Published June 21 2024
Plus, Grand Connection I-405 Crossing and Energy Smart Eastside
On Tuesday, the City Council advanced proposed code amendments that will update tree preservation, retention, replacement and protection provisions.
The code amendments would establish:
- new requirements for permits when removing significant or landmark trees
- a simplified, affordable process for property owners that allows tree removal without replacement under certain conditions
- replacement ratios for additional tree removals, which also ensures that nonresidential properties replace all removed trees unless minimum tree density is met.
The updated code also expands the city’s authority to impose fines based on tree value for illegal removal, including increased penalties for repeat violations. The new code provides flexibility in pursuing voluntary compliance before issuing notices of civil violations.
The council voted unanimously to place the code amendments on the consent calendar at a future meeting (agenda materials).
Program increases installation of heat pumps across Eastside
Staff from Energy Smart Eastside, a residential energy efficiency program jointly funded by the Eastside Climate Partnership cities and administered by the City of Bellevue, delivered an update on the program’s progress. Energy Smart Eastside has helped 212 households transition to heat pumps since it formed in 2022, 66 of those in Bellevue.
The council approved on its consent agenda agreements with the state Department of Commerce and Puget Sound Energy to accept a combined $4 million in funding to support ESE’s efforts to increase installation of heat pumps across the Eastside, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase community health and safety.
Twenty-three percent of all greenhouse gas emissions generated in Bellevue are attributable to energy use in the home. Heat pumps dramatically reduce carbon emissions generated in the home, while also offering summer cooling and air filtration.
Expansion of Energy Smart Eastside programming to reduce other sources of carbon emissions in buildings will occur in 2025-2026. Details are available in the agenda materials.
Grand Connection Crossing to connect downtown to regional trail network
Council received an update from Transportation and Community Development staff on the progress of the Grand Connection Crossing project. The crossing will serve as the backbone of the Grand Connection program – a city initiative to create 1.5 miles of interconnected, people-focused spaces stretching from Meydenbauer Bay Park to Wilburton.
Once complete, the crossing will enable users to walk, bike and roll safely over Interstate 405, starting at City Hall Plaza and ending at Eastrail. The crossing will ultimately connect downtown Bellevue to a 175-mile regional trail network that links more than half a million Eastside community members.
The crossing’s design process began with refining earlier studies and analyzing possible crossing locations, or alignments. Complex factors such as length of the crossing, intersection with multiple public and private parcels, an active interstate freeway and a new light rail system created over 2,000 viable options of the crossing alignment.
The design team narrowed those possibilities down to four alternatives. The alignment selected for further design and engineering runs directly across I-405 on a path just south of the Sound Transit light rail guideway between the Bellevue Downtown and Wilburton light rail stations.
The project team also recapped public engagement events held this year, including online and in-person open houses this spring where community members expressed enthusiasm for the crossing and a desire for features like seating and greenery to create comfortable gathering spaces. The city and its consultant teams will host an online open house in September to share the findings of the alignment analysis and provide a design update.
In addition to the 30% design milestone, the city is supporting the development of an external partner organization, the Friends of the Grand Connection, to advance the program in the long term and formalize a funding strategy for future design and construction of the crossing. Details are available in the agenda materials.