Bellevue residents will likely remember 2005 as the year Home Depot nearly came to town and when the city began to grapple with seemingly inevitable expansion in the form of major annexations.
Here are some of the big-ticket issues Bellevue faced in 2005:
Annexation proposals
Three major annexation proposals came before the Bellevue City Council in 2005. If approved, the 100-acre Slaughterhouse Canyon annexation proposal along with the 270-acre proposal by developer Harry Rinker and 280-acre proposal by John Scherer would more than double the current area of Bellevue.
The proposal by the Hartland Development Company and Jeff Pfaeffle, the project developer for the Slaughterhouse Canyon property, came before the City Council in early June. The developers have provided the city with a preliminary conceptual idea for a planned unit development that includes clustered residential units surrounded by open space. Slaughterhouse Canyon lies east of the current Bellevue city limits.
Local developers Harry Rinker and John Sherer came before the Bellevue City Council on Oct. 18 with a proposal for annexing their combined 550-acre properties. The two properties lie to the south of Bellevue and east of the Gannett-Picabo Road. Like the Slaughterhouse proposal, Rinker and Scherer have both provided preliminary conceptual ideas for planned unit developments on each of their properties. As proposed by the two developers, connecting streets would link the two developments. Rinker's preliminary development proposal calls for 659 residential units, while Scherer's calls for 350 residential units.
The city is currently in the process of creating a planned unit development ordinance to help guide the annexations. Bellevue has also requested each developer provide funds to the city to be used for a variety of impact studies that will guide any decision on the annexation proposals.
Home Depot prompts new ordinance
On April 21 the Bellevue City Council enacted a 182-day emergency moratorium on building applications for structures with an aggregate roof size greater than 20,000 square feet. City officials decided to enact the moratorium in part after learning of a proposal by home-improvement retail giant Home Depot to build a large retail center in northern Bellevue along state Highway 75. Bellevue planning and zoning standards, it turned out, allowed such structures to be built.
After several public meetings, the City Council enacted a "large-scale development ordinance" on Sept. 29. Under the new rules, developers of buildings in excess of 15,000 square feet must apply for a large-scale conditional use permit prior to construction. The new rules also limit both the maximum size of a building's gross area footprint to 18,000 square feet and the maximum gross floor area of two-story buildings to 36,000 square feet.
At the same time they approved the new rules, council members also stated a desire to revisit the issue and likely increase the maximum size restrictions on the footprint and floor area of new buildings. The council members approved the size restrictions, despite their reservations, so as to have an ordinance in place once the building moratorium expired on Oct. 20. Bellevue's P&Z administrator, Craig Eckles, will ask the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider a number of amendments changing those size restrictions sometime in late January or early February.
Levy fails
In a special election on May 24, Bellevue citizens refused to support an increase in the city's property tax levy rate. A majority of voters opposed the proposal to increase the city's fiscal budget by $300,000 to help fund municipal services—such as police fire and street departments—by increasing the city's property tax rate.
The city needed 60 percent voter approval for the measure to pass. If the levy had been approved, it would have increased the yearly tax bill of a $100,000 property owner from $99.35 to $179.50.
Ironically, the election was held in response to citizen consensus expressed at a community forum in March. There, residents signaled support after concerns arose about consolidating and contracting city services.
Bellevue budget falls short
The Bellevue City Council on Aug. 25 voted to tighten city spending with the approval of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The cuts eliminated a full-time fire chief position and street repair funds. The council-approved appropriations ordinance set Bellevue's total spending at just over $2,143,000 for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
The council's initial budget discussions began in July, when legislators sought to alleviate an approximately $140,000 general fund deficit. The deficit arose from an actual decrease in the city's income coupled with an increase in expenses. The financial crunch came in light of the failed attempt to pass a levy that would have raised property tax rates and added $300,000 to the city's treasury.
City staff turnover
The year 2005 saw a dramatic turnover of Bellevue city employees. The upheaval began in February when Bellevue Marshal Randy Tremble announced his plans to leave his post and the area due to family obligations. With the exception of the city's code enforcement officer, Susan Ramsey, the entire staff of the Bellevue Marshal's Office turned over in 2005. In August, the city hired Tim Green as its new marshal and in recent months has hired an additional three new officers. City officials credit the City Council's authorization of a more competitive benefits package for its police officers as a key reason they've been able to hire more officers.
In September, Bellevue Planning and Zoning Administrator Jackie Crego stepped down to take a local job in the private sector. Then, in late October, the city hired Craig Eckles to replace Crego. City officials attributed the difficulty hiring and retaining city employees to the area's high cost of living.
Passage of the wastewater sewer bond
In one bright note for Bellevue city officials, voters on Nov. 8 overwhelmingly approved a city-backed $6 million wastewater sewer bond. The bond's passage means the city will be able to build a new "membrane bioreactor plant" to replace the city's aging 12-year-old lagoon-style treatment plant.
Approval of the sewer bond won't have any additional fiscal impact on Bellevue voters above their current sewer rates. Bellevue city officials on Oct. 1 raised the sewer rates from $18.21 to $35 per residential hookup in anticipation of the upcoming vote on the sewer revenue bond. The city of Bellevue is currently in the process of designing the new sewer plant with the help of Keller Associates, a Meridian-based engineering firm. Under current plans, the new sewer plant would likely be completed in November 2007.
