Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, the City of Bellevue established deadlines for processing any new project permit applications governed under the Local Project Review Act. The deadlines are applicable to project permits as defined by the Local Project Review Act and generally measure the calendar days when an application is being reviewed by the city. The established deadlines include:
- 65 days when a public notice is not required
- 100 days when a public notice is required
- 170 days when a public notice and public hearing is required. Also includes design reviews, master development plans, critical areas, and shoreline substantial development permits.
To streamline the permitting process, the Bellevue City Council adopted three streamlining measures to ensure timely project permit processing. Additional information is available on the Permit Streamlining code amendment page and in the related council meeting materials.
Reporting
Under the updates to the Local Project Review Act through SB 5290, local jurisdictions are required to report annually on permit processing timelines and other metrics for processing certain permit types associated with housing. The report must include permits and timelines for the following: preliminary subdivisions, final subdivisions, binding site plans, permit processes associated with the approval of multifamily housing, and construction plan review permits for each of the previous permit types when submitted separately.
Below is a summary of the 2024 annual permit performance data submitted by the city to the Washington State Department of Commerce. This performance data reflects 2024 city decisions on certain permit types associated with housing as described above. Jurisdictions were not required to implement the new project permit deadlines until Jan. 1, 2025, making this initial 2024 annual report a preliminary baseline. Comparing future annual reports to this preliminary baseline report will be one method the city uses to measure performance improvements resulting from the implementation of SB 5290. This summary provides insight into the efficiency of the local permit review process. The full report is available in the Open Data Portal.
Permit Performance Summary for 2024
- Preliminary Subdivision Permits: No decisions made
- Final Subdivision Permits: No decisions made
- Binding Site Plan Permits: No decisions made
- Multifamily Housing Permits: A total of 29 decisions were made. Six permits were reviewed under a consolidated process, and 23 permits were reviewed separately. The average processing time was 442 calendar days with pauses and 322 calendar days without pauses. 20 decisions exceeded the deadline.
- Construction Permits: A total of 172 decisions were made. All permits were reviewed separately. The average processing time was 138 calendar days with pauses and 28 days without pauses. 15 decisions exceeded the deadline.
Overall Permit Performance Totals:
- Total number of decisions made: 201
- Permits reviewed under a consolidated process: 6
- Permits reviewed separately: 195
- Average processing time with pauses: 174 calendar days
- Average processing time without pauses: 64 calendar days
- Total number of decisions exceeding the deadline: 35
2024 Summary Report | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permit Type | Total Number of Decisions | Number of Permits reviewed under a consolidated process | Number of Permits reviewed separately | Average calendar days to process (with pauses) | Average calendar days to process (without pauses) | Number of decisions exceeding the deadline |
| Preliminary Subdivision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Final Subdivision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Binding Site Plan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Multifamily Housing Permit | 29 | 6 | 23 | 442 | 332 | 20 |
| Construction Permit | 172 | 0 | 172 | 138 | 28 | 15 |
| Total | 201 | 6 | 195 | 174 | 64 | 35 |