Increasing Affordable Housing Capacity on Faith-Owned Properties

To reduce Bellevue’s affordable housing gap, this initiative will create additional development capacity for affordable housing on properties owned or controlled by religious organizations in single-family districts in areas well-suited to multifamily housing, consistent with the city’s Affordable Housing Strategy Action C-1. Based on neighborhood context and affordable housing needs, staff developed a proposal for creating additional development capacity for affordable housing on 29 sites (see map) that meet the following criteria:

Owned by a religious organization,
Located in a single-family land use district,
Located on an arterial street,
Located within half a mile of a frequent transit stop, and
Located within 500 feet of a land use district where multifamily housing or commercial uses are permitted.

See the History and Purpose section below to learn how this initiative builds upon previous efforts to implement Action C-1 of the Affordable Housing Strategy.

See our Action C-1 Phase 2 FAQs webpage to find answers to frequently asked questions.

Opportunities to Engage

Attend the City Council Study Session on November 14, 2022 to hear Council discussion about the draft proposal. (See Timeline below for meeting information).

Staff are planning several additional opportunities to provide input on the Land Use Code Amendment that will follow. Please sign up to receive alerts when new information and opportunities to engage are added to this page by clicking the “Subscribe” button in the call out box to the right.

Reach out with questions, comments and feedback to project manager, Gwen Rousseau (See contact information to the right).

Timeline

Schedule of Events and Actions Taken

Date	Event or Action Taken	Materials
12/6/21	City Council Action on Phase One Density Bonus LUCA	City Council Meeting Agenda Materials
5/9/22	City Council Initiation of Phase Two CPA and LUCA	City Council Meeting Agenda Materials
6/16/2022	Notice of Application	Weekly Permit Bulletin
6/22/2022	Planning Commission Study Session 1 (CPA)	Planning Commission Meeting Agenda Materials
6/29/2022	Virtual Information Session 6:30 p.m.	Presentation
7/27/2022	Planning Commission Study Session 2 (CPA)	Planning Commission Meeting Agenda Materials
8/25/2022	Notice of Recommendation, Public Hearing and SEPA Threshold Determination	Weekly Permit Bulletin
9/14/2022	Planning Commission Final Review Public Hearing (CPA) and Recommendation	Planning Commission Meeting Agenda Materials
11/14/2022	City Council Study Session (CPA)	Materials to be posted.
12/12/2022	City Council Action (CPA)	Materials to be posted.

History and Purpose

Needs Assessment, Strategy, Action C-1 Phase One

In 2016, the city completed a Housing Needs Assessment that identified a gap in Bellevue's supply of affordable housing.

In 2017, Bellevue City Council adopted an Affordable Housing Strategy, which includes Action C-1 to “increase development potential on suitable land owned by public agencies, faith-based and non-profit housing entities for affordable housing.”

In 2021, Bellevue City Council adopted a 50 percent density bonus for affordable housing developments meeting these ownership criteria as the first step in implementing Action C-1.

Certain stakeholders noted during the adoption of the density bonus that some faith-owned properties in single family land use districts have location characteristics that could support higher densities and multifamily style housing. This second phase of work identifies these properties and develops a proposal for creating additional development capacity for affordable housing on these sites.

Useful Links

What is “Housing Affordability?”

The Housing Affordability webpage describes what is meant by housing affordability generally and affordable housing more specifically. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for more detailed descriptions and definitions of affordable housing.

Affordable Housing Strategy

The Affordable Housing Strategy webpage provides an overview of the city’s strategy to increase availability and access to affordable housing in the city. To read the full strategy click here.