the legislative session where we got this very unique uh form of TIFF, a TIFF authority, uh, and saw at your green light to move forward with uh trying to work with the taxing districts and to perform the project analysis that really kicked off our process.

Um, one thing that we wanted to really uh look at pretty clear-eyed was the uh typical length of time that it takes to um implement uh tax increment financing.

This is only a law that we've had available to us in Washington for less than a handful of years, and in a standard TIFF process or what I will sometimes call a unilateral TIFF process, we know that that has often taken about 18 to 24 months to execute, and so knowing that we had less than 12, it was going to end with the additional requirement of getting a legislative action from each of the other taxing districts who had never done something like that because it had never been a requirement previously, uh, we knew it was a lot to uh bite off.

Um, we moved through that process into the fall, uh, really trying to dry that draw that map very carefully and informed by what we knew from developers and property owners about which parcels were likely to develop as housing versus uh commercial and mixed use.

Um it was in mid-October that we gave the official notice after informal conversations uh to the other taxing districts to say, okay, we now really believe we are moving forward to explore this with the Office of the State Treasurer and with all of you.

We gave them that notice in mid-October, and then uh as we started to put together the project analysis, which is required by the underlying state TIF statute.

It's what we brought on Mr.

Stowe uh and his associates for.

We submitted that in its final form to the state treasurer in January.

Uh, and we did hear back after their review period with a positive affirmation of our assumptions and our projections uh the first week of March.

And what is important here in that kind of hatched box in the bottom left is that all along the way we kept giving updates to the taxing districts and uh continued to say we really are asking very humbly for your consideration to take an action to participate in this, which we know really requires a lot of um consideration of some details and impacts on their long-term finance plans.

So we knew that by state law, uh our special authorization required them to act before we act.

And so we said, hey, by the end of April, that's really when we would like you to try to um get that consideration before your governing body.

Next slide.

So this is the current status of our engagement with the taxing districts.

Uh, and I'll just walk through them very briefly.

So, first on this list is the King County Library System.

Uh, we had a long conversation with King County Libraries, they were very excellent to work with.

They had every one of these taxing districts.

I want to give thanks to the boards, commissioners, supervisors for each one of these because each one of these has their own obligations and responsibilities to think about their long-term budget, their long-term financial plan, and how this affects it for the libraries.

They have a um levy lid lift that they want to do out in the future.

They wanted to really understand how this might affect them.

So we went through a number of scenarios with their financial planners to really make sure that this would not have an um unsustainable impact on their budgets.

They voted last Wednesday uh to fully participate in the TIFF.

Uh, the Port of Seattle, uh, the commission uh considered this uh first uh earlier in April, and then on April 28th, voted to fully participate uh in our TIFF.

They see a lot of shared uh goals and principles here for sustainability, connectivity.

Uh, as Mr.

Torgenson said earlier, um, the port played a really critical role in piecing together the East Rail corridor, and so they take a lot of pride in ownership over us being able to maximize that uh through the completion of the crossing.

Sound transit uh took this up initially through their executive committee and on April 23rd adopted its resolution to fully participate.

Uh this maximizes stationary access around our light rail stations and will help us in Wilburton really drive to reality a lot of the transit-oriented development that Sound Transit wants to see to maximize its ridership.

Uh additionally, TIFF is on the long-term uh financing um plan for Sound Transit to explore to really help um uh consider all the different ways that they might try to uh meet their goals for their system.

So they have an additional interest in this uh seeing how this goes and having this go successfully.

King County Flood District um Board of Supervisor, they took this up earlier in April, and then last week on Tuesday, uh passed the resolution to participate fully with a cap uh that is at uh just above the maximum that we were expecting to receive from the King County Flood District.

And then next slide.

And then hot off the presses.

We're very happy to report that earlier today, King County uh on behalf of the King County General Government and King County Emergency Uh Medical Services, uh did take their action unanimously to adopt their participation in uh the tax increment financing proposal as well.

Uh as you heard uh Mr.

Risha explain uh on that table of the level of participation.

There are some mitigating factors to provide an upper limit of the full participation uh or the total participation of King County.

Uh and there were some amendments at commit at the full council today uh that we worked on with their staff.

We feel very positive about their action today to participate.

Uh and then next slide.

So we are coming to you uh for your questions, feedback, and direction uh to have us formulate an ordinance for you to consider acting upon uh at a future meeting, and we are happy to entertain any questions uh that you might have for us.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh this is uh real win for Bellevue.

And as you Genesis underlined and you underlined uh that vote happened just today from the King County.

So this is a real momentum.

Uh first um I want to thank a staff.

Genesee, John, Nathan, Bob, Bob, we haven't heard your voice.

Do you want to say something before I give you a praise?

It's very great to be with you here tonight.

Great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Uh and everyone who carried the details, finance, legal, technical work, uh, partner coordination.

Uh you all made this happen.

This simply would not have happened without you.

You brought uh professionalism, uh technical debt, and real discipline to a complicated process.

You took something that could have been confusing and made it understandable even for me, for partners, uh, for decision makers, and for the public.

And I know a lot of that work happened early mornings, late nights, and in and in the in-between hours when nobody is watching.

So Bellevue is really, really lucky to have you.

I also wanted to recognize the team that help us navigate this over the last year.

Our partners in Olympia, Brianna, I want to thank her for helping to get us the Senate Bill 5801.

I also want to thank our regional partners and the taxing district who lean in and help get this across the finish line, uh, King County Executive Zaholai, the count the county council, King County EMS, Sound Transit, the King County Library System, the Port of Seattle, and the King County Food Control District.

Um, Councilmember, former Councilmember Lee would say we are all in a row, and we are we need to all row in the same direction.

And I think in this case, he was absolutely right.

This is only works when a lot of different entities decided to row in the same direction.

So thank you, all of them.

I also want to thank the community champion who have pushed uh for this for years, friends of the Grand Connection who we have heard.

We really need to thank them, especially Amazon for their support and partnership.

And I also want to finally thanks this body, our former mayor Robinson, my colleagues and former council members.

Thank you for your vision.

And here why this is so important.

The crossing is only half a mile or even less, you mentioned, but it fixes a real problem.

It gives people a safe all ages way to get between downtown, Eastrail, Wilberton, and Lightrail.

It connects where we work to where we are building the next neighborhood, and it helps make Wilburton work, including affordable housing that we are counting on.

This is a huge milestone, and I'm very, very proud to sit at this chair and say all of this.

So thank you.

Uh Vigo with uh Deputy Mayor as next.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you all uh for the presentation.

Thank you all uh as well for all the hard work you've done and will do to make the Grand Connection Crossing a reality.

I feel like you deserve to take the rest of the year off just for all of this work, but there's too much more to do.

So you deserve it, but you can't have it.

Um challenging for folks to understand, uh, but you have done a fantastic job of educating decision makers here and in overlapping partner taxing districts about TIFF generally and how their involvement works.

You have had a condensed timeline to make it all come together, but you have risen to the challenge and so far have a perfect record.

Actually, I should correct that.

You have a perfect record in making our case with the overlacking overlapping taxing districts.

Uh, the support from other taxing districts is a recognition of the value that the Grand Connection and specifically the Grand Connection Crossing represents for the entire region.

It's a recognition that the Grand Connection Crossing is truly a win for Bellevue and a win for the region.

More housing more quickly, more transportation connectivity, more recreation, more jobs, and more economic activity that enables us to do so much more for our community.

The Grand Connection Crossing is an investment that I think is a no-brainer.

It will have a tremendous payoff for our community for a long time to come.

So I'm 100% in moving forward with this.

Appreciate your efforts, and thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Councilmember Robinson.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I I appreciate all the thanks, and I I I echo all that, but I do want to do a special thanks to King County Executive Salahai, because uh he gave this a chance.

You know, we came out, and this is all new, he's new at his job, and this is a pretty big ask.

And I think to for him to be very thoughtful about how we could make this successful and all the different taxing districts and the people representing them on the boards and commissions, all the thoughtfulness that they gave this, and at the end to have their support means so much.

This is truly a regional project, and I feel like the wins that Bellevue will have with this will be spread throughout the entire region, and including Seattle, especially now that we have light rail, it'll be easy to go from this beautiful connection crossing um down to the Seattle waterfront.

So you'll be Seattle waterfront and then Maiden Bower Bay.

So I'm just really excited at the progress and success of this.

I can't wait to get it going, and I think it's going to be a true benefit for everybody.

And I I hope to pay it off early.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Robinson.

Councilmember New Enhouse.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

And um, yeah, I don't know if I can say it better than uh my colleagues have said it already before, so I'll be brief, but don't take me being brief as you know, lessing the the the amount of work that you have done and my appreciation for how quickly um and for me that was a big piece of it, the speed that you had to to move in order to make meet the deadline and um uh genocide always appreciated the uh the the constant text and updates as we moved along here, and uh I was a little bit worried at first, but uh we just made it under the under the wire.

So it's it's a great accomplishment for all the reasons already listed by my by my colleagues, um, and and being able to um really uh simplify um a very complex topic and then work with all the uh different uh guess taxing districts and elected staff, etc.

etc.

to bring all of this together um is quite accomplishment, and uh this gives us the ability to to further pursue um a real iconic um infrastructure for uh the city of Bellevue moving forward.

So thank you all.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Brior.

Yes, this is one of those rare moments uh where you have given me the opportunity to support something where both conservative and left-wing members of our community are supporting.

Um so thank you for making me popular with everyone.

Uh one.

Uh you know, I think local politics and the diligent work that you're doing is really one of the only avenues to bring community members together.

Um and so I think you was just not enough.

You've given us nearly 68 million dollars without introduce introducing new taxes.

Uh, I would be remiss to not support such a great tool.

Um, and deputy manager Atkins, you and your team, um, according to the digging that I did, managed to move districts who were absolutely repulsed by the idea of contributing to a TIFF from no, we will not do this, to oh yes, you're right, let's do it.

And that is a skill set that I desperately want to learn.

So a thank you again is not enough.

Thank you so much.

Uh Councilmember Samodovirio.

I like my colleagues.

I think my heart is full of gratitude.

Um, from the first moment I was part of the um the Friends of Connection Committee before I was on the council.

I was I think it was like a little kid looking at a project, thinking it's gonna change the world.

And you made this happen.

And I think to to this, and also with I think adding the stress to our taxpayers, that's as a magical, right?

So because we are making we're not only creating a walk path from this side to the other side of 405, it's more like you're creating opportunity for people who may not able to afford a car, able to walk to Bellevue downtown, and to come to City Hall where they can see the magic where you rally the whole community, not building a pride for Bellevue, but this is going to be an amazing global project for the whole region because your hard work.

So I'm just full of gratitude and excitement.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, uh, Councilmember Bargavo.

Yeah, so uh benefit of going last.

Lots has been said and appreciation.

So I'm just gonna say ditto, that's really remarkable.

You took an I mean I'm gonna I have to congratulate you on this process of creating shared ownership for an asset that's going to benefit not just Bellevue but many many uh of our taxing districts who have shown that they believe in your conviction, and I want to congratulate you on actually taking this process through in such urgency with such expediency.

It's really quite a remarkable um uh job getting this done.

So, congratulations to all of you.

Congratulations also to my beard and the on the council who have helped work this through the process and get the alignment across many of our regional partners to get this done.

This is going to be a huge win.

So a lot of that's been said, and I truly believe um this is going to be a resigning success for Bellevue.

That said, I just have a few uh two uh simple things I want to clarify it to better understand uh if you if you may.

That said, I just have a few uh two uh simple things I want to clarify it to better understand uh if you if you may um one is um I know you've taken a really conservative approach, really appreciate that thoughtfulness, three scenarios developed.

Is there any downside scenario for TIFF revenue that if development for any reason was to happen slower than expected?

Um how would we meet our debt service obligations?

Thank you, Councilmember.

Um we've actually been thinking about the question of contingency, and in fact, as part of our submission to the state, we actually talk about the contingency approach of what happens if things don't manifest the way they are.

Uh the first thing I'll tell you, we have capacity within our general fund.

Should we need to supplement in different places?

Tonight is not a funding decision for the whole of the of this construction project.

That'll be uh work that will come with the budget where you'll see much greater detail on the stack and the variables that we've got within that.

We're thinking very closely about the redundancy.

And if the worst comes to worst, comes to worse.

We actually have taxing capacity that we could come back to you and discuss if we needed to, but we've worked through a variety of scenarios.

We also are really looking at how much debt are we issuing and what are going to be the conditions of it.

So we're being very careful.

You get to see all those pieces.

So not trying to be Debbie Downer by any means, but I'm just uh sitting here.

It's always hard to imagine that the optimistic view of development that has happened over the last 15 years is going to be a forever cycle.

So just I'm very glad that we're thinking about those contingencies in our general fund.

I'm really glad that we will keep that as uh sort of ace up our sleeve in some ways because hopefully we will never need it.

As council member Robinson said, hopefully, we will be faster than our expectations.

But uh financial conservatism is really really important, especially when we're taking money away from other sources of other places.

So uh one more question really quickly.

Um this is probably not going to happen at all.

But is it possible that one or more of our participating districts change their mind midstream?

If that happens, then what happens?

I'll answer Bob can keep me honest on this one.

Um this is a unique piece of legislation from the state.

It gives them an opportunity to decide whether we're going to fully or partially participate.

Each of those jurisdictions took action to participate, and in one case, partially participate.

That is spelled out in their legislation, all of which their certified copies will go in uh as part of our uh submission uh when this all comes together.

They actually, under this legislation, don't have an opportunity to opt out.

Okay, great to know.

Uh appreciate it.

That's all the questions I had, and again, congratulations.

This is really great.

Great.

Thank you so much.

Is there any other remark?

Can I please get the motion?

I move to direct staff to prepare the TIFF ordinance establishing the tax increment finance area for final action at a future meeting.

It's been moved by Deputy Mayor Hamilton and seconded by Councilmember Robinson.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

There is no opposed.

The motion passes.

Congratulations again and thank you, and we appreciate you.

On that note, is 749.

We assume 750, 805.

Please be back.

Thanks for coming.

Great.

We are coming back.

We have the second study session, DTL 2.0.

Thank you, Mayor.

Deputy Mayor and Councilmember.

DTL, Downtown Livability 2.0.

Uh staff is here this night uh this evening to initiate the downtown livability 2.0 land use code amendment process.

This is an update to reinforce, improve the code to ensure its continued success.

To review the scope and the timeline and the engagement that's planned for this work.

We have from our development services department, Nick Whipple, our code and policy director and Matthew Minard, our senior planner.

And they will be looking for your consideration to initiate the work.

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

Great, thank you.

And good evening, Mayor Malikutian, Deputy Mayor Hamilton, members of the council.

I'm excited to be here tonight to talk about downtown livability 2.0.

1.0 happened in 2017, so this is now the 2.0.

That DTL acronym was born in 2017.

We're just gonna roll with it if that's all right.

So our agenda this evening will provide a little background and context again on where we've come since 2017, and then really focus on what's the intent of this update for for DTL 2.0 and the scope that we've included thus far.

Um we'll also talk about our outreach approach and then the schedule that we're planning.

So for our direction, we are asking for you all to consider initiating this work and directing the planning commission to review and process the land use code amendment or LUCA.

We'll start we'll first start um with the downtown livability 1.0.

That was the 2017 policy and code changes.

Um so this was an update to the comprehensive plan and then a really meaningful update to the downtown code and the land use code.

Um so this was one of the kind of um uh overhauls that happened.

You heard in public comment, let's not wait till you know another 30 years before the next overhaul.

Um, this 2017 update really did um represent kind of a pretty significant overhaul of our downtown code.

We included um uh building heights now in our core of up to 600 feet, and we've seen two projects now that have completed construction that are meeting that height.

Um, and then the downtown livability was really looking at how can we make downtown a viable, livable, and memorable and accessible place.

Um, and we were also acknowledging a lot of our residents um were moving to downtown, and we were starting to see this become more of a uh a true neighborhood, not just an area where office um work happens.

So with that, the need in 2017 was to focus on how do we support kind of this vibrant neighborhood.

Um, so a real focus on open space, overhauling our amenity incentive program, um, focusing on the opening of light rail, which just recently happened, so doing some stationary planning, and then really being thoughtful on how we wanted to see building design happen in the downtown.

So, Matthew will walk us through kind of some of the context since 2017 and then the scope.

Thanks, Nick.

Uh Nick covered a lot of this slide already, so I won't belabor the point.

Um, but 2017 major code changes for downtown have really enabled what you see downtown as today.

Um, as Nick mentioned, major height increases, building scale increases, which is uh why you see the acceleration and how much high-rise development we have in downtown right now.

It has really solidified downtown as sort of the major regional employment center of the east side, the primary regional employment center of the east side, uh, and very much increased the amount of housing and people living in downtown as well.

As everyone is very well aware, the light rail just opened, so this uh got ahead of that by several years, and we are now moving forward with the new light rail being open to uh try to leverage some of those changes and make sure we uh continue to improve the code so we can leverage these large-scale regional uh infrastructure investments.

Uh significant amounts of grand connection planning has happened.

You've heard a lot about Grand Connection already this evening.

Uh, we want to make sure that we support that planning and support the completion of the Grand Connection through this process, and a lot of that has gone on since 2017, and there has been a significant increase since 2017 in the amount of public plazas and the quality uh and uh how nice those plazas are to spend time in.

Uh so since 2017, there's about 3,500 new residents in downtown.

Uh, downtown does make up about 10 and a half percent of Bellevue's total population.

Uh with that, there are about 2200 new homes that have been constructed, six million square feet of new office, and 12 and a half million square feet of new commercial space.

So huge growth in our downtown core uh in the last almost 10 years.

We've also seen 6,000 new jobs in downtown and about 100 new businesses.

I'll talk a little bit on the next slide about why that number is quite a bit lower than you may expect.

Uh, and we have seen about 50,000 more visitors annually to the city.

Um, most of those will be downtown with a lot of new hotel construction that we've seen since 2017.

We did speak pretty extensively with our economic development department about the economic development context in downtown.

So since 2017, we've seen a huge growth in ground floor retail space.

Much of that space is too large for small business, and there has been difficulty leasing those spaces.

We have heard from public comment that there are concerns from the development community that we are requiring too much ground floor retail space.

So that is certainly something we will look at through the code amendments as well.

Bellevue downtown continues to be a very desirable location for office and pulls very high rents for both office and retail.

We have seen a trend of small business loss since COVID in 2020.

Some of that can be intributed to those high rents, which small businesses cannot maintain that level of high rent and not outcompete larger corporations and nationwide corporations.

And there is still an opportunity with all of our new public plazas to program those to make downtown more vibrant and enticing.

Our planning context, so we are looking for just under 15,000 new housing units and 37,000 new jobs by 2044.

So that's our comprehensive planning framework.

As Nick mentioned, the current comprehensive plan speaks very heavily towards vibrancy downtown.

We are still missing some of that vibrancy downtown, especially after 5 p.m.

As I mentioned, downtown is very much an employment center, but reach residential has grown, but we still are seeing that sort of vibrancy population drop off after 5 p.m.

when the office workers go home.

And again, evening and weekend activity, inconsistent, very much event-driven at this point.

So downtown Liverpool 2.0 will be looking at how we can increase that vibrancy both after 5 p.m.

and on the weekends.

The public realm and especially connectivity is still evolving downtown, but it has improved over the last 10 years.

There are still some notable gaps in things like sidewalks and bicycle lanes, as well as the overall completion of the grant connection.

So downtown Limitability 2.0 won't directly fill those gaps, but it will make sure that as we move forward with the land use code, that the land use code works closely with other departments such as transportation to make sure that those are fully implemented by the time downtown is fully built out.

And as we've all heard, rapid development has changed the character of old Bellevue, especially on Main Street.

So we do want to make sure that that identity is maintained.

This council did adopt an intern ordinance of control in February to reinforce that character.

We will be looking at several options to try to maintain that character, especially around sort of the small business sizing of those ground floor retail spaces on Main Street.

As you've heard from comments tonight, I think the preferred method from the development community at least would be an incentive-based program for that.

So the LUCA intent is to reinforce current policy guidance.

So we are not planning any comprehensive plan or downtown plan specific changes with this LUCA.

So if there are policy guidance changes that are needed, that is considered outside of the scope of this land use code amendment.

We are looking at quite a quick turnaround with this, trying to complete it in about a year.

So having to do comprehensive plan amendments would extend that timeline pretty substantially.

A lot of what we've heard already and the scope of this project has been informed by what we heard through the HOMOLUCA.

Much of the HOMA comments towards the end were around downtown and the proposed changes to the downtown code.

So we have taken those into account as we've set out this scope.

We also heard input from you all through the HOMOLUCA and have worked closely with internal stakeholders, especially our development review teams to put this scope together.

We do want to continue to prioritize that open space and neighborhood vitality.

And there we are looking at modest changes and refinements to building form and scale from public comment that you've seen.

We've heard some concerns around build-to lines, floor plates, weather protections, and other small building items such as that.

So the proposed scope is to enhance evening vitality after 5 p.m., revert revise code provisions that are adversely impacting housing.

We do have quite an aggressive housing goal for this area, so we want to make sure we meet those targets.

So if there are code provisions or code rubs that are negatively impacting housing production, we want to identify those and see what we can do to address those without massively impacting the form or scale of those buildings downtown.

As I mentioned, we are looking to preserve the historic development patterns on Main Street in Old Bellevue.

We're always looking to support the implementation of the Grant Connection.

We will be looking at refining building design and active use requirements as weather as well as other code rubs.

So you heard from the BDA comments earlier that we are uh they would like us to look at streamlining and simplifying the code.

Uh so we do want to do that.

We've been working with our internal review teams to look at areas where uh enforcement of the code or review of the code or the public's understanding of the code has been difficult in the last uh nine years, and how we can make that either clearer or streamline those provisions to make it easier to both administer and understand as the public.

Another area of concern that we have heard from the public is the number of departures that we're requiring and also granting.

Um so we'll be looking at those and seeing how we can limit the departure of essentially departure is uh a sec uh another process step that you need to get permitting.

Uh, we did clean up one that was mentioned in one of the public comments around compact parking through the HOMA process.

Uh so looking to continue that and see what other departures we can look at removing and just setting standards in the code for.

We do want to strengthen the effectiveness of the amenity incentive program, and we'll be speaking closely with our development community on how we can do that, as well as looking at incentives for things like affordable commercial space, as we have heard concerns over that small business loss in downtown.

And we always want to ensure a welcoming pedestrian environment, so making sure that our building standards with things like weather protection and sidewalk requirements are welcoming for those people that are going to be downtown year-round.

Uh we have planned engagement that uh we would hope to kick off in June if we have your blessing this evening that would kick off with an in-person and virtual kickoff event to essentially spread information about the LUCA and let people know how they can get further involved with the LUCA.

Uh, we will continue to have meetings with community and developer stakeholder groups.

We have already had a few meetings with developer stakeholder groups, especially around uh the old main IOC, as well as previously through the home ALUCA.

We plan on attending city events, uh taking advantage of some of the warm weather we have over the summer and some of the sunshine and tabling throughout downtown, especially in those areas that are going to have high foot traffic.

Uh so for example, right out in front of City Hall here at the new light rail station, uh, we can table there and get inputs from people passing by or in the park, for example.

Uh, we will always take meetings with any individual or group as they request them.

We generally do not turn those down.

Uh so anyone that wants to speak with us can always reach out to us, and we will hold meetings uh with any group that asks us to.

I expect there to be a few homeowners associations around downtown that would very much like to speak with us as well as some of the other groups in downtown, such as the old Bellevue Merchants Associations.

Uh we will have our standard Luca council and planning commission process, which gives the public another opportunity for input, and we always have a digital outreach process which includes a website, uh, email reach out and social media blasts.

The schedule for this project uh we are launching today, so in May, and we have done some preliminary outreach, as I mentioned, both through HOMA and some uh concerns and discussions with the development community over the old main IOC.

Uh once we complete this initiation, we will head into phase two, which is our outreach phase that is planned to last throughout the summer before we move into the PC review planning commission review in the fall.

So a pretty extensive outreach process, but this is a relatively quick turnaround for a LUCA.

We are hoping to wrap this up with you all in early Q2 of 2027.

And with that, happy to answer any questions the council may have.

Thank you so much both for being here and presentation.

We will start with you, Councilman Borcalba.

Okay, thank you, Mayor, and thank you both for a really good presentation, downtown livability 2.0.

Uh, really important DTL 2.0, really important work, and it's going to have a massive impact on our community.

Um, it's the heart of our city.

Um broadly, uh, you know, really encouraged uh by the framework that you've laid out.

One of the things that I would there's a couple of questions that I have actually looking through the materials that I had.

One is there is obviously um many issues that you've listed here that you're going to try and cover in this.

If you were to think about whether it's housing constraints, whether it's activation of our spaces, design standards, code clarity, these are all complex topics.

Um curious as we go from 1.0 to 2.0 as we're doing this work as a refinement exercise.

What would be the one or two things that you think are preventing us from achieving our vision in downtown today that really need to be addressed?

I don't think there's anything necessarily preventing us.

I think you know we're moving towards that vision, right?

It's a long, it's a long-term process, and we've certainly moved towards that vision.

I think what we've heard, things that may be slowing us down potentially are some of those code provisions that are confusing or hampering to development or overly restrictive.

So we've heard about floor plate sizing, especially for residential, that may be overly restrictive to residential development, which is going to hamper that residential development.

Some sort of very technical aspects of the code, such as build two lines, where we're very strict on the build two lines, and there's no flexibility in that space.

Whereas in, for example, the Wilburton code, we have some flexibility on where you can place your building at the back of sidewalk.

So those are probably from the development side going to be the most impactful on fully having a full build-out of downtown.

On the vitality side, I think it's it's more complicated and it's probably more complicated than just the land use code.

But you know, what we're hearing is that we should be looking at re-evaluating some of those standards to make sure that those standards work for the current retail environment and the amount of retail we actually need on the ground in downtown Bellevue.

We don't want empty spaces.

Um that's a that's a hamper to vitality.

Um and then you know, the secondary hamper to vitality.

If you don't have people living in downtown, you're not gonna have people being in downtown after 5 p.m.

People will go home.

So making sure that we can encourage residential uh and affordable housing as as much as possible, as we've been doing with all of our past Lucas will really help that uh vitality.

And then finally, just making sure that nothing in the land use code is hampering the completion of the Grand Connection, which is sort of that centerpiece of downtown.

I think that's um going pretty well.

Um, but you know, coordinating with internal agencies to make sure there's nothing that we can tweak a little bit to make sure it comes to completion as quickly as possible.

Okay, great.

Um I do think uh the first point you mentioned about code clarity and the second one, which is broadly around flexibility in process, you know, things like that we've heard from our stakeholders also uh in terms of you know administrative departures and allowing for those kinds of flexibility that would grease the wheel, the wheels for development, I think are really important parameters to keep in mind, in addition to sort of the retention of our character and some of the unique spaces that we're trying to preserve in downtown.

I think those would be three things I would call out as you think about uh the evolution and how you develop the framework.

Um the only other question that I would have today is um I think it'd be really important for us to lay out early uh as we can, not uh sort of in hindsight, but what are going to be the measurable outcomes that we would like to hang our hat on for uh DTL 2.0?

Is it going to be increased housing production?

Is it gonna be activation, design quality, permitting efficiency, like laying out those things in terms of what we'd expect to achieve so that we can then anchor the evolution that you're doing, whether it's in code clarity or increased flexibility and measure them against those objectives, I think would be really important and uh make it more measurable as we go through this process, would be my suggestions.

I would love to see that.

And then if you already have thoughts around that, I would be happy to hear.

Yeah, that's uh that's helpful feedback, and we can certainly think about that.

We certainly defined the outcomes that we were driving towards, but yes, I agree, having some way to measure um how we're achieving those outcomes is really critical.

So we'll give that some additional thought.

Okay.

Awesome.

Look forward to this.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilman Borgabo.

Councilman Briar.

Thank you for the work that you've conducted.

Um, it's interesting.

You touched upon something really uh uh coincidental.

I I had a follower on Instagram message me yesterday from Sweden, who was like, look at this viral reel about Bellevue.

What why don't you have nightlife?

Why don't you have culture?

Why don't you have this?

And I didn't respond because I won't tolerate Bellevue slander, obviously.

Um but you know, there's a discernible gap that is recognized internationally, which I don't even like.

Um and I appreciate that we're working on activation programs and policy-oriented solutions instead of sort of reactive uh event-based attempts at making this culture.

I think it's something that's built up from the bottom up and and you know, not top down.

Um but I want to know specifically under scope and intent, you had mentioned pedestrian-oriented, I think, safe infrastructure, something along these lines, but how do we anticipate doing this?

Um I ask because, and perhaps what I'll say is maybe a little bit controversial, so I want to be explicitly clear.

I'm speaking strictly on behalf of myself, but you know, several cities around the world, half city squares where they're pedestrian oriented, no cars, they have cafes, people have breakfast, people come to gossip, there's a fountain in the middle, someone's playing the saxophone, someone's playing chess, someone's arguing.

Uh, you know, how do we enable these kinds of environments?

I think we need to be more bold and aggressive with our pedestrian infrastructure.

Um, you know, even if memory serves me correctly, it was it was the Bellevue Chamber of Bus the Bellevue Chamber um uh released a poll not too long ago that said that more than 70% of our residents, some who get engaged in council elections, some who do not, are wanting walkability, they're wanting pedestrian-oriented spaces.

So I I would just urge us to be a little bit more ambitious here.

And the question was how do we enable that space?

Sorry, I know I rambled on for quite a bit.

Yeah, um some of that would not be through the land use code, I'll be quite frank.

Um, something like having a closed street or uh you know public square in in the right-of-way or through an easement is probably not a land use code issue, it's more of a transportation issue.

Um I think the land use code has been very effective at promoting open plazas.

Um not necessarily open in the way you're talking about, which is sort of as a street open or as a public plaza.

Obviously, downtown park has been a very successful open space, and again, a slightly different way where it's not that sort of paved square with people playing chess.

Um where the land use code is beginning to become effective on transportation is what we're requiring for sidewalk and sort of sidewalk amenities.

Um and if you walk around downtown where you see the new construction or sidewalks are relatively wide, they're generally well maintained.

Uh, and um, you know, have those amenities, um, it's something we can obviously take a closer look at and make sure we have that dimensions right and the amenities right.

It's also something that's quite hard to change after the fact.

You want that consistent infrastructure.

So if we were to say, oh, we need wider sidewalks, now you sort of end up with this, I don't know how to explain, sort of this S-shaped sidewalk, basically, where it gets wider and skinnier where development has happened.

Um, there are certainly places in downtown where that development hasn't happened.

I think Main Street, as you sort of had up the hill there is a great example where the sidewalk is very narrow and is certainly not walkable.

So making sure that when we do get development, that we get that infrastructure that's that's proper that's walkable and bikeable.

Um you can see some of that bike infrastructure happening as development happens up on the other main on this end of Main Street where development's happening, they're building the bike lane, the separated bike lane up the hill.

Uh right now it's half a block long.

Um so making sure that we have code in place that says, you know, this is very important to us.

So when you do do development, uh you need to put this in or you know, provide some funding to this.

Nick, I don't know if you have anything you want to add to that around plazas, public plazas.

Uh yeah, the public plazas piece, um, I mean, as Matthew noted, a lot of that comes down to programming and how um we can encourage folks to really activate it.

And some of that relates also to permitting, and so there is sort of a separate effort that's looking at ways to activate our public spaces.

Um so that effort is kind of running separate, um, but is also gonna be um these projects will be talking to each other as well.

And then to speak to some of the pedestrian realm piece with the frontage improvements, you know, some of the the less um exciting things to talk about um relate to even like our trees that we require.

We have certain trees that are in the code that just don't do well in our downtown, and we have experience with that.

And so um we're just now updating our tree palette and figuring out what are the right kind of landscaping makeups that we want to have in our downtown.

So, and then also as Matthew noted, we'll be taking a closer look at it where we're requiring active uses, and if we have to be so prescriptive in getting retail um in some of these locations, because um what it's it's creating is some issues where tenants are not or they're not able to tenant these spaces, and that's creating these dead zones.

Um, so trying to figure out how we can offer some of the flexibility but still kind of promote a safe, friendly, walkable environment, um, but maybe figure out where the flexibility can really um help in achieving that outcome.

Okay, so it seems I was wrong and misconstrued some items, so I appreciate you clarifying that, and I'm really excited to hear about the uh uh different uh things that are happening on your end.

Um, in terms of the the uh commercial space that's not uh affordable.

So I know that there's a lot of commercial space, like for example, near uh plaza center that are uh big and and not getting sold.

What is and forgive me if this was already stated, what is the um potential solution to this?

Is it breaking it down into smaller pieces, incentives to enable affordability?

What do we think that will look like?

I think incentives for both of those things.

So incentives for smaller spaces, yeah.

Um, and then incentives for uh affordable commercial space, like we have done with uh Wilburton, HOMA did did one as well.

So looking at that and adding that to the amenity incentive system, I think will be will be some options.

We'll also reach out to our our business community and our development community and see if they have any other options for us as well.

Okay, thank you so much.

Thank you, Councilmember Brew York.

Councilmember Robinson.

Okay.

Thank you, Mayor.

So I have about 10 little points.

They might be redundant, but just to think about and none of this is very new.

Love to incentivize unique independent businesses in Old Maine and actually throughout downtown.

And looking at affordable retail incentives.

This is kind of, you know, it can be peppered throughout all of downtown, but especially in Old Maine.

Make sure that old Maine is not lumped into the downtown core when we do land use changes that we think about it separately.

Five.

Make incentives on Old Maine, can measure it with the wedding cake theme.

So I feel kind of bad that we gave an incentive of two stories in Old Maine when it's on the edge of the wedding cake.

I'm I'm feeling like that was a mistake, actually.

If you can, in the tallest part of downtown, get a two-story incentive, it should be smaller on the edges, but I think that's already sailed.

Somebody uh, well, Matt Jack recommended putting in periodic updates to the codes, which I love that idea.

We probably are gonna do that anyway.

Um this is I think I've already said that, but examine retail space requirements and look at small retail incentives.

Um retain the wedding cake for edges uh to honor the adjacent single family neighborhoods.

We still have Surrey Downs, we have Northtown, we have Viewcrest.

I think those are the only ones that are right adjacent to across the street from downtown, and that's why the wedding cake configuration went in.

So I support that.

Um I'm looking forward to seeing the interactions and hearing from our neighbors in downtown and old Maine, from the property owners, from the business owners, from the people who live there, the people who work there.

It'll be great to engage and have a real conversation.

And uh the wine walks on May 14th, that might be a great place to start.

Um, I think that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Robinson.

Councilmember Smoduveria.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um thank you for the presentation.

Like, you know, I always I think downtown is something very special to me.

When I moved here, we used to have JC Penny as how old I am.

And we back then it was literally only we only had the Bellvy Downtown, Bobby Square.

It's not even about we collection, right?

And then Downtown Park and Old Main.

So I think with Councilmember Robinson, like I would like plus one on like how to nurture, especially Old Main, because it's such a special place.

Um couple of things I want to ask is you know, one thing is about I see there's focus about how to um limit a number of departure.

Um so it's just to clarify that is that like focus on business.

Yeah, oh uh sure.

So the departure process is in the land use code, and it's basically a path to deviate from a kind of a strict standard in the code.

Um, an example is uh if we require weather protection to be 10 feet above the sidewalk, and someone's design says like I need to be 12 feet to accommodate whatever, we put them through a departure process.

And so we have been working with our land use staff, and we've heard a lot from the development community.

Uh there are several departures that we initially thought that should be kind of reserved or held back.

They have to go through a process to get that thing.

And we found that we've routinely um granted these departures, and so maybe it's time to adjust the rule a bit so that there's less paperwork for something that we are just granting on a routine basis.

And that's typically available at the entitlement phase, so not necessarily when a tenant is kind of um trying to occupy the space, though that has come up for like restaurants, for example, that need to move their mechanical venting um up higher than our code or lower rather than what our code would require.

And I I really appreciate that flexibility, just because I think you know, for business, our developers and different stakeholders have different needs, right?

So having that flexibility, um and then also with the you know, the focus about losing businesses.

I would say I think to what I'm understanding the best way of not losing business is really welcoming them when they come here.

So it doesn't, I think that should apply to small business like I may be a coffee shop, a cafe, or versus a big company like Amazon, right?

So like when they come in here, I think welcoming to creating a process for them to able to establish their um community engagement faster versus worrying about um other things like coding and building, I think will be really helpful for us to for them to be engaged.

Um so that's my um I think suggestion.

And then another thing is I'm asking, I'm wondering um, so I love Ashley Council Member where I talk about the coffee shop.

So in Europe, there's a coffee shop cut good news coffee.

What they do is they give out free coffee when you tell gossip.

And so and I would say, like, you know, things like that.

That would be super exciting in the city of Bellevue, but if small business like that able to come here, we have to welcome them with more activation and things like affordability.

So in that that's like that's um, I think that is let me see.

What else?

Um I think everything else is very exciting.

I love that um when we folks about you know vacancy and affordability.

And one thing that I would ask just from the small business side, um, how what are you doing?

What are you thinking about planning to do to make it very accessible to the small business community, help them to have the space to able to engage with you authentically and also like you know, honestly, what do they need for help and how can they thrive?

Yeah, I think we'll work uh very close with our economic development department who has those connections, especially in downtown and has those lists so we can reach out to those groups directly um and hopefully engage them in in some sort of group setting so that we can hear from them and what they need and especially what we want to hear as we work through land use code amendments is where they've had challenges in the land use code, maybe putting their business into a space, or uh, as Nick mentioned earlier, we we've heard some comments already about our requirements for venting being higher than the building code, and that's causing problems for businesses.

So little things like that that we can tweak to make it easier.

Um and we really want to hear that from that community.

So we'll certainly do that work with our economic development uh department to make sure that those voices are heard.

Is there any way for us to make uh multi-channel kind of communication?

So not only they come to the in-person and then you know, virtual, but also they have surveys, or we even have people we can visit them on site.

Because I think it's really hard for small business owners to be off-site to go attend a meeting, even if it's virtual, right?

So just yeah, thought.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

We can certainly add different modes of engaging with folks.

Also want to note um we do have a small business support um kind of office in our department that's been um Steph Collier um is kind of leading that effort, and she's been really engaging with our stakeholders, our small businesses to understand um you know what are some of the challenges that they're facing.

So that's also feeding into this process and into the scope as well.

So we'll continue to use Steph as kind of a helpful outreach tool um as well as surveys or other kind of modes to kind of engage with those small businesses.

Yeah, she's really pleasant.

She actually met a lot of um businesses.

So thank thank you for that.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Newenhouse.

Thank you, what makes uh downtown special?

You want to take a crack at that, or you want to mean your crack at that?

Oh, I mean, I think it's it's um kind of in the eye of the beholder uh in a lot of ways.

I mean, I work in downtown.

I've been at the city for 14 years, so I have a lot of fondness for the downtown.

I think a lot of the open space um that's been generated over the years, the plazas um that the city's been able to develop.

Um, and then I'm a cyclist, so now the new bike lanes to get me to City Hall more easily.

Um but yeah, there's a lot of um, you know, the businesses, the people, um, the the daytime activity, I think is what's really attractive about the downtown from my perspective.

Love the good restaurants around.

Uh excited about the wine walk I learned about this evening.

Um yeah.

I would ask you that question as well.

Well, it's a good question, and I think you to you touched on it.

It's it's the people, and it's the people who purposely decide that I want to have my business in Bellevue.

I want to put roots down in Bellevue.

That those are the true stakeholders, those are the ones that actually have skin in the game, which leads to my bigger question about engagement, just to ensure that because I think downtown is one of the the the neighborhoods where it's it's it's difficult to at least my understanding has been difficult to um to actually engage at times because majority are l who are living there in multi-family, you can't actually maybe get up to the 10th floor to knock on their door, right, and ask them their opinion on uh on DTL 2.0.

So that makes it challenging.

When you're talking to somebody who's just getting off like rail, you don't know if they're coming where the where they're coming from, right?

Um or or those that even come to a uh uh wine walk, they they they might be um now could they add some interesting um um uh context or uh ideas to the conversation, sure.

has been difficult to um to actually engage at times because majority are lit who are living there are multifamily you can't actually maybe get up to the 10th floor to knock on their door right and ask them their opinion on uh on dtl 2.0 so that makes it challenging when you're talking to somebody who's just getting off light rail you don't know if they're coming where where they're coming from right um uh or or those that even come to a uh wine walk they they they might be um now uh could they add some interesting um um uh context or uh ideas to the conversation sure but i i would stress that it's really important um uh more than ever with this that we actually talk to those that live in bellevue that have a stake in bellevue um to really uh understand why they think bellevue is special uh or sorry the downtown uh area specifically is special and how we maintain that i think that's um uh really important uh uh conversation to this as well um um you know is is it maintaining the the wedding cake framework that council member robinson mentioned uh in a lot of ways it is when we start talking about how different parts of downtown their character could change um or there's there's shadows from taller buildings and it could change the the makeup of the neighborhood or even uh housing development there's a there's a lot of things that go into that and this is really big and I know you know this big big work uh ahead um to ensure that even though we continue to uh to grow um that we continue to uh develop and attract more people more jobs etc that we hang on to those key tenants that have made bell view bellevue special and it's more you know it's don't get wrong all the things you listed off I totally agree in terms of the restaurants and the open spaces etc um but it's it's is the people that have uh take a lot of pride in their city want to be there want to um to engage and to ensure that Bellevue remains that you know that shining city on a hill that it is that we want to we want to keep it that way so we'd love to um as as you go in this process go through this process keep a close eye on the engagement especially um the small businesses that council member sudden morium uh mentioned about um you know the those small business or restaurants etc that might not be able to we gotta we got we have to go to them to get their their their their input uh to uh truly believe that so um um now on the other hand looking at the letter from uh the chamber and the plush committee um my first take on it is that we're kind of far apart right now uh when i went through all the the uh what four pages of of concerns or or or recommendations that that uh they have and I understand you know we're just initiating the work but um have you spoken to the plush committee already and if so how did those conversations go and how is that those conversations impacted the work thus far?

Yeah uh so we uh did solicit a lot of feedback through the HOMA process the housing opportunities that makes you serious because it did touch downtown and at that time there were a number of suggestions that that group had uh that were really um provided through a lot of the downtown developers and we had put some pretty clear scope boundaries in place for HOMA and so what we had committed to was we will take a look at those and potentially look at ways to address those through the downtown livability 2.0 process so much of that list um is actually what they have discussed with us in the past um there are some items on there that we'll want to have some follow-up with them on and I just did see an additional item that wasn't kind of previously disclosed that may potentially require a comprehensive plan amendment so we do want to just understand specifically what that ask is this morning was the first time I saw that specific ask um it relates to pedestrian bridges right in our downtown so I do want to have some follow-up just to understand if I'm understanding the ask correctly because there might be more process and a pretty big kind of policy change that that's asking for that we didn't contemplate previously so I'll get clarity on that.

But otherwise I don't know if your assessment of the letter um was that we were that far apart I actually felt like a lot of that is what we had discussed.

Okay same with the BDA they have engaged with us as well.

Okay that's good to hear um you know the the one thing I wanted to pull away from that couldn't agree with more is just that we don't simply just want to align the downtown code with the mixed um mixed use zones like Wilburton or like Bell Red um I'm not saying that's what you want to do or that's uh but um I I think that would not be um the the right approach that we we need to approach it as downtown being it's its own neighborhood its own um uh special place and and again ensuring that it it it stays that way for everybody who calls uh downtown home or uh bellevue home or everyone who enjoys coming there for work or play or uh you name it so anyway so those are my com comments I you know obviously want to push forward the uh on this and uh I want to initiate this work and look forward to uh um to getting updates as as we move along but um uh we'll also push a lot on on that engagement piece and how that's coming along and and and getting uh the right voices in in the room either real or or virtual however you're going to do it but also just want to stress that piece that we are doing that right outreach or we're we're actively going out and seeking their opinion so thank you so much.

I you know obviously want to push forward the uh on this and uh I want to initiate this work and look forward to uh um to getting updates as as we move along, but um uh we'll also push a lot on on that engagement piece and how that's coming along and and and getting uh the right voices in in the room, either real or or virtual, however you're going to do it, but also just want to stress that piece that we are doing that right outreach.

So we're we're actively going out and seeking their opinion.

So thank you so much.

Thank you, Councilmember New and House.

Deputy Mayor Hamilton.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for the great presentation.

I appreciate it.

Uh looking around downtown and seeing all the positive changes that have occurred since the completion of the downtown livability code change process in 2017 makes me all the more excited for the update of DTL 2.0.

I'm excited to see what can be done in this process by building on such a successful original plan.

I think the planning context that was on slide eight provides a lot of important guidance.

So uh would just encourage a lot of attention to that.

I think the project scope looks good.

Um I appreciate the extra attention that will be given to identifying tools uh for incentivizing more affordable housing.

I'm glad to know that your engagement plan in this process anticipates a lot of community and stakeholder interest.

Even with the high level of interest, it is good to see that you will also be very proactive with your engagement efforts.

Um this was good mentioned, and I I know we're gonna it's gonna come back to us for another touch and an update, but I'm just curious when I didn't see it in here, when we might expect you to come back to us with an update on your work.

Yes, so right now our approach was to do some preliminary outreach over the summer and then head to the planning commission with that first draft and to have their review begin.

And then it would be after they hold a public hearing and are ready to make a recommendation that we'll be back to council.

Um this project uh we were not at least initially planning to do a midpoint check-in.

Um, oftentimes we'll use that um if things are starting to get a little hairy, and we'd like to keep you all close and and get any sort of refinement on scope or guidance.

Um so uh we can always play that by year as well if that works.

Well, I would just like to encourage us to have some kind of midpoint check-in.

I'm not sure that it needs to be a study session, it could be a memo, um, any it could be uh series of briefings, however you might like to do it, but um I do think it's important that we um are able to touch base with you at some point uh in the process.

Uh again, all very exciting, uh ready to move forward uh with DTL 2.0.

Thank you, Mayor.

Of course.

Uh just echo everything that we have heard.

Great timing.

I think 2017 was a different time.

Uh to now I appreciate that we are not redoing everything, we are just making everything works better, fixing the stuff, housing constraint, ground floor activation, uh parts of the code that are complex.

Um and I'm sure you guys are very very experienced after Wilberton, Homo and now this and the planning commission, uh such a great commission, and now under the leadership and liaison of uh Councilman Bargavo, I am very excited about this and wish you all the luck in your engagement.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I know you are really wanted to finish this, but I think we are going to get a quick break.

Is 850?

Let's just be back by nine.

Thank you.

Oh, yes, we need the degree of direction.

Yes.

Yes, just sit down.

Thank you so much.

Uh, can I have a motion before we go?

I move to direct staff to initiate work on the downtown livability 2.0 Luca and direct the planning commission to review and process the Luca.

Is there a second?

Great.

Uh it has been moved by Deputy Mayor and seconded by Councilmember Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

The motion passes.

Now good luck.

Great.

Let's just have a 10 minutes break, be back by nine, and then we continue.

Great.

We are all back.

32nd even early.

And we have our last study session uh 2026, 2027, federal agenda.

City manager, please give us the introduction.

Thank you, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council.

I will keep this short since it's the last item.

Uh, what you have before you today is a um consideration for an updated federal agenda.

And this agenda, as you know, serves as the document which includes our highest priority items for federal conversation and it's a guide for our legislative engagement.

So with that, Katie Cassimble Halsey, our assistant director for intergovernmental affairs and Genesee Adkins, our deputy city manager, are here to give you an overview and to seek your direction.

With that, I'll hand it over to Katie.

Thank you, City Manager Carlson.

Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and City Council members, it's great to be here with you today.

We are going to go through the federal agenda today, and I'm looking for your direction.

Now, you can give me direction or give us direction to approve this this evening, or we can come back at a later time if there's amendments or issues that we need to continue to work through.

The one thing I will note is that May is a great time to approve the federal agenda, so it'd be good to keep this on a good clip because there is a trip to Washington, DC that is city-led in June.

So let's start with what is the federal agenda and why do we have one?

First of all, our federal agenda is our compass.

It's our roadmap.

It helps to really define where we want to take our advocacy work back in DC, but also regionally and with our partners when we're talking about federal issues.

It helps us to communicate our priorities to Congress and federal agencies and the administration, and it also helps to give us a framework for federal funding, what we would apply for, what we might consider, what we would want request letters for.

And it also helps us to strengthen that relationship with delegation members and staff or federal agencies.

We typically draft this around this time of the year, typically in the second quarter, and I'll tell you a little bit more about the reason why in just a moment.

So the federal timeline is pretty cyclical.

It's not perfect every year.

Sometimes the president releases his budget early in February, sometimes it's in April, like it was this year.

But this is just a reference for how we typically look at the timeline and why we approve a federal agenda right about now.

First, before May, we like to gather a lot of information.

We go back to the NLC conference, city conference, to learn a lot of information, gather some intellectual property from our congressional delegation members.

And around that same time, we're also considering our congressional appropriations requests.

We also hear about what's in the president's budget that's a proposal, and all of that helps us to put together a federal agenda.

And then we use that federal agenda for a lot of advocacy work that happens both in DC and also here within the city, our regionally.

So even though we have several different meetings back in DC with delegation members, three actually that we could do the city-led trip, the chamber fly in, and then also those NLC conferences.

It's really all year long, including grant tracking and funding opportunities, and then also engagement with delegation federal agencies and partners and staff.

Oops, I clicked it too many times.

So I thought it would be good to tell you a little bit more about some of the outcomes and successes from last year's federal agenda, which was the 25-26 agenda.

Last year we submitted two congressional funding awards.

These are also known as earmarks.

We submitted one for the Lake Washington Lake Lines.

We were awarded $500,000 for that.

And then also for Bellevue Grand Connection, and we were awarded $2 million for that.

Our entire delegation was really rooting for Bellevue through the appropriations process.

So it's a great opportunity for us to thank them.

But it wasn't just about projects and funding.

And then also really trying to position some of our projects for future funding opportunities, which you're going to hear more about.

So as we develop the agenda, not only do we think about it from term in terms of what issues we want to prioritize, but we have to put it into a federal context.

We look at it from the impacts of the last budget, the look looking forward to the FY27 budget, and then also some key policy issues.

The FY26 budget did have some pretty major impacts, not only to cities but also communities across the country.

In fact, it was just last week that we resolved the Congress resolved a partial shutdown of the government through the Department of Homeland Security.

So we are very mindful of the negotiations that are happening at every level.

And that's many thanks to Congress who really advocated for programs that would impact not only local communities but really importantly residents that really need that funding.

So as we look forward to the FY27 budget, the president did propose his budget on April 3rd, just last week.

That is just the starting point.

As we saw last year, Congress made a tremendous amount of changes between the time that they received the budget and then when they eventually passed many pieces of that budget.

So the negotiations really start right now.

They're going to be hearing more about what they are going to be thinking about in terms of financing and projects and programs and policies.

Speaking of policies, there are some major reauthorizations that are up for renewal this year.

They are technically up in September of 2026.

We'll see if that happens.

I'm not a betting woman.

One of the reauthorizations are for surface transportation, and then another is for water infrastructure.

And then something else that's notable is housing is a big issue happening in Congress right now.

Both the House and the Senate have approved different housing, affordable housing policies and legislation.

So now they need to come to conference committee in order to be further approved or advanced.

But this is the first time in almost two decades where some real significant affordable housing policy has been introduced and is moving forward.

So with that context and knowing that our departments and you all and our community has a lot of interest in seeing how we're going to weigh in at the federal level.

This is very similar to how we put together our state agenda.

We have key priorities and then a policy statement.

Those key priorities are going to be the issues that we work on day in and day out.

Bellevue will really likely lead those issues or champion them with other individuals or associations.

Whereas the policy statement will be those issues that we still care about and we still will weigh in if given an opportunity, but they may be led by other associations or organizations.

We may not be the primary voice on those issues, but we certainly have an opportunity to weigh in given your direction today.

As we look at the key priorities, I wanted to focus on trans, or wanted to have you focus on transportation mobility, including safety programs and key regional investments like Rapid Ride and East Rail, essential water infrastructure with a focus on long-term systems reliability, regulatory requirements, and impacts on ratepayers, housing and safety net programs, and that's supporting both housing supply and services and promoting stability for residents.

And altogether, these will be the priorities if you approve, where Bellevue will focus most of our time for both funding and policy engagement.

In the policy statement, we'll include statements that really relate to public safety, immigration, economic development, emerging technologies and energies, and energy.

So these statements will provide that framework for engaging on federal policies and issues.

Wanted to note that there is one important request in many important requests, but one in particular in our draft federal agenda, and that is a request for federal funding.

This year we have one request for federal funding.

It's for the Safer Signals Program, also known as the real-time traffic signal real-time traffic signal safety interventions.

Now that might be familiar to you because we had submitted a federal grant through the SMART grant program, and we had been awarded money for a um a pilot, a phase one program that deployed um technology at um at signal or in intersections and really to help reduce vehicle and pedestrian conflicts at high-risk intersections.

It was great work.

We were really excited to submit a phase two uh request through the federal government through USDOT through SMART until uh the administration no longer is funding the SMART grant uh program.

So we had to think on our feet.

How can we use this wonderful information and pilot that we were successful in while um keeping USDOT and our federal partners engaged so that we can continue to receive funding and implement what we had learned?

And so um we we thought, okay, well, we let's do a congressional earmark request or uh congressional funding request.

We did submit a $1 million request.

We've submitted it to um Representative Smith, Representative Del Bene, Senator Murray, and Senator Cantwell.

Senator Representative Smith and Representative Del Bene work together, and they decided that Representative Smith would lead the um proposal, and uh Representative Del Bene would support it.

I want you to know that that has been advanced in the House and we'll find out if it's been included in the appropriations bill.

Over on the Senate side, we also hope for the same progress, uh, but they're a little bit on the slower side, so we won't know if that will be included for another few weeks.

So let's talk through some next steps.

Uh, I mentioned that city-led federal advocacy trip in June that mayor and deputy mayor will be on with Genesee, and then we'll be tracking that appropriations process.

It's a great time when you're going back in June, it's a great time to talk about the success of that first pilot and why it's so important for them for future funding.

We'll make sure and do some congressional recess tours and briefings in the district.

That's really popular in August, but we can do it all year round.

Um, continuing education with delegation and uh federal partners, and then I also just want to stress that just because we're not in DC doesn't mean that our federal advocacy needs to stop.

You can always use these policies or this framework when you're in regional boards and committees, or when we're thinking about opportunities to connect state policy with federal policy.

There's a lot of different ways that we can connect this.

So with that, I am asking for your direction and and uh consider potential adoption.

And mayor, I'll give it back to you.

Thank you so much.

I really appreciate everything you do.

And I think we didn't mention your name on the TIF.

Uh Katie, you are uh very important key person in that success.

So I just wanted to mention that here.

Uh I think the way that we are going to do to make it even more complex, uh, in three steps.

The step one is going to give each council member opportunity to make overall comments about the federal agenda.

But please do not bring any amendments that you see uh here on your desk.

Uh, there are nine of them.

And after the General Commons is done, we go to the step two that is the five amendments that to me uh are just words meeting.

So is if you all agree, just nod your head, and then we can just accept is the number one three, four, five, and six.

And then we go to a step three that they are four kind of amendments that they are more than words mitting, they are more substance.

So then I will ask those people who those council members who has those amendments talk about that, and then we can vote and see if we agree with them or not.

So let's start the step one.

Councilman New Enhouse, we will start with you.

Thank you.

Yes, Katie, you are a very important person.

So um thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you.

Um great work as always, uh, very supportive as is, but I did want to um get your thoughts on on one aspect of this federal agenda.

Um, you know so often when you step into those rooms, it is what do you need?

What do you need?

Very specific.

What does Bellevue need?

How can we help?

Tangible things that they can work on.

I love the example of pivoting.

Um and how our delegation can can work together like that, but so often time and time again, it's very specific.

I feel like the first half of this is very specific.

The second half of it, um, while important, it's very generic in some ways.

Um I'm not saying there's a not a place for that.

I'm not sure it should be here, though.

Um when I hear from our delegation again, it goes back to specifics.

But not only is some of it generic, and I'll give you an example like Bellevue supports investments in our environment and community health.

Well, I would hope every city in America would would support that, right?

So I'm not sure that helps us.

Second of all, um want to get your thoughts on some of this actually potentially hurting us if it's seen as a bit of a critique of Congress or critique of the administration or critique in terms of what we feel and we're urging them to work on.

Could that end up hurting us by coming out too strongly in favor of any one of these types of policies?

Just like to get your your your take on that.

Yeah, let me first start by um your comment about some of it being quite generic.

And if I may, I'm going to go back to this slide, which talks about the key priorities and then the policy statement.

Uh, for those who either have gone back to DC or have engaged in our state legislative process, we tend not to bring the entire document.

We tend to bring one page, in this case, just the key priorities, that has exactly that, our key priorities.

That's intended to be our position paper where we say exactly what we need.

So in this case, I'll highlight uh we we need money for safer signals.

We've asked for one million dollars, but we'd like to continue to receive federal funding to implement that.

We need support for safe streets and roads for all.

That that's a grant um a grant program that has a due date of I believe it's May 28th this month, and we need congressional support so that we can try to achieve success in getting about eight to nine million dollars, hopefully, for that grant program.

We need for Congress to hopefully come around and approve small starts, which would allow that's a transit funding program, which would allow for the K-line to receive federal funding.

We also would really like for federal um for the federal government to continue to fund East Rail.

They have an award of 25 million dollars they need to have executed.

Then moving into essential water and infrastructure.

We need, oh, I'm gonna go back.

So sorry, for transportation mobility, we need Congress to approve a surface transportation um reauthorization.

That helps to fund all the programs and projects, including projects that are funded through PSR PSRC through that federal funding program.

Same uh same line of thinking.

We need Congress to approve water infrastructure reauthorizations.

So that would be through the um drinking water state revolving fund, and then also through WIFIA, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

Those are all really tangible things that we need.

Um that helps us to then fund projects or advance conversations about projects that would receive federal funding, like our Lake Washington Lake Lines project that we might have had a nice down payment of $500,000 for some planning.

That is not going to do enough for us to actually build the project.

So it's continually telling that story.

And then I'm just gonna keep on going on one more.

We need Congress to approve a affordable housing policy, and we need them to see how important LITECEC is in that policy and to come to um consensus on the approach on that.

So I agree that it is a little confusing when we have a document that is key federal priorities and federal policy statement, but that's actually the intent is that we really use the singular key legislat or key federal priorities when we're going to congressional offices, and the federal policy statement is really for Genesee and I to make sure that we are advocating or looking at issues in in the right way under your guidance and leadership.

I hope that helps.

Although I never said confusing, I said does it help us or hurt us?

So I totally appreciate that explanation.

That makes complete sense.

So one thing that just uh came to mind to me today, if uh and it's not an amendment per se, but I'd just like to get your thoughts if if we could get support for it or even attempt to get some money for it.

But you know, we've launched this drone as first responder program.

We have some money towards towards it, but it doesn't capture the entire uh budget needed to launch that program uh that would be used by both police and fire.

Um do you see an opportunity for us to perhaps carve out a little bit of space on this to make an ask to help support that program or my professional opinion is no, not yet, but I think that will come.

Um we have talked about that particular program and whether it would be um germane for funding.

Um the federal funding through the appropriations process has already been wrapped up.

We cannot submit any additional requests this year, but we could next year, and that's actually something NLC has been uh working with cities to try to um talk exactly like what you said, the drone as a as a additional component.

I think I think we can um gear ourselves up for the future.

Okay.

I also wanted to, I didn't respond to your critique of if we're critiquing Congress or the administration.

And this is your document.

I am just your vehicle to make sure that it gets complete.

I really want to pay really close attention to that because we want to be proactive.

We want to demonstrate our support.

Um I think that if we were to take a oppositional stance against either the congressional delegation, larger Congress as whole, agencies, or the administration, I think that could be looked at um in a negative light.

And what I've really tried to do for you today is really have that proactive supportive document as so that we can weigh in on those issues.

Thank you for that and agree, supportive.

Um so please in the future then keep that in mind.

Um I'd like to see it added to this.

Uh, if it doesn't make sense um this time around, maybe uh next time around, it will make sense.

So thanks for that.

And I appreciate your professional opinion.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Newman House.

Councilmember Robinson.

Okay.

Just gathering my my thoughts here.

So I do appreciate all the work you've done on this, and it seems to ring true with all the things that we have discussed.

Um, and I appreciate Councilmember New in House bringing up the drone as first responder program.

So knowing in advance that when we get the chance, we will want to advocate for that.

I would support that.

So um I'm just gonna leave it at that.

Great councilmember some other video.

Oh, thank you.

Um I don't have any come, but I just want to tell you um sincerely gratitude to our staff.

I think you know the work is it's may it seems pretty short, but also the time, the advocacy, the follow-through, that there's so many multiple steps after relationship building, because we know that even though we're a little, I mean, we're not a little, but we are a city in Pacific Northwest, we do need your support actually engaging with our supporters at DC so we can be seen a national stage.

So I'm just full of gratitude and I'm excited for us to move forward.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Smother Virgo.

Councilmember Bargabo.

Yeah, so I want to just say thank you.

This is really educational for me, uh, the briefing that you had, as well as my more updated understanding of the work that we do for our legislative agenda, federal agenda is uh a really great mix of tactical and strategic thinking and being able to maneuver and be advocates for our um needs.

So I just want to say thank you, really appreciate uh the work you do, and you're uh quite the experts at it.

So really grateful that you're here and being advocates for us.

Um that's the first thing.

Second is I do have uh a couple of three suggestions, but I think I'm gonna hold those because that may be used to describe three rounds of conversation.

I'll come back to those.

So right now I just want to say I feel like I'm generally aligned with the broad structure of what you've laid out.

I don't think it's fundamentally missing anything, and I really uh feel thankful for the work that you do.

It's in uh you're great at it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Bargobo.

Councilmember York.

In the interest of saving time, I will say thank you and ditto to my colleagues and what they said.

Great uh deputy mayor Hamilton.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you for the presentation.

Katie and Genesee, a lot of hard work has gone into this already.

I've had had the chance already to provide some feedback and appreciate uh seeing that show up here in the amendment tracker.

I know we're gonna get to uh more specifics on this in later rounds.

Um really like the draft agenda that that we got and started off with, and I'm confident uh that what we come up with is gonna serve us well as we work with our federal delegation as we continue to make the case for our priorities.

Um, as you noted in the presentation, we've been very well supported by our federal delegation.

Senators Murray and Cantwell, along with representatives Delbeny and Smith have consistently been helpful collaborators and strong advocates.

So I certainly feel like uh we're very fortunate that way.

Again, great work and just look forward to the conversation moving along.

Thank you, Mayor.

Great.

Thank you for everyone to be very concise.

I also wanted to say thank you, great job.

Uh I really appreciate that you have a very specific project here because that makes our life uh uh easier, but I also wanted to maybe echo what Councilmember New House was saying.

I think it is a very strong agenda, but it would be helpful in this environment that we are.

We can focus.

Like if I have 20 seconds with one of our amazing delegations in a room, I cannot just say safe signal, safe street for all, rapid ride K line, Eastrail, utility funding, emergency.

They don't even how to explain all of that.

So if I have or if I have 20 seconds, one minute, what would be the number two or three projects out of these key priorities left side of the screen that I can give that pitch that are the most money that we need or the most impactful project again?

I don't know how you are going to do that waiting, but to me, we should be more of focus, have clear uh things to kind of have the order to ask.

Again, we should ask for all of them, but again, if you have one minute in a room, I would love to have that uh priorities instead of uh having a big list that it is all important.

This is I think a step one.

Now let's just go to a step two.

So you have this.

Do you have the slide of these somewhere in the screen for the people on?

Can we share the slide?

Because as I mentioned, we are in a step two, so there is some uh kind of amendment that is just basically word speaking.

Great.

It's a little bit small, but I think it is quite small.

Sorry.

Uh basically is just has the additional wording bell view urged Congress to approve or yeah.

To me, they are all minor words meeting.

Uh just nods head if and have time some time to look at it because I know maybe uh was sent to us last night or yesterday.

So take a look, maybe in one or two minutes, and if they are all okay with you, nod your head.

If there is one that you want to talk about it, we can spend some time on this.

Mayor, while you all are reading, I might explain this to the viewing audience at home, who I'm sure is very excited to be watching this right now.

85 people.

Um for those who are at home.

Um, there this describes um the location within the agenda.

So either key federal priority or federal policy statement.

It includes the page number that you could find where this amendment would go.

It has the amendment number, and for um council, that's um related to your tracking document.

And then it has the specific reference within the federal agenda.

And then, so that's on the left hand side.

On the right hand side is the proposed amendment.

The text in red is the new proposal, and there are a few areas where there's strikeout.

Um, and that is the list of what I'm calling tone refinements.

Um, these tone refinements oftentimes are either amplifying what our action may be, or um it explaining how we may want to weigh in more than just Bellevue supports, might be Bellevue urges or Bellevue encourages.

Any council member has any issue with any of those who read that has been a suggestion to make it that Belleview has a stronger position.

Maybe ask for so a nod and some thumbs up or not head nod or something would be great.

I see everyone.

I am waiting for just Councilman Newman has to finish, and I think we can after that we can go to the step three.

Great, you're fine.

Great.

So not head, thumbs up.

This is good.

Now if we go to a step three, can you go to the next slide?

Yes.

This slide is also a list of amendments.

There are four on this slide.

These are proposed amendments that have a bit more of content changes.

In some cases, they are adding some additional perspective.

And in one case, there would be a new bullet.

Okay.

I so you kind of start reading, but I wanted to start with Councilmember Robinson.

Please mention which one is your suggestion, maybe talk about it, why you feel to add or to modify, and then please make a motion, and after the motion, we have time to discuss this.

Okay.

So I have amendment eight.

And in the history of this, is that in March 2026, President Trump announced the White House's ratepayer protection pledge.

And it's a voluntary, non-binding agreement between the US government and major tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI aimed at ensuring that the rapid growth of US data center infrastructure and uh a cornerstone of the internet, cloud computing and AI does not lead to higher electricity costs for American households.

And so I move that we add this amendment that says Bellevue supports policies that ensure large scale energy users, including AI data centers, fund the electricity infrastructure needed to serve their operations, reducing ratepayer impacts and sort supporting reliable sustainable energy systems.

Great.

So this has been moved by Councilmember Robinson and seconded by Councilmember Brear.

And I'll just say that it's consistent with which what a policy that's already been put forward, or I should say a pledge, and I'm just underscoring support from our city for that.

Great.

Any discussion?

One councilmember Bargabo.

I really like this suggestion that you make, Councilmember Robinson.

Only question or not a question, really a refinement or the suggestion of thought is the words and reducing rate payer impacts.

Is it do we need to be stronger than that in saying uh mitigating or something like eliminating?

I don't know if it's eliminating, but like mitigating or something like that that says it's not just a reduction in rate by impact.

So that suggests that there will be some, and we're okay with that, but we're gonna try and reduce that impact.

So we have one small voters meeting that we can leave it to you all to see how that can be the best.

I'm fine with mitigating.

Yeah.

Well, except that mitigating kind of indicates that you resign to it.

Yeah, I don't know the right choice of words.

I don't think mitigating is what I want.

Can somebody come up with a better word?

And I think let's just not do the voters meeting right now in a dias.

We can just as an overall, let's just see overall policy aligns with us.

What uh do you uh before I go to other council members?

What do you guys think about this?

I I think this is a policy that will attract a lot of um attention in DC, and I think it's appropriate that we weigh in.

Do you when I read every other policy and um contents that you provided?

This to me feels it is much more specific than the rest of the agenda.

Is do you all have the same feeling?

I'm asking you to uh, or is it just to me?

Uh and this is the one that maybe is kind of outlier, doesn't match our overall federal strategy, or am I reading too much into stuff?

I'll give um I'll I'll provide the same answer to you that I actually provided to Councilmember Robinson when we spoke about this is that um originally we had spoken about the actual legislation and the actual ratepayer protection pledge.

And uh my recommendation at that point was that we keep a broad statement because sometimes things change names or bill numbers, as we saw in Olympia.

And so this was intended to be intentionally broad.

I think that it stays in line and in tune with how we have the rest of our agenda, but I welcome your uh I think that it is consistent with the it a little bit bridges the level of specificity between the priority statement and the policy statement.

Exactly.

Uh it is not as specific as to name the legislation around the ratepayer protection pledge, but it is a area of policy, which is really trying to say we want this to not have undue burden on other taxpayers.

Um and so I think that is at the policy level, it's not specific to a project or particular business or even to a it includes data centers, but it's not exclusive of others, and so I think it is not too specific to be um out of step.

Great.

Thank you for your answer.

Councilman Robinson.

So to clarify, I originally wanted to wanted to start with consistent with the White House's ratepayer protection pledge of 2026, but I was asked not to be so specific.

So this is more general, but um we could uh replace um uh reducing or whatever it is with uh avoiding.

I'm okay with that, and I think that's a stronger word.

Any other comments?

So there is no further discussion?

Not for me.

Great.

So we have a motion, I've been seconded.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

There is no oppose.

Great.

The first one gone.

Uh Deputy Mayor Hamilton, you have, I believe, two of them.

Am I right?

Can you please go one by one, tell which one is yours, and then uh give your justification, and then we vote, and then we go to your second one.

Okay, great.

Um, so the the one there at the top of the list, uh, essential water infrastructure.

Um, I'm just proposing that we add the language without increased federal partnership, rising infrastructure needs, and regulatory requirements will drive significant cost increases for ratepayers.

And the uh point there that I'm I want to just be sure that we emphasize is um you know, considering all of the upcoming rate increases for various utilities.

I really want to focus our uh delegation and um others on the fact that you know this is a big impact on ratepayers, and we should be really sensitive to that.

Can you also please make the motion and then be I move that we add the language without increased federal partnership, rising infrastructure needs, and regulatory requirements will drive significant cost increases for ratepayers to fed the key federal priorities of essential water infrastructure?

It has been uh moved by deputy different than what's written here.

What you just said is a little different.

So it will drive significant cost increases for ratepayers, period here, and you added something, so I'd like a resolution of the two.

Okay, I was just reading off of the uh I don't know why it's different.

Where is the difference?

Do you want to read your motion one more time?

And see if then I can find where is a discrepancy, I guess.

Yeah, I don't see the difference here.

What you said was different.

Okay, go ahead.

Um so I move that we add the language without increased federal partnership, rising infrastructure needs and regulatory requirements will drive significant cost increases for ratepayers to the essential water infrastructure key federal priority.

Yeah, I think the rest is just a name of the key.

The essential water infrastructure is the name of the policy, I guess.

Okay, so it's already been moved, it's already been seconded, so we are good to go.

And now it's time for discussion.

So I just want to add, is that how we read it?

Is that how you would recommend we write it?

Uh yes, Councilmember Deputy Mayor added in at the end in essential water infrastructure, which I believe is in reference to the bullet underneath page two amendment two, just to reference where it would be located.

Perfect.

Any discussion?

What you two think about this?

I think this is very consistent language with other locations within our current agenda, and I will say that it is consistent with the way that we have been coordinated with King County and Cascade.

We have shared with them the draft federal agenda, and they have shared with us how they plan to advocate in DC, and this is consistent.

Great.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no oppose.

Great.

Your second one, sir.

So the thought behind this was just to kind of take another step to ensure public data privacy.

And so I want to I I moved to add the language Bellevue supports responsible data sharing for public safety purposes that is consistent with state and local laws and protects privacy and civil liberties to the public safety and first responders policy statement.

Second, please.

It has been moved by deputy mayor and seconded by councilmember Briar.

Any discussion.

Thank you.

What's responsible?

How do we define what's responsible?

Um I do not have PD here, but uh I feel like I feel like I'm going to look to you on this one.

Uh let me actually uh let you know that responsible would be would be something that we either currently do or we endeavor or want to do that is in alignment with existing protocols or federal policy.

Um and uh certainly we could remove the word data or responsible.

Bell V supports data sharing for public safety purposes that is consistent with state and local laws.

That that would also be a fine way of of moving that forward as well.

Sorry to be looking at you, as always.

Councilmember Newenhaus, did you get the response?

Uh I got a response.

Do you have a follow-up?

Um, this is one that for me it kind of falls into the critique category.

Um I understand the intent, also understand the importance though, of those partnerships and the intelligence capabilities and the important tools that are used for public safety.

Um in fact, there was just an example last night in Seattle about how this type of data sharing was really important in order to uh capture a couple of individuals.

So yeah, that's more of a comment than a question, but I'll leave it at that.

Great.

Uh Councilmember Bargava and then Councilmember Bruyar.

Question on um building on Councilmember New Enhause's point.

And a question for you, as I don't know the answer, is isn't there federally established standards for responsible use in place already?

Would this just be alignment with federally established standards for responsible use?

I believe that some individuals may disagree with how data is being used or shared.

Um that is a um that is an opinion of how information is shared.

Um I would welcome uh refinements to this language because again, this is your federal agenda.

I am here with Genesee to ensure that it matches what your direction is.

Okay.

So I take it that we're we don't have federally established standards for use, responsible use right now, then so that would that's what would become the issue.

I I think we can, if we need to, we can do some homework on that.

I think this came to us rather recently, and so I think we can do some more vetting if that's necessary.

Um there is a I I think what I'm comfortable probably saying is that there is a um somewhat complex um interrelationship of state and local laws around the use of data, how and when it is collected and shared by different public and private agencies for different purposes.

Uh I will tell you that Katie Kuzimbahalsey and I are not subject matter experts in what that intersection of laws look like.

Um but we can certainly uh do some additional vetting if necessary.

Thanks.

Councilman Briar.

Yeah, I just wanted to say having worked in data privacy privacy, it's my understanding that the federal government has uh made a commitment to no regulation, actually, when it comes to privacy and when it comes to regulation in general.

Actually, if if I'm uh memory serves me correctly, large tech companies have much more constrained privacy laws than our federal government currently has.

So I do think reasonable is a high level word enough that'll allow for that sort of jurisprudence to take place.

Uh the way that I read it is that uh uh it comes across as legal justification, reasonable legal justification as opposed to uh uh virtue signaling, rather.

So I would opt in for keeping this word.

Any other comments or discussion?

Uh I also would love that word.

And I just bring my uh when I'm working in the places that I work, I think when we use again the definition as I as if we talk, maybe the state doesn't have the federal doesn't have, or is very open.

But then as council member Briar mentioned in the companies is very uh common set is common sense and known that is um we just share what we need to share, what is needed to be shared, and is legally uh uh is has a clear purpose why we are sharing that data and in a way that protects people, uh, minimizing personal details and use very secure methods.

So they are all like the company corporate America definition, and I think because we don't have any definition, I guess, or there is not that much um attention in federal or a state right now in that I think having some word as a responsible makes sense to me.

Any other yes, Councilman Newhouse.

I I appreciate your your your comment, but how do you know the needs?

That's that's what I'm trying to say.

That I don't think we can uh c uh come up with a very very detailed definition right now, but having that word there is sending our message that's what we are trying to do that as needed as when it is uh has a clear purpose and safe uh is going to protect people identity.

I think those kind of stuff comes out of that to me without coming with the clear requirements.

Right.

I just don't think that we're in a position where we can ascertain what is needed in uh in a specific public safety incident that we can determine what those needs are at that moment.

Yeah, you had mentioned name or uh other things as examples, but perhaps in some cases that is pertinent.

Yeah, I agree.

Yeah.

So I I don't know how we can make that determination as a as a body, what is need what what are those needs.

And I think again, I'm just trying to just I think the responsible is the word that's without going into the very, very details and scenario basing and say what is right or not, has that definition, I think we all trying to say.

Councilmember Briar.

I just wanted to add responsible uh is a really good word because data privacy includes encryption.

If officer A is speaking to Officer B about trying to catch an illegal street racer who's harming pedestrians and kids crossing the street, for example, uh without that encryption, it's very easy to hack into that communication channel.

So having these safeguards in place and using the word responsible to your point, Councilmember New and House, there's several use cases instead of sort of framing it as restricting police officers, it also enhances their line of work as well.

So it's protected in sort of cybersecurity ways as well.

Councilman, thank you, Councilmember Briar.

Council member uh Robinson.

Yeah, thank you.

I appreciate Councilmember Reyer's um input here.

Uh it I I agree with it, and I mean, if I just do a search on what is responsible data sharing, I like the definition that comes up, which says it refers to the ethical controlled exchange of information prioritizing privacy, security, and societal benefits.

I fon feel like that's so constricting that people can't do good with that.

So um I'm comfortable with that definition, and I'm comfortable with that word.

And I think it's important to put in to be honest with you.

Councilman Newtonhouse.

Well, my final point on this is that it goes so back to the critique question of this is the you know federal agenda, and we're basically saying here that we want you to get aligned with state and local laws, right?

That could be seen as a critique that the federal government is not doing this correctly.

They need to get aligned with local laws, vis-a-vis Bellevue or Washington state or any other state.

I could see that as a as a critique.

But I would love your opinion on that, Katie.

And I think you want to give one.

I will jump in to provide my perspective, which is that we are asking for the federal government to be partners with cities and to be partners with cities.

There's also laws and regulations that we have to abide by from a regional and a state fundamental.

Absolutely.

So this is not necessarily stating that they have to abide by state and local laws, but that we have to, and that we would like there to be a consistency so that we know how we are applying our our work and our and um our policies.

Amazing discussion.

Thank you for your input.

Any final discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Opposed.

Uh it passes uh one opposed council member new and house.

The motion passes.

The last one is council member Briar.

Uh thank you.

Yes.

I move that we add the language um Bellevue encourages Congress to preserve and strengthen tax exempt municipal bonds as well as flexible financing tools and credit assistance that helps cities deliver infrastructure, housing, utilities, transportation, and public facilities at lower cost to taxpayers and ratepayers to the fiscal sustainability and governance policy statement.

Do you want to make the motion?

I thought I made a that was a motion, great.

Great.

It has been moved by Council Member Briar and seconded by Council Member Robinson.

Any discussion.

Yeah, I'd like to justify.

Yes.

Uh so I just wanted to propose strengthening our municipal finance language.

Uh as it is now, it says that Bell V supports preserving tax-exempt municipal bonds, which is very important, but I think we should offer flexibility for the full set of federal fund, excuse me, full set of federal financing tools cities can rely on, especially because we have like so many long-term infrastructure needs that are coming up, utilities, transportation, housing, I don't want to name them all, but these are expensive, and in the case and only in the case that federal grants alone are not enough.

Flexible tools can help us borrow at lower lower cost, manage uh major capital needs over time and reduce pressure on taxpayers and ratepayers.

So ultimately, the amendment uh serves to give Bellevue a stronger federal position by saying we don't want to protect, but we want to preserve and strengthen the tools that help us deliver essential needs.

Thank you for uh your comments.

Uh before I go to the council members, what you all think about these uh revised or edited.

Um I will mention that the tax exempt municipal bonds is a very common request from other cities and from the National League of Cities.

Um so that is something that I think is consistent with um other associations.

And um elsewhere in the document, you do refer to other financing tools such as Litech or other assistance in financing, such as um WiFIA or since the state revolving fund loan.

So this is consistent with other locations within the federal agenda.

Thank you.

In fact, I think it kind of pulls it all together uh in in one statement.

Thank you, Katie.

Any discussion?

I see thumbs up on this side of the table.

Um in favor say aye.

Aye, aye, aye.

There is no opposed and motion passes.

I just wanted to go around the room and see if there is any new topic that my council members colleagues want to add.

Anyone who wants to add any other amendments, I know one person on my left.

Council member Borgavo, please.

This is not essentially an amendment, but I have three things that I want to just see what my peers in the council think and what you think about.

I didn't have enough time to draft them up or given the time that we got the latest set.

So I'll ask my questions.

I'll start with the one that we just looked at from uh councilmember Breyer's uh suggestion.

When we talk about fiscal sustainability and governance, is there a need for us to also include a stress on local flexibility on federal funds or a reduction in our administrative burden for that?

Because that seems to be a oh, I would love to join this one actually.

Go ahead.

Um there is language in the that statement about um let me just get to it fiscal sustainability and governance.

Um while it is uh tied to grant applications.

I um I I think your statement about flexibility or improving the services in the way that we can use federal funds is represented in the bullet directly below, which says Bellevue supports simplifying grant applications and compliance processes to reduce barriers and improve project delivery.

Um I I think uh I would entertain uh additional information from you if there's an amendment.

Okay, if that is captured and we actually are uh proposing that, that would address uh uh my thoughts there.

The second one I had was around the immigration immigrant and refugee community support, and we make the point about lawful work for opportunities to support local economies, promotes community stability.

I'm wondering if this can be strengthened by connecting it to possible labor shortages and economic competitiveness of our city or general economic competitiveness for tech, construction, healthcare, or other industries that get heavily impacted we certainly can.

I would look to you and your um fellow council members to add that additional um level of context.

Um I can tell you that for the AWC.

Can you go to the previous slide?

I think we can show it uh if it is I think item number six.

Yep, there it is.

Thank you, Mayor.

The bottom one, am I right?

That is correct.

Um AWC has a similar statement.

Um I am not finding it right now in the document that I'm looking at, um, but certainly we could use similar language as AWC, and if that was a friendly amendment, I could certainly entertain that.

So basically the request of Councilman Bargawa is to tie the last items on your screen that is a uh immigrant and refugee community support to add a language to tie to the shorter of labor workforce and tie it uh with that overall if you are okay with that direction, uh thumbs up or nodding your head, and then we can ask the staff to just add that language.

Um I think we are all aligned with this.

Um everyone nod their head.

So to be honest, I I'm not as comfortable because I haven't had time to think about this, and we haven't had enough, you know, there was a process to have staff uh put this in and that we could all look at it and think about it, and we're kind of uh circumnavigating that.

I'm not gonna try to convince anyone else to feel that way, but I just I feel a little bit about that way, and I it makes it hard for me to appreciate the value of this statement just because I haven't had the time.

Do you uh maybe we can do this?

Do you can can you tell us what's uh language you wanted to add, and then we can if council bargain wants he can make a motion and then we vote on that.

But tell us I'm sorry, can I interrupt to extend the meeting?

Oh shoot.

What time is it?

Yes, okay.

Can I have a motion to extend the meeting to 1015?

Can I have a second, please?

All those in favor say aye.

Hi.

We extended the meeting.

Thank you.

Do you can you just yeah?

Uh just uh perspective on this.

It um adding that language does not change what we would be supporting or advocating for or trying to implement.

It is just more of the why statement.

So it is from our perspective, neither here nor there.

It just helps uh amplify what it is we're seeking.

Um is part of the motivation for doing so.

But we don't need that, we we don't it doesn't substantively change what it is that we are asking the Congress and the administration to consider.

Thank you.

If you wanted to add a sentence small to add to the bottom to address Councilmember Bargawa, what that would be.

Something to the effect of expanding lawful work opportunity supports local economies and promotes community stability through through workforce and labor.

In support of addressing uh, you know, addressing labor shortages in key uh economic sectors.

You want to do by hearing all of that make a motion?

I can make a motion to add the justification or the additional language as proposed by Genesee without repeating it to the end of that section.

Is there a second?

Second.

It has been moved by uh Councilmember Gava and seconded by Councilmember Bruyard.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any oppose?

There is no oppose.

Motion passes.

Go to your last one.

The last one actually is more uh straightforward.

In the essential water infrastructure section, is there any opportunity for us to improve the justification to digital infrastructure, smart water systems or something like that?

Is because that seems to be a direction where a lot of folks are going for preventative maintenance, and there is a lot of talk around that in the industry.

I'm not sure if this is something that would help us or not.

I I think that our legislative or our federal agenda would definitely cover that.

I don't um see that we would need to add that language, and I think that's one reason why um back to our original conversation with Councilmember New in House.

The federal policy statement is intended to be broad so that we can weigh in on those types of issues, and then if it becomes a priority issue, that's when it would move to those key federal priorities.

So I think that we have the language to support that.

Okay, I'm good with that.

Thanks.

Great.

Any other colleagues who wants to add any other or any comments?

This is your last opportunity.

Can I uh please have the motion to adopt the federal agenda?

I move to adopt the 2026 2027 federal agenda.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Uh it has been moved by deputy mayor and seconded by council member Robinson.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no opposed, the motion uh passes.

I think at this point we can adjourn the meeting.

So see you all next week.

Thank you again so much.

Congress to TIFF, Congress to our next agenda legislative federal agenda item.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.