Published June 24 2015
Also, transportation project list, former councilmember remembered
Bellevue is known as a "City in a Park," and on Monday the park share of the city got just a little bit bigger with a property purchase in the Newport Hills area.
By a vote of 4-0 (three councilmembers were absent), the council approved allocating $239,000 from the city's Park & Open Space Acquisition Levy fund to purchase 5.02 acres of land in the Newport Hills area for a future neighborhood park. Those funds will be matched by $239,000 from a King County Conservation Futures Levy Fund for the total purchase price of $475,000, plus $3,000 in closing costs.
The wooded ravine, called the Patterson property, will be combined with an adjacent 4.79-acre parcel, the Tyler property, which the city purchased in 2010 and is adjacent to the Bellevue School District's Ringdall school site. Together, the two properties form a 9.81-acre site for the future park.
Purchase of the property preserves wildlife habitat, provides open space for future enjoyment and offers a natural buffer for surrounding neighborhoods. The land will remain undeveloped until funding becomes available for improvements.
More information, including a map, is available with the Council agenda material.
Preliminary list of transportation projects
Also on Monday, the Transportation Commission presented to the council its preliminary 2016-2027 Transportation Facilities Plan, or TFP. Updated every two years, the TFP is a 12-year plan that includes both transportation projects for which money has been budgeted, as well as projects that have not yet received funding.
A total of 54 projects are on the preliminary list, including 15 projects focused specifically on pedestrian-bicycle improvements. The projected revenue needed to pay for all the projects in the plan is $310 million. The TFP helps city leaders prioritize and identify which projects to fund beyond those adopted in the city's 2015-2021 capital budget.
Projects on the list that increase road capacity also are used to determine the amount of impact fees that are charged to developers to pay for growth-related traffic impacts.
The council will consider the TFP and impact fees again during a meeting in July. Approval of the TFP is anticipated in late 2015. More information, including the preliminary list of transportation projects in the TFP, is available online with the council agenda material.
Former councilmember remembered
The council held a moment of silence Monday to remember James H. Keeffe Jr., who passed away May 26 at the age of 92. Keeffe, a longtime Bellevue resident, served on the council from 1984 to 1987, and on the East Bellevue Community Council from 1990 to 2006. He will be further recognized by the reading of a commendation about his years of service to the community at the next council meeting on July 6.