Eastside

The Eastside Affordable Housing Coalition is committed to advancing housing affordability through Bellevue’s Comprehensive Plan update. We appreciate the work Bellevue has done to prepare the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). We are writing to express our strong support for allowing an abundance of homes to be built, alongside expanded funding and robust inclusionary zoning policies to create new homes affordable for low-income families.

Bellevue faces a housing crisis. Home prices and rents in Bellevue have spiraled out of reach for so many people. This reflects Bellevue’s desirability as a city and a basic job-to-housing imbalance that forces workers to commute long distances into Bellevue. To sustain itself, Bellevue must build homes affordable to its essential workers–the teachers, nurses, firefighters, and restaurant workers that make the city’s economy and society function. 

Bellevue has a window to make significant progress in advancing affordability and the opportunity to be a regional leader in addressing the housing crisis. This Comprehensive Plan Update is a major opportunity to create a more livable, equitable, and vibrant Bellevue.

Alternative 3, by allowing the highest amount of housing capacity alongside implementation of mandatory inclusionary zoning, goes the furthest to realize a vision of abundant, affordable housing throughout Bellevue. Allowing more housing to be built will help address Bellevue’s housing shortage and job-to-housing imbalance. Mandatory inclusionary zoning allows the public to capture some of the added value from upzoning and ensure we are directly creating homes affordable to low-income people.

Alternative 3 will also help create a better city for Bellevue residents, by creating complete neighborhoods with a mix of housing options, jobs, services, and multimodal transportation. It will expand walkable access to small businesses and retail, giving more people the choice to meet their daily needs without a car. It will support investments in frequent and convenient transit and safe and connected walking and biking routes. And it will help more Bellevue residents of all income levels and life stages find a place to call home in a city they love.