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. These area plans inform future growth and change by guiding city staff and developers on the types of improvements that people desire.
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. These localized plans serve as an important tool for addressing the community's changing needs and conditions for each of the city's 16 neighborhood areas.
If you're not sure which neighborhood area you live in, our interactive neighborhood area map will tell you. Simply enter your address in the Neighborhood Lookup Tool to learn exactly which neighborhood area is yours.
How do we plan for Great Neighborhoods?
Strong community connections improve neighborhoods and directly raise the quality of life. The 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 that were adopted in 2021.
After pausing to focus on the citywide 2024-2044 Comprehensive Plan Update, Bellevue is now resuming its neighborhood area planning efforts. The council initiated Comprehensive Plan amendments in preparation of the Crossroads and Newport neighborhood area plans at their meeting on Sept. 17, 2024. The Sept. 17 agenda materials have more details.
The 2025-2026 iteration of the program will be focused on neighborhood area planning in Eastgate and Factoria. The Aug. 4, 2025 agenda materials have more details.
Crossroads and Newport
Planning Commission Recommendation to Council to Adopt Crossroads and Newport Neighborhood Area Plans
The Planning Commission began their review of the draft neighborhood area plans for Crossroads and Newport with a study session on Wednesday, June 11. At the June 11 meeting, the Planning Commission scheduled the public hearings for the Crossroads and Newport neighborhood area plans.
The public hearing for the Crossroads neighborhood area plan took place on Wednesday, July 9, where the public hearing for the Newport neighborhood area plan took place on Wednesday, July 23.. The meeting materials for both public hearings are available online on Legistar as well as under Meetings and Events at the bottom of this page.
After reviewing the staff recommendation and hearing public testimony, the Planning Commission issued a recommendation to Council to adopt the Crossroads Neighborhood Area Plan as well as the Newport Neighborhood Area Plan. Council review of both neighborhood area plans is expected to start in the fall.
Background Documents and Engagement Reports Available Online
An engagement report providing a full summary of community inputs gathering since the start of 2025, informing the full draft plans, is included in the above linked meeting packet as well. The report is combined for both neighborhood areas and provides a detailed overview of past community engagement activities, who the City engaged with during each phase, and the City’s efforts to equitably engage the community.
An overview of past engagement activities and public meetings, which took place between September 2024 and June 2025 is available online.
Serving as technical background documents, two reports are available for both Crossroads and Newport: A report document existing conditions and an urban design framework that documents strategies responding to the community's priorities for accessing and improving public spaces.
- Crossroads Existing Conditions Report
- Newport Existing Conditions Report
- Crossroads Urban Design Framework
- Newport Urban Design Framework
Administrative Materials
The city applied for a permit to update each Neighborhood Area Plan. Copies of the permit application and the notices can be found at the links below.
- Newport permit (24-123870 AC)
- Crossroads permit (24-123941 AC)
Comments received outside of engagement events are compiled periodically and posted below.
- Newport Comments
- Crossroads Comments
Opportunities to Engage Online
We have an online engagement hub where we post resources and information and provide opportunities for people to share feedback and ask questions. Visit our project pages to check things out:
- Eastgate project page on Engaging Bellevue
- Factoria project page on Engaging Bellevue
To receive updates on our neighborhood area planning work in Eastgate and Factoria, please sign up for our email list here.
For general questions and comments, please email GreatNeighborhoods@bellevuewa.gov.
More information on relevant current City initiatives is available at the bottom of this page.
Meetings and Events
| Date | Event | Links |
| September 16, 2025 (tentative) | City Council Great Neighborhoods: Council review of the neighborhood area plans for Crossroads and Newport as recommended by Planning Commission. | Meeting Materials (forthcoming) |
| August 4, 2025 | City Council Council initiation of Comprehensive Plan Amendments to update the Eastgate and Factoria neighborhood area plans. | Meeting Materials |
| July 23, 2025 | Planning Commission Great Neighborhoods: Final Review Public Hearing on the Neighborhood Area Plan for Newport. | |
| July 9, 2025 | Planning Commission Great Neighborhoods: Final Review Public Hearing on the Neighborhood Area Plan for Crossroads. | Meeting Materials |
| June 11, 2025 | Planning Commission Great Neighborhoods: Review of the full draft neighborhood area plans for Crossroads and Newport. | Meeting Materials |
Relevant Current Initiatives
Middle Housing Code Amendments
On June 24, the Bellevue City Council adopted ordinances to implemented the requirements of House Bills (HB) 1110 and 1337. These amendments updated Bellevue's Land Use Code and City Code to expand the number and type of housing units permitted in residential areas of the city. More information on the proposed amendments can be found on the Middle Housing Code Amendments page.
Housing Opportunities in Mixed-Use Areas Land Use Code Amendment
The Housing Opportunities in Mixed-Use Areas (HOMA) land use code amendment is designed to encourage housing development. It proposes higher density, taller buildings and removing obstacles to building more homes. The proposal will create an affordable housing program—either mandatory or voluntary—in various mixed-use areas of the city. The proposal also updates land use districts and the city’s land use map. More information on the code amendment, including upcoming engagement opportunities, can be found on the HOMA webpage.