• Published July 26 2018

    On Monday night, the City Council agreed to study expanding operations at the temporary men’s shelter at Lincoln Center, located at 116th St NE, to year-round. Currently, the emergency shelter, which has existed since 2008 at various sites, is only open during the winter months. The proposal comes in the wake of the new Land Use Code Amendment for siting permanent shelters and homeless services which was passed last week by the council.

    As part of the request, the city will explore several issues related to extending services at the temporary shelter, or another similar location, excluding any of the other permanent sites that have been studied. Issues include funding strategies for the current operator (Congregations for the Homeless) and required upgrades to the Lincoln Center facility. The goal is to have a proposal ready for the council’s 2019-20 budget discussion this fall.

    The information generated by the feasibility study is expected to be reviewed by the council sometime in October. Opportunities for public feedback will be included as part of development of the plan.

    During the discussion, councilmembers noted their continued support for developing a permanent shelter to assist individuals experiencing homelessness. However, with a permanent shelter several years away, concern was expressed over how the intermittent availability of an overnight shelter impacts the success of moving people into stable housing.

    The city’s homelessness in Bellevue pages have details and will have updates on the feasibility plan and public feedback opportunities as they are developed.

    Comprehensive Plan Amendments threshold review

    Later, the council reviewed the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPA) work program. The council unanimously agreed to move three proposals to final review: City Dacha LLC in Wilburton, Bellevue Nursey in Southwest Bellevue, and Red Town in Cougar Mountain. A fourth proposal, DASH-Glendale, was directed into the Wilburton Study implementation program.

    This CPA work effort for DASH-Glendale will establish an appropriate land use and density for the site consistent with the Wilburton Citizen Advisory Committee’s adopted recommendations. It will then return amendments for review in 2019. The action on DASH-Glendale directly implements the Affordable Housing Strategy, aimed at maximizing opportunities to increase Bellevue’s affordable housing stock.

    The Comprehensive Plan is the city’s foundational policy document, which helps guide growth and development. Under the Growth Management Act, plans can only be amended once a year so that the cumulative effect of any changes can be considered. As part of this process, Bellevue works on private and city-initiated proposals.

    Additional information and details on each proposal are available in the agenda packet materials.