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TRANSPORTATION | Meetings begin to consider express toll lanes on I-406, SR 167 [2]
Arts | Village Theatre’s ‘The Mousetrap’ keeps the audience guessing; who really is the FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 murderer? [18]
Community | Tea ceremony at Bellevue Arts Museum shows people how to slow down [3]
Downtown livability gets push from council Bellevue wants to make downtown more livable. To help do that, the City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 22 added members from several boards and commissions, as well as other community representatives, to an advisory board that will seek to give Bellevue’s skyline more personality and help make the city’s fastest growing residential neighborhood more pedestrianfriendly. The council decided the group guiding the Downtown Livability
initiative will include two members of the Planning Commission and one member each from the Parks & Community Services Board and the Transportation, Human Services and Environmental Services commissions. It also will include an architect and business and neighborhood representatives. Ultimately, the advisory group’s work will be handed off to the Planning Commission and City Council for the code adoption process. The effort began last July when the council launched the Down-
town Livability initiative to make downtown “more viable, livable and memorable.” In an extensive update of the downtown land use code adopted in 1981, the city wants to change zoning regulations and design guidelines to ensure that the downtown area serves the needs of residents and businesses. The council allocated $385,000 for consultants to study the city’s code and suggest changes. The initiative wants to focus on such things as:
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■ Refining incentives for downtown developers to add public amenities such as public open space and memorable gathering places; ■ Promoting a distinctive and memorable skyline that sets Bellevue’s downtown apart from other cities; ■ Creating a great visitor experience and a more vital tourism sector; ■ Encouraging green, energyefficient and sustainable buildings; and
■ Improving the overall quality of the pedestrian experience downtown. Adoption of code changes and design guidelines related to the Downtown Livability initiative is expected in 2014. Residents and businesses weighed in on what the project should address at a “scoping” meeting and open house in November. Outreach for the project will continue with more open houses and other kinds of meetings in the future.
Second meeting set on amending code for light rail The Bellevue City Council on Tuesday scheduled a second public hearing Feb. 11 to take comments on amending the city’s land use code related to the East Link light rail project. The proposed amendments will be part of a comprehensive new section, or land use code “overlay,” that would create permitting processes, development standards and design standards for reviewing East Link plans. The changes are intended to fill in gaps in the current land use code, which did not anticipate a light rail line. Since its first public hearing last October, the council has studied different aspects of the proposed land use code amendments at six of its last nine meetings. The council also is tentatively scheduled to consider the changes at meetings on Jan. 28 and Feb.
4, and aims to complete the work on the overlay by the end of February. Also on Tuesday the council discussed how a citizen advisory committee, or CAC, could be involved in the light rail permit review process. Such an approach was envisioned in a 2008 Light Rail Best Practices report, and similar public outreach efforts have been used by Seattle and Portland, Ore., when light rail plans were reviewed in those cities. Bellevue has been working with Sound Transit on cost savings options for the $2.8 billion East Link project, which will run from Seattle, through Bellevue, to the Overlake Transit Center in Redmond. Construction is expected to start in 2015 and service is scheduled to begin in 2023.
Meeting to talk about Spring District A thick layer of fog blanketed Bellevue throughout on Jan. 17, leaving highway visibility low and drivers around the Eastside cautious of traffic and pedestrians. From the Eastgate overpass near Bellevue College, freeway signage was barely visible and bus patrons were careful to avoid oncoming cars impacted by the low visibility. The fog finally gave way to rain this week. JOSH SUMAN, Bellevue Reporter
A public meeting Feb. 7 at Bellevue City Hall will offer people a chance to discuss projects planned by Wright Runstad in its Spring District. The company plans to start construction this summer. Among the development portfolio are two office towers, 11 stories and 9 stories
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in height, occupying about 532,080 gross feet. The project will also demolish a warehouse of about 346,489 square feet, and make site improvements, like pedestrian pathways and landscaping. The meeting will be held in room 1E112 at Bellevue City Hall.