Developers Winning, Threatening Bellevue's "City in a Park"
Work began recently on a new housing development not far from the land targeted for preservation by Save Coal Creek. Is it a sign of things to come? We certainly hope not.
A press release from the Save Coal Creek committee, February 21, 2022
Developers winning, threatening Bellevue’s ‘City in a Park’
Bellevue, WA This past week, citizens of Bellevue let out a collective gasp as hundreds of mature trees that have lined Coal Creek Parkway for decades were felled to make room for yet another housing development.
Despite strong protests from tax paying citizens, developers seem to be the only voices heard by Bellevue’s City Council these days, putting Bellevue’s reputation as the country’s “City in a Park” at risk. While the growing need for affordable housing must remain priority for our city, so must the ecological, cultural, and recreational areas that have made Bellevue such a desirable place to live.
Two recent developments demonstrate the lack of balance and foresight shown by the City of Bellevue as developers deftly move through the permitting process. The first, Isola’s Park Pointe development on Lakemont Boulevard SE, would put 35 luxury homes directly in front of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, one of the area’s most beloved hiking destinations and an oasis of critical wildlife habitat. Coincidentally, the City of Bellevue invested millions over the past 20 years to reverse the impacts of upstream development to revive Coal Creek. Spawning salmon have been returning to the creek, a significant ecological and cultural win for this beloved place. Despite this, and outcry via petition by over 4,000 voters in the area, there is no sign that the Department of Development Services will require the developer to undertake a full environmental study prior to approval.
The second, the Basel Townhome development abutting Coal Creek Parkway, succeeded despite significant outcry from the local community. Improbably situated on a bluff above Coal Creek, the development recently broke ground, unceremoniously felling a landscape of mature trees to the dismay of concerned citizens driving along the parkway. The uproar was loudly heard across social media platforms that connect Bellevue citizens. Ironically, the impacts of this development will further impact millions the city has invested in the Coal Creek park area.
Unfortunately, state law favoring developers makes it nearly impossible for taxpaying citizens, environmentalists and native American tribes to voice their opposition to development. RCW 64.40.020 is the provision that awards damages and attorney fees to developers when they can show that the government acts regarding their permit application were “arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, or exceed lawful authority.” Because of this law, local governments are pressured to approve permits simply based on the threat of a lawsuit.
It’s too late to halt the ecological impacts of the Basel home development. But the city still has the opportunity to do the right thing to protect Coal Creek from development intruding on its banks. Steve Williams, a long time Bellevue resident and former manager of King County’s Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park states “We urge Isola and the city to work together to make sure the parcel becomes public land. This outcome will ensure that the large investments the city has made in Coal Creek are not wasted. The voices of over 4,000 citizens deserve to be heard”
Contact: Sally Lawrence
Bellevue, WA
s24lawrence@gmail.com
www.savecoalcreek.org
(425) 351-6881
David Kappler
VP of Advocacy, Issaquah Alps Trails Club
(425) 652-2753
davidkappler@hotmail.com
For more information: www.SaveCoalCreek.org
Additional Contacts:
Steve Williams
Swilliams453@yahoo.com
Williams is a leader with Eastside Heritage Center and one of the editors of The Coals of Newcastle: A Hundred Years of Hidden History, published in fall 2020 in a revised and updated edition.
Reilly Pittman, Senior Environmental Planner and lead planner for the Isola proposal Bellevue Development Services Department
rpittman@bellevuewa.gov
425-452-4350