Overview

The Affordable Housing Strategy is a short-term action plan that identifies and sequences steps the city can take to continue to address the need for affordable housing in the community. The City of Bellevue is updating its existing 2017 Affordable Housing Strategy to implement new policy direction, reflect changing market conditions, and support the development and preservation of additional affordable housing units.

Updating the Affordable Housing Strategy will identify the next set of near- and mid- term actions to help the city achieve the new affordable housing target and meet other affordable housing priorities.

Background

The Bellevue City Council adopted its Affordable Housing Strategy (AHS) in 2017. The 2017 strategy included 5 overarching strategies and 21 actions to expand affordable housing opportunities in Bellevue. In 2022, Council approved the Next Right Work to continue the affordable housing work plan. Next Right Work includes 5 actions with various steps and phases. Most of the 2017 and Next Right Work actions are complete, have made significant progress, or have ongoing work. A summary of efforts to implement the 2017 AHS is available under the Documents sidebar.

Along with the 2017 strategy, the Council established a goal to build or preserve 2,500 affordable units in 10 years. The city has exceeded this goal, with 2,750 affordable housing units built, preserved, or in the pipeline in Bellevue between 2017 and 2023.

Recognizing the continued need for affordable housing across income levels, Council established a new goal to build or preserve 5,700 affordable units (0% - 80% AMI) in the next ten years. Additionally, the new affordable housing target includes sub-targets for income bands below 80% AMI – 2,700 units affordable to 0-30% AMI; 1,450 units affordable to 30-50%, and 1,550 units affordable at 50-80% AMI).

Timeline

Council launched the update to the Affordable Housing Strategy on November 12, 2024. Planning and engagement will occur over the course of twelve months following the phases below.

• Launch: Provide information and educational opportunities on affordable housing topics. Learn what community members need to learn. Timeline: January – March 2025
• Assess: Work with technical stakeholders to refine the possible actions into fully developed strategies for potential inclusion in the update. Timeline: April – June 2025
• Refine: Prioritize actions into a seven-year implementation plan. Timeline: July – September 2025
• Review: The final draft strategy is review and adopted by City Council. Timeline: October – November 2025

Project Focus Areas

Building on Affordable Housing Implementation - The update process is intended to build on the progress to implement the 2017 AHS and Next Right Work. This project will be used to identify any outstanding work items or areas of continuous improvements to be considered as possible next-set actions.

Implementing Policy Guidance - The 2024 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update (CPPU) defined the city’s future vision and policy framework, including significant work to align Housing Element with state and regional guidance. The AHS update is an opportunity to operationalize policies from the CPPU and other housing work.

Engaging Representative Voices - Part of the overall engagement plan will include engaging marginalized and underserved communities and technical experts in order to set direction and prioritize actions. To ensure that representative voices are engaged in the recommendation process, staff plan to convene a Representative Community Panel to deliberate on staff-developed action alternatives, as well as inputs from staff analysis, public engagement, and technical expertise.