Bellevue is known for its diverse, vibrant and welcoming neighborhoods. The high quality of life that community members enjoy is no accident - it's the result of thoughtful and collaborative planning with the people who live, work and play here.
The Great Neighborhoods program is the process for developing neighborhood area plans that reflect the community's values and vision for the future. Neighborhood area plans inform future growth and change by providing guidance to city staff and developers about the kinds of improvements people want to see.
Neighborhood area plans are part of the city's overall Comprehensive Plan, which outlines citywide policies on issues like housing, transportation, parks and environmental sustainability. Neighborhood area plans are important tools for addressing the changing needs and conditions at the local level. These plans, for each of the city's 16 neighborhood areas, serve as road maps to the future.
If you're not sure which neighborhood area you live in, our interactive neighborhood area map will tell you. You can enter your address in this Neighborhood Lookup Tool to find out exactly which neighborhood area you live in.
How do we plan for Great Neighborhoods?
Strong community connections strengthen neighborhoods and directly raise the quality of life. Bellevue's City Council affirms this through the Great Neighborhoods program, initiating Comprehensive Plan amendments in 2018 for preparation of the Northwest Bellevue and Northeast Bellevue plans, which were adopted in 2021.
After pausing to focus on the citywide Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update, Bellevue is now resuming its neighborhood area planning efforts. The council on Sept. 17 initiated Comprehensive Plan amendments for preparation of the Crossroads and Newport neighborhood area plans. The Sept. 17 agenda materials have details.
Virtual Kickoff Meeting
The planning team hosted a virtual kickoff meeting for both neighborhood areas on Oct. 10. During the meeting, planners reviewed the goals and timeline and answered questions.
Upcoming Ideas Fair Events in November (in-person)
Come share your ideas for the future of Crossroads and Newport at our upcoming in-person Ideas Fair events:
- The Crossroads event is scheduled for Thursday, November 14 | 5:30 - 8:00 pm. Register here.
- The Newport event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20 | 5:30 - 8:00 pm. Register here.
Participants will get a chance to explore neighborhood data, speak with the planning team, and engage in a variety of interactive activities. This will be a family-friendly event; children and adults are encouraged to attend.
The Ideas Fairs will be drop-in events. Come anytime and stay for as long as you like. Snacks provided.
Opportunities to Engage
We now have an online engagement hub where we post resources and information and provide opportunities for people to share feedback and ask questions.
We are especially interested in collecting neighborhood stories and photos. You can help kick things off by sharing a story and photo or video about a special place or memory that you have in Crossroads or Newport.
Visit our project pages to check things out:
- Crossroads project page on Engaging Bellevue
- Newport project page on Engaging Bellevue
To receive updates on our neighborhood area planning work in Crossroads and Newport, please sign up for our email list here.
For general questions and comments, please email GreatNeighborhoods@bellevuewa.gov.
Meetings and Events
| Date | Event | Links |
| November 20, 2024 (5:30 - 8:00 pm) | Newport Ideas Fair (in-person) Come share your ideas for the future of Newport at our Ideas Fair at the Newport Hills Swim and Tennis Club. Participants will get a chance to explore neighborhood data, speak with the planning team, and engage in a variety of interactive activities. | Register at Eventbrite |
| November 14, 2024 (5:30 - 8:00 pm) | Crossroads Ideas Fair (in-person) Come share your ideas for the future of Crossroads at our Ideas Fair at the Crossroads Community Center. Participants will get a chance to explore neighborhood data, speak with the planning team, and engage in a variety of interactive activities. | Register at Eventbrite |
| October 10, 2024 (6:30 - 8:00 p.m.) | Virtual Kickoff Meeting The planning team hosted a virtual kickoff meeting for both neighborhood areas. During the meeting, planners provided reviewed the goals and timeline and and answered questions. Separate neighborhood breakouts were used to start talking about the future of Crossroads and Newport. | Materials |
| October 9, 2024 | Planning Commission Initial briefing and overview of the neighborhood area planning process for Crossroads and Newport as initiated by Council. | Meeting Materials |
| September 17, 2024 | City Council Council initiated Comprehensive Plan Amendments to update the Crossroads and Newport neighborhood area plans. | Meeting Materials |