As the progress of three major annexation proposals moves incrementally forward from one public hearing to the next, the Bellevue City Council and Planning and the Zoning Commission wrangle with an incredibly complex analysis of the costs and benefits to current citizens.
Looking to make this task more manageable, Councilwoman Beth Robrahn asked for a council discussion on creating a set of principles to guide annexation policy before listening to more details of the proposed developments.
Robrahn's request came at the end of a special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, May 15, in which city officials and members of the public heard developer Jeff Pfaeffle talk about density and inclusionary housing in his 100-acre annexation proposal.
Pfaeffle owns approximately 110 acres of land in Slaughterhouse Canyon, 10 of which are already within city limits. He's looking to annex the remaining acres and eventually build a total of 197 units on the property.
The development would be called Strahorn Ranch.
This most recent public hearing centered on Pfaeffle's request to increase the density of his proposal, adding another 24 units to the 173 that were approved by the P&Z last September.
The need for additional housing is the result of the 14 percent affordable housing required by city ordinance, Pfaeffle said at Tuesday's meeting.
To make the project financially viable, they need to increase density to counter the costs of impact fees, affordable housing, and water and sewer, Pfaeffle said.
Councilman Steve Fairbrother disagreed with Pfaeffle, however, stating that this new request benefits only the developer and will be detrimental to the city.
"I don't care for it at all," Fairbrother said. "The increased housing skews all our studies, such as traffic and affordable housing."
Another source of concern for the council was the developer's proposed method of meeting the city's inclusionary housing requirements.
According to the ordinance, Pfaeffle would have to designate a minimum of 24 lots for affordable housing. However, he described a situation in which they would construct six of the homes and donate them to the city in return for being able to retain the deeds to another six lots.
This, in effect, would mean the city would receive 18 rather than 24 lots, although Bellevue would get the financial benefit of owning half a dozen homes debt-free.
In addition, Pfaeffle asked that the city waive any annexation fees related to the affordable housing units, a cost of which city consultant John Gaeddert put at over $450,000. Pfaeffle argued that if the developer was saddled with these charges, than they would be forced to pass off some of the cost to purchasers of the market rate houses.
Gaeddert spurred Councilwoman Robrahn's desire for clarified growth principles, saying the council would have to make serious policy decisions if they were to approve Pfaeffle's requests.
Amidst public opposition for the development of grounds of increased traffic and adverse affects on wildlife, the council decided to continue the public hearing once again, but to precede further discussions on any specific annexations with the formation of some guidelines on growth.
The council will consider pertinent topics of future growth, such as density, lot sizes and the city's carbon footprint, at their meeting on Thursday, June 14.
