The Bellevue City Council is considering a proposal to eliminate the ability of citizens to appeal to the city council if they disagree with a hearing examiner’s findings in a land use case. Residents would lose the ability to raise questions about the examiner’s findings with their elected officials. Many projects could be affected.

Please consider sending an email to [email protected]. Here are some ideas you can use or modify as you wish:

Dear council members,

I understand that the city council is considering a change to Bellevue’s Land Use Code. If the change is approved, the council would no longer hear citizens’ appeals of decisions issued by a Hearing Examiner in land use cases. Many decisions would be affected, like the Eastgate men’s shelter, the Northtowne fire station, Sound Transit 3, and PSE’s transmission and substation projects.

Citizens would instead be forced to challenge these decisions in Superior Court, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A county or state judge would decide what’s best for Bellevue, rather than elected representatives who live here. Could citizens prevail against an army of lawyers representing the interests of powerful developers or multi-billion dollar corporations like PSE?

This ill-conceived proposal would further empower developers to shape the future of Bellevue. This is not in the best interest of people who love Bellevue and call it home. Please oppose this change!

Sincerely,
Your name & address
[Bellevue addresses are important]

CENSE defends Eastside cities

CENSE recognized this proposal would harm residents’ ability to provide meaningful input on important projects in our city. We asked our attorney, Rick Aramburu, to submit a brief to the city attorney and council members. The brief describes shortcomings with the proposal and questions why it bypassed the normal review process through the Planning Commission.

CENSE will continue to defend residents and small businesses in Bellevue, Newcastle, Renton, and Redmond. Your contributions help us continue the legal and technical work that is necessary to keep our voices strong. If you haven’t donated to CENSE recently, please visit our Donate Page and help us maintain the role of residents in shaping the growth and progress of our cities.