MINUTES OF March 9, 2005 LUTF MEETING
Attending:
Dan Kahn, Turner Construction
Bob MacMillan, MacMillan Associates Consulting
Dave Sharp, Legacy Commercial
Wayne Reisenauer, Property Development Corporation
Stu Vander Hoek, Vander Hoek Corporation
Steve Vincent, US Bank
Clark Rice, Kemper Development Company
Ted Everage, W & H Pacific
Lee Stubbe, Wasatch Dev. Associates
Jim Hutchinson, Puget Sound Energy
Leslie Lloyd, Bellevue Downtown Association
Agenda:
1.
Legislative Update
We discussed Bill 2196 and Bill 1848 which are on the floor right now in the State
Legislature. Discussion entailed on whether or not the BDA should endorse either of
these pieces of legislature.
Bill 2196 provides for expansion of the local option real estate excise tax to fund capital
projects. The city can still decide whether or not to implement excise taxes or impact
fees. We talked about whether or not this Bill is good for developers. In some cases, this
could be potentially damaging to certain projects.
Bill 1848 addresses construction defect disputes involving multiunit residential buildings.
It is being supported by most analytical coalitions such as the Bellevue Chamber of
Commerce. This has already made it past the House and will soon be in the State
Senate. The task force deemed that timing is crucial and that the BDA will not
immediately throw support either way.
2.
Review/Status Check
We started by taking a step back and regarding our efforts thus far. One of the
biggest questions posed was whether or not we should we go after the land use
code itself, or look at the bigger picture to implement the development of the
Charette ideas.
3.
Build More Grass-Roots Support
Neighborhood Branding is one option of building grass roots support. Henry Beer’s
examples of Houston and Boulder are possibly what we need in Bellevue. It was
Making A Great Place Together
500 108th Ave NE, Suite 210 ▪ Bellevue, WA 98004 ▪ 425-453-1223 ▪ Fax 425-646-6634 ▪ www.bellevuedowntown.com
mentioned that Downtown Bellevue might not be large enough to categorize
different neighborhoods with distinct personalities. Public spaces will require public
investment and that will require public support. The BDA could resource for this.
The thought of implementing additional and broader public workshops lead to the
idea of possibly creating different merchant associations for each neighborhood.
However, the reason Bellevue is what it is today is not because of workshops. It
takes initiative on behalf of developers to transform a district into how they want it
using basic infrastructure changes.
4.
Create Tools
We mostly discussed the BDA’s role in assisting developers. The Land Use Task Force
was originally started to bring developers together to make a bigger impact when
lobbying the city. It takes initiative from one developer in a neighborhood to get
something started, and the BDA will be there for support.
The Charrette can’t always be front and center, because, as some of the more
experienced developers pointed out, people in surrounding neighborhoods will
come out of the woodwork in opposition as soon as the projects start.
One of the major problems with development projects is that developers follow the
DIP, but get tripped up on the delivery end. It was mentioned that the city’s tactic is
to “pick us off one by one.” Developers need to ban together for support.
It seems that Developers don’t always have the same voice to the city as people in
surrounding neighborhoods. The city usually rules in favor of the John Doe
pedestrian who is walking from an adjacent neighborhood into downtown and is
somewhat troubled and endangered when passing construction sites. One strategy
that we have used to quell this neighborhood opposition is “Neighbors in the Heart
of the City.”
The question was posed “why doesn’t the city come to the BDA, and why doesn’t the
BDA have a stronger voice?” It followed that the BDA does not advocate for
individual projects because its members are often competitors. The value of the BDA
is having a forum for developers to get together to discuss these issues and give
each other advice.
5.
Charette/DIP ideas
We need feedback on how to sort the Charette and DIP ideas. There are projects
that developers can build, but others only the city can build. They are explicitly
either in the public realm, or ideas in the private realm. We need to prioritize where
we spend our energy for public realm projects.
Making A Great Place Together
500 108th Ave NE, Suite 210 ▪ Bellevue, WA 98004 ▪ 425-453-1223 ▪ Fax 425-646-6634 ▪ www.bellevuedowntown.com
Low-Hanging Fruit is one idea. We discussed different changes in implementation.
Finishing the park is a high priority. This will bring the farmer’s market to downtown.
It will also spur other private sector projects. The connection to Meydenbauer would
play a crucial role in downtown Bellevue.
It was mentioned that there is talk of rezoning Bellred for technology bunkers or
urban villages with housing. Safeway distribution center is moving down to Auburn.
Also, there is talk of the Sonics leaving Seattle because they are unhappy with the
Key Arena. Maybe we could attract them to Bellevue.
Making A Great Place Together
500 108th Ave NE, Suite 210 ▪ Bellevue, WA 98004 ▪ 425-453-1223 ▪ Fax 425-646-6634 ▪ www.bellevuedowntown.com