The North Bellevue Segment includes the replacement and upgrade of approximately 5.2 miles of existing 115 kV transmission lines with 230 kV lines north of the Lakeside substation to the northern city limits of Bellevue. This upgrade includes replacing existing wooden H-frame poles with steel monopoles in the existing transmission line corridor. The segment north of Bellevue is in Redmond and subject to the city of Redmond’s permitting jurisdiction.
Permit Status
On March 11, 2021, PSE applied for two land use permits for the North Segment:
- Conditional Use Permit File # 21-104991-LB (CUP)
- Critical Areas Land Use Permit File # 21-104989-LO (CALUP)
Interested parties may request to review the files.
City staff are in the process of reviewing the North Segment land use permits submitted to the city by PSE. If revisions to these permits are required, the city’s formal request letter will be posted under the Permit Plans and Reports tab.
Upcoming Opportunities to Engage
The first public meeting for the CUP will be held as part of the EBCC regular monthly meetings. This public meeting held as a Courtesy Hearing is scheduled for Tuesday June 1, 2021, as part of the EBCC’s regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom Webinar. Details on how to view the meeting and provide written and oral communication at the courtesy hearing will be provided on the published agenda for the EBCC meeting and can be found at https://bellevue.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
North Segment Permit Plans and Reports
Included in the city file for the North Segment permit applications are the following documents:
How to Participate in the Land Use Process
Over the course of the city’s review of the land use permits for the North Segment of PSE’s proposal there will be several opportunities for public participation.
**Please note that prior submission of comments during the EIS comment periods, or submission of comments during the city’s review of PSE’s South Bellevue Segment land use permit applications, does not automatically make the commenter a party of record for the city’s current review of PSE’s specific North Segment CUP and CALUP applications. Individuals or groups who wish to comment on PSE’s North Segment permit applications need to submit comments and contact information (i.e., your name and address) in order to be a party of record for the North Segment CUP/CALUP applications.
Public Meetings
PSE’s CUP application is subject to the city’s Process III land use process, which requires a City Council quasi-judicial land use decision (LUC 20.35.300). A public meeting is required to be held for projects subject to the city’s Process III land use process. The public meeting provides an opportunity for city staff to explain the permit process as well as an opportunity for the applicant, PSE, to describe the proposed project to interested parties. Because this meeting happens early in the land use process, city staff do not expect attendees to be prepared to provide formal comments on the project application at this point in the process.
PSE’s CUP is within the jurisdiction of the East Bellevue Community Council (EBCC). Consistent with City Code, the first public meeting for the CUP will be held as part of the EBCC regular monthly meetings. This public meeting held as a Courtesy Hearing is scheduled for Tuesday June 1, 2021 as part of the EBCC’s regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom Webinar. Details on how to view the meeting and provide written and oral communication at the courtesy hearing will be provided on the published agenda for the EBCC meeting and can be found at https://bellevue.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
A second informational public meeting will be held prior to the Director’s decision on the CALUP and the Director’s recommendation to the Hearing Examiner on the CUP. (see https://bellevue.municipal.codes/LUC/20.20.255.C.1.b) No date has been set for this additional public meeting.
During the Permit Review Process
Comments are welcome throughout the land use review process and are accepted up until staff prepares Director’s decision on the Critical Areas Land Use Permit and at any time prior to the closing of the public hearing record on the Conditional Use Permit.
At a Public Hearing
As discussed above, a project requiring Conditional Use approval and subject to the jurisdiction of the EBCC is a Process III land use decision: https://bellevue.municipal.codes/LUC/20.35
Under Process III, the Director will make a recommendation to the Hearing Examiner. The Hearing Examiner then holds a public hearing and interested parties may submit written comments to the Hearing Examiner or participate at the public hearing. Following the required public hearing, the Hearing Examiner will make a recommendation on the CUP to the City Council.
Any person who participated in the public hearing, the applicant, or the city may appeal the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will hold a public meeting to consider the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation, and the City Council will also adjudicate any appeal if an appeal of the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation has been filed. Note the City Council cannot accept new information, written or oral, on the application at this point. However, if the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation is appealed to the City Council, then the Council will conduct a closed record appeal hearing in connection with its adjudication of the appeal with no new evidence or information allowed to be submitted and only appeal arguments permitted by appellant parties. Please refer to https://bellevue.municipal.codes/LUC/20.35.300 through20.35.365 for more detail about Process III decisions and the appeal process.
Within 60 days of the date the City Council has made its decision on the CUP and, if applicable, has adjudicated any appeal of the Hearing Examiner recommendation, the EBCC will take action to approve or disapprove the Ordinance adopted by the City Council. The Decision of the EBCC may be appealed to Superior Court. See the EBCC’s Rules of Procedure for more information about the EBCC’s procedures.
Public Meetings and Hearings
Public Meetings and Hearings
The first public meeting for the CUP will be held as part of the EBCC regular monthly meetings. This public meeting held as a Courtesy Hearing is scheduled for Tuesday June 1, 2021, as part of the EBCC’s regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom Webinar. Details on how to view the meeting and provide written and oral communication at the courtesy hearing will be provided on the published agenda for the EBCC meeting and can be found at https://bellevue.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.