• Thank you for participating in the Master Plan Update for Bellevue Airfield Park! Based on community feedback and the Parks & Community Services Board recommendation, the City Council has supported the modified Concept Plan #2. 

    Your comments and inquiries can also be shared anytime with the project manager, Pam Fehrman.

    Image of Bellevue Airfield Park concept plan 2 with modifications
    Click to view modified concept plan 2

    Next Steps

    Staff is working to complete the environmental review process. Environmental review is anticipated to take approximately a year to complete at which time we will return to Council for adoption of the updated Master Plan.

    Background 

    graphic of 2012 Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan
    Click to view the 2012 Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan

    The City Council adopted the current Bellevue Airfield Park master plan in 2012, following extensive community outreach. If the Park Master Plan is not updated, development of the current master plan would include: two lighted, synthetic-turf sports fields, wooded picnic areas, trail connections, playgrounds, restrooms, parking, an expansion of the off-leash dog area at Robinswood Park (from 1.75 to 5.75 acres), and woodland buffers between the park and nearby residences.  

    2022 Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan Update - Reviewing Aquatic Facility Needs

    City Council has directed an update of the Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan to both hear Bellevue community’s development preferences for this community park and to evaluate the impacts of an aquatic facility on the site.

    A master plan update offers an opportunity to address the growing aquatic needs of Bellevue.  The only public facility – Bellevue Aquatic Center - is reaching the end of its useful life. Built in 1970, it has served Bellevue’s approximate 150,000 residents for over 50 years. Its age, capacity, and inability to provide a full range of aquatic programing make it inadequate to meet the current and future demand for swimming facilities in Bellevue. Please see the Aquatic Feasibility website for additional information.

    The Bellevue Airfield Park site is currently the only undeveloped City-owned site large enough to accommodate the recommended Aquatic Facility Concept plan (10-11 acres). Additional elements recommending an aquatic facility at this site are:

    • Easy access off I-90,
    • Existing shared parking agreements with owners of the surrounding office park
    • Site size that could allow for a park and an aquatic center
    • Complementary outdoor recreation and open space development 
    • Previous community input, from 2008-2012, identified aquatic facility preferences at this site

    The master planning update effort will be led by Parks & Community services staff with the assistance of an architecture and engineering team led by Walker|Macy and is anticipated to be complete in about two years. The master plan update process will include:

    • A robust community outreach process to inform development parameters/feasibility.
    • A master plan recommendation from the Parks & Community Services Board.  
    • State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) review 

     

    Graphic of five blue rectangles with down arrows, each outlining a step in the Parks master plan process. Text reads (in order from top rectangle to bottom rectangle): Community informed park concept plan, Community feedback, Park Board recommendations to City Council, City Council adopts recommendations, Environmental review complete"
    Two-four year timeline for a master plan process

    A park master plan is a conceptual plan that lays the groundwork for a site’s long-term development and potential phased implementation. A park master plan is based on the community’s preferences, the Parks & Community Services Board reviews and recommendations of a preferred park plan, and City Council review and adoption. A typical Master Planning process can take two to four years to complete. A park is constructed based on the Council adopted park master plan when Council approves funding. 

    An estimated timeline of our outreach process is outlined below.  We’ll look to gather community preferences and refine master plan alternatives at each consecutive meeting.  City of Bellevue Parks & Community Services welcomes your input at any time!

      Date (estimated) Community Meetings
      6/13/2022 Parks & Community Services Meeting
      6/23/2022 Neighborhood Outreach Site Walk Meeting
      7/26/2022 Community Meeting 1
      9/22/2022 Community Meeting 2
      10/11/2022 Parks & Community Services meeting
      12/05/2022 City of Bellevue Council Meeting
      01/19/2023 Community Meeting 3
      02/14/2023 Parks & Community Services Board Meeting
      04/03/2023 City of Bellevue Council Meeting
      2023 State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) Review
      Winter 2023 City of Bellevue Council Meeting - Master Plan Adoption!

    In 2002, recognizing that the Bellevue Airfield site may represent the last opportunity to acquire a large, undeveloped, relatively flat parcel of property in Bellevue, Council authorized the purchase of the properties with the intent of developing an active recreational use community park.  

    Eastgate Area Properties - open field

    The Bellevue Airfield Park is currently an undeveloped site comprised of three parcels totaling 27.5 acres (aerial vicinity map). The site is accessed by vehicles from the south, just off I-90, and is surrounded by residential neighbors to the north and west and office parks to the east, south and west. Significant to development considerations are the historical operations of the Bellevue Airfield (until 1983) and operation of a municipal landfill from 1951 to 1964. From a development perspective, the site is rife with utility system easements (abandoned and operational) such as a landfill gas migration system, ground water monitoring wells, storm water systems, and a major King County Metro sewer line, among others.

    Alerts
    Receive email of text notification when this page is updated
    Subscribe