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Bellevue 2044 - Housing

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Housing is a key issue facing the city and the issue raised most often by community members. Over half of all respondents to the Bellevue 2044 Questionnaire rated the city’s progress towards providing a range of housing options that are affordable for people to rent or own as “below average” or “very poor.”

Planning for a range of housing types at different affordability levels is a key focus of the Periodic Update to the Comprehensive Plan. As a city we need to consider what type of housing is needed, where to put more housing, and how much housing we need to plan for to meet our goals. Some of those goals include:

  • Planning for a range of housing types and densities that allow us to maximize recent investments in transit
  • Prioritizing affordable housing for very low income families
  • Addressing past inequities that have shaped the city
  • Planning for residential neighborhoods that protect and promote the health and well-being of residents by supporting equitable access to parks, a clean environment, educational and economic opportunity, and transportation options.

On this project page we invite you to learn more about key housing data, share your housing story, and provide input that will help shape the future of housing in Bellevue.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT READY FOR REVIEW

On Thursday, April 27 the city released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Community members and organizations with an interest in the future growth of Bellevue can now comment on the DEIS until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 12. To read the DEIS and find out how to submit comments, please visit the city's Environmental Review webpage.

Housing is a key issue facing the city and the issue raised most often by community members. Over half of all respondents to the Bellevue 2044 Questionnaire rated the city’s progress towards providing a range of housing options that are affordable for people to rent or own as “below average” or “very poor.”

Planning for a range of housing types at different affordability levels is a key focus of the Periodic Update to the Comprehensive Plan. As a city we need to consider what type of housing is needed, where to put more housing, and how much housing we need to plan for to meet our goals. Some of those goals include:

  • Planning for a range of housing types and densities that allow us to maximize recent investments in transit
  • Prioritizing affordable housing for very low income families
  • Addressing past inequities that have shaped the city
  • Planning for residential neighborhoods that protect and promote the health and well-being of residents by supporting equitable access to parks, a clean environment, educational and economic opportunity, and transportation options.

On this project page we invite you to learn more about key housing data, share your housing story, and provide input that will help shape the future of housing in Bellevue.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT READY FOR REVIEW

On Thursday, April 27 the city released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Community members and organizations with an interest in the future growth of Bellevue can now comment on the DEIS until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 12. To read the DEIS and find out how to submit comments, please visit the city's Environmental Review webpage.

Share Your Housing Story

As part of the planning process the team will review a lot of data related to housing, but it's also important to hear about people's personal experience. We invite you to share your housing story. Have you or a member of your family struggled to find housing in Bellevue? Considering moving due to housing costs? Looking for a certain type of housing that you can't find?  


Thank you for sharing your story with us.
This discussion is currently paused while the community reviews the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). To learn more about the DEIS please visit https://bellevuewa.gov/2044-environmental-review.
  • Share The middle class can't compete with cash-buying investment companies for single family housing. on Facebook Share The middle class can't compete with cash-buying investment companies for single family housing. on Twitter Share The middle class can't compete with cash-buying investment companies for single family housing. on Linkedin Email The middle class can't compete with cash-buying investment companies for single family housing. link

    The middle class can't compete with cash-buying investment companies for single family housing.

    by SEE, about 2 years ago
    Almost 20 years ago, my family got our first house in Bellevue. We stretched to make it work on a middle class income, but were able to do it. As salaries rose, and interest rates were refinanced down, it wasn't as tight as those first couple of years and was quite comfortable for the last 10 or so. Last year, we decided to sell, having completely remodeled a few years earlier. The family needs changed. However, after paying everything off (including the approximately 10% of the sales price that goes to commissions and the costs associated with sales of a... Continue reading
  • Share Time to move! on Facebook Share Time to move! on Twitter Share Time to move! on Linkedin Email Time to move! link

    Time to move!

    by Convertiblewheels , about 2 years ago
    I like many others are considering moving due to what Bellevue has BECOME! A Crime ridden and Traffic problem! LAST THING BELLEVUE NEEDS IS MORE PEOPLE! And Out of the Country INVESTORS buying up property! I've lived here all my life, and thought I would die here, but BELLEVUE now is becoming as bad as Seattle!
  • Share Bought a family home because that's all that was available to me on Facebook Share Bought a family home because that's all that was available to me on Twitter Share Bought a family home because that's all that was available to me on Linkedin Email Bought a family home because that's all that was available to me link

    Bought a family home because that's all that was available to me

    by Betina, about 2 years ago
    Thank goodness I grew up in Bellevue and had grandparents who could sell me their home without it going on the market. I'm hearing more stories like this of long-time families helping their kids/grandkids by selling to them so they can stay local. As time goes on, I'd like to sell or work with a developer of my 1950's home right near Downtown Bellevue to subdivide the property to allow for more dense housing options. I'm so tired of seeing the HUGE homes on the close-in lots when it would make so much more sense to put 3-4 townhomes or... Continue reading
  • Share Moved out of Bellevue due to cost on Facebook Share Moved out of Bellevue due to cost on Twitter Share Moved out of Bellevue due to cost on Linkedin Email Moved out of Bellevue due to cost link

    Moved out of Bellevue due to cost

    by phils, about 2 years ago

    I rented in Bellevue in the Crossroads area from 2019 to spring of this year 2022. Since one of my offices is in downtown Bellevue and the other is in Redmond, that location was ideal. However, the apartment complex kept raising rent prices since 2021 and finally I moved out to Kirkland to reduce my rent. One of my coworkers is considering selling their condo in south Bellevue but I don't think I'll be able to purchase at current market prices.

    I don't know the solution but one is more available housing, both for families and singles, for rent and... Continue reading

  • Share Single Mom in a 1 bedroom. on Facebook Share Single Mom in a 1 bedroom. on Twitter Share Single Mom in a 1 bedroom. on Linkedin Email Single Mom in a 1 bedroom. link

    Single Mom in a 1 bedroom.

    by Sissel, about 2 years ago
    I support renter's rights and wish for more affordable housing IN THIS AREA. It's difficult to explain what poverty is to a 6 year old. So i don't, instead i teach her that the best things in life don't cost money. But in all actuality of our life, I am barely making a work on my wage. So With food costs and gas costs and daycare and then RENT everything increasing but my wage. My rent increased by 75 dollars and now i am holding on to a razors edge. I would love to beable to live in a home... Continue reading
  • Share The Opportunity for More on Facebook Share The Opportunity for More on Twitter Share The Opportunity for More on Linkedin Email The Opportunity for More link

    The Opportunity for More

    by RBD, about 2 years ago

    I live in East Bellevue and I walk miles and miles in my neighborhood each day. Every block sports large new-builds on lots where modest ramblers once stood. I am all for development and enabling people to "cash-out" of their properties to move ahead, however It would be a much better use of the space to enable ADUs over the garages, creating 2 living spaces instead of 1. We could provide long-term housing on the existing footprint AND give a revenue opportunity to the people choosing to build in our city.

  • Share It's a struggle to buy and rent increases incredibly fast. on Facebook Share It's a struggle to buy and rent increases incredibly fast. on Twitter Share It's a struggle to buy and rent increases incredibly fast. on Linkedin Email It's a struggle to buy and rent increases incredibly fast. link

    It's a struggle to buy and rent increases incredibly fast.

    by forte, about 2 years ago

    I moved to Bellevue about four years ago after I graduated. I love living in Bellevue, especially near downtown. But the city is getting unaffordable each year. Rent from 2020-2022 in some places increased 30-40%! It's insane.

    Housing is not being built at a fast enough place to accommodate and increase supply while making housing costs go down to more affordable levels. We need go to bold, much more than 35k units. Bellevue can be an amazing place to live and more affordable. We need to increase housing density, upzone, invest in transit, and make the city more walkable.

    I've... Continue reading

  • Share The Consequences on Facebook Share The Consequences on Twitter Share The Consequences on Linkedin Email The Consequences link

    The Consequences

    by Leonardo, about 2 years ago

    As I also participate in an Advisory Council for the Bellevue Police Department, I see the challenge our officers are facing as they can't afford to live in Bellevue and face long commutes. This has been the case for the majority of the people who keep us safe and healthy in Bellevue.

    When I became a homeowner in Bellevue more than 20 years ago, one of the decision factors was the availability of the best public services one could find in the Country. Now, as "affordable housing" in Bellevue becomes a fiction, the quality of our services is decreasing as... Continue reading

  • Share I was unable to purchase a condo in Bellevue on Facebook Share I was unable to purchase a condo in Bellevue on Twitter Share I was unable to purchase a condo in Bellevue on Linkedin Email I was unable to purchase a condo in Bellevue link

    I was unable to purchase a condo in Bellevue

    by tcqwerty, about 2 years ago
    I was unable to attend the in-person meeting because I was busy closing on a condo in Renton. My job is in Bellevue, and for years I had been searching for an affordable condo in Bellevue in order to avoid using 405 for commuting while not shoving thousands of dollars into rent, but finding an affordable 2-bedroom condo in Bellevue was impossible, while the instant I expanded to Renton I found something. The existing public transportation options between Renton and Bellevue are not good, unfortunately, but there's talk of expansion.


    What I'm specifically worried about for the future of Bellevue... Continue reading

  • Share Great place to live and let's keep it that way on Facebook Share Great place to live and let's keep it that way on Twitter Share Great place to live and let's keep it that way on Linkedin Email Great place to live and let's keep it that way link

    Great place to live and let's keep it that way

    by mojo, about 2 years ago

    Bellevue native here. From Somerset to Odle to Interlake to UW to working Downtown, I have called Bellevue home for the majority of my life. So many people are unhappy with the housing situation, but it doesn't need to be so negative.

    My wife and I are in our late 20's and happily bought a house in Newport Hills last year after 3 weeks of searching and adjusting our budget to be more realistic. We love our neighbors, community, and the environment that we have here and appreciate how the city has maintained a high standard of life for those... Continue reading

Page last updated: 08 Oct 2023, 11:56 AM