BELLEVUE, Wash. — One month after Sound Transit’s 2 Line began full service through downtown Bellevue to Seattle, the Bellevue City Council on Tuesday advanced the most ambitious housing and land-use package in the city’s history: zoning for an estimated 12,000 additional homes within a half-mile of four light-rail stations by 2044.

The 5-2 vote directs staff to prepare final ordinances for mid-rise apartments along Bel-Red Road, taller residential towers near the Spring District and Wilburton stations, and streamlined design review for projects that include at least 15 percent income-restricted units.

A turning point for the Eastside’s largest downtown

Bellevue, now home to more than 155,000 residents and the region’s second-largest employment center, has added roughly 30,000 jobs since 2020 but fewer than 7,000 homes, according to the city’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan monitoring report.

“We cannot be a city where teachers, firefighters, and the baristas on Main Street cannot afford to live,” Mayor Lynne Robinson said. “Transit gives us the tool. Now we have to use it.”

Deputy Mayor Jared Nieuwenhuis and Councilmember Conrad Lee voted no, arguing the plan moves too quickly on height increases without firm commitments from the Bellevue School District on classroom capacity.

What riders are seeing

On a recent weekday morning at the Bellevue Downtown Station, trains arrived every eight minutes, bound for the Spring District, Overlake, and Seattle’s International District. Sound Transit reports average weekday boardings on the Eastside segment at 18,400 in September, up 22 percent from June.

Commuter Maya Desai, who works in South Lake Union, said her door-to-door trip fell from 55 minutes by bus to 34 minutes by rail.

“I sold my second car,” Desai said. “That’s the story for a lot of us in Surrey Downs.”

Local businesses report a parallel shift. The Bellevue Downtown Association estimates foot traffic on NE 6th Street is up 14 percent year over year, with lunch-hour sales strongest near the station plaza.

Housing, traffic, and schools

The council package includes three companion commitments:

1. Transportation: $68 million over six years for the 130th Avenue bike corridor, Bel-Red intersection upgrades, and expanded RapidRide B service.
2. Affordable housing: Expansion of the city’s Multifamily Tax Exemption program and a $12 million allocation from the Housing Stability Fund for land acquisition near Wilburton.
3. Schools: A formal request that the Bellevue School District update its enrollment projections by February 2027 and identify sites for one elementary and one middle school in the station areas.

Bellevue School District Superintendent Aram Walshe told the council enrollment is stable at about 19,000 but could grow by 2,400 students under full build-out, requiring portable classrooms in the near term.

“We support growth — our graduates need places to live,” Walshe said. “We just need the timeline to build classrooms in step with the cranes.”

Business reaction

Amazon, which occupies more than 3 million square feet in downtown Bellevue, and T-Mobile in Factoria both submitted letters supporting the plan, citing employee retention. The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties called the 15 percent affordability threshold “workable if paired with permit predictability.”

The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce urged the council to preserve ground-floor retail requirements, warning against “residential-only canyons” on Main Street.

What’s next

Final ordinances are scheduled for a public hearing on Oct. 21, with adoption targeted for Nov. 18. If adopted, the zoning would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Residents can review station-area maps and submit comment through the city’s Engaging Bellevue portal or in person at City Hall, 450 110th Ave. NE.