The City Council was briefed on Tuesday about the early strides of the city’s new Office of Housing, first established in February this year. This division, nested within the City Manager’s Office, amalgamates staff from the city’s affordable housing and homelessness outreach teams to tackle various housing initiatives. Among the outlined goals, as reported by the City of Bellevue, are an update to the Affordable Housing Strategy, a continuation of the city’s homelessness outreach program, and a revision of the Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program.
With speed indicating the urgency of local housing needs, the Office of Housing has issued solicitations for the residential development of city-owned locations in Wilburton and BelRed. These sites can potentially accommodate up to 400 new units of affordable housing, strategically positioned in transit-oriented areas. Cognizant of the sweeping tides of change, the Office’s mandate is to expedite the creation and preservation of housing in Bellevue, collaborating with various city departments, A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH), housing developers, funders, and service providers.
In a parallel tide of fiscal concerns, the King County Wastewater Treatment Division presented a proposed hike in sewer rates and capacity charges for the next two decades. Revealed during the same meeting, a stark increase is projected: starting with $58.28 per month per average residential customer in 2025, the cost is anticipated to balloon to $139.42 in 2035 and $173.57 by 2045. This constitutes a surge of 140 percent in the first ten years and a 198 percent ascension over 20 years, numbers exclusive of Bellevue Utilities’ own expenses to preserve and enhance the municipal sewer framework…