Bellevue’s four-day coding charrette was a big hit with participants. Listen to resident Tim Vogt describe his experience:
“First of all, the process itself was very inclusive and open,” said Vogt. “I loved the fact that the city administration and elected officials were working with citizens and business owners to explore the possibilities for Bellevue’s future…” [cont.]
The weather was wet, making for the kind of evening folks would rather be home than slogging their way to a meeting about future zoning. Which made the Thursday night gathering in the Callahan Community Center all the more significant for the enthusiasm of participants.
The meeting was the concluding session of a four-day collaborative workshop called a “charrette.” Ken Lewis, owner of the Party Source on Riviera Drive, called the experience “an historic process” and “an eye-opener…” [cont.]
Tonight’s the night. What citizens will see at the concluding “pin-up” presentation of our four-day charrette is a first take at answering the question that launched the whole process:
How do we guide future development and redevelopment so that it honors what we love most about Bellevue’s historic models for neighborhoods and corridors?.. [cont.]
After touring Bellevue and nearby communities on Monday and checking in with citizens and business owners on Tuesday, the project team is using all day Wednesday and Thursday morning to prepare ideas for community review in the concluding session of our coding charrette Thursday night… [cont.]
With the Bellevue coding project team in place and oriented by a Monday tour of the area and discussions with City staffers, our four-day charrette turns to public discussions today.
The three 90-minute sessions scheduled for today will address ways in which a new code to guide development and redevelopment in Bellevue might support economic development goals; address hopes and concerns of neighborhoods; and affect plans of retailers and other commercial businesses… [cont.]
“If we want to grow in smarter ways,” says Bellevue Mayor Jack Meyer, “it just makes sense to use a smarter code.” A smarter code for guiding growth is the whole purpose of the four-day collaborative workshop called a “charrette.” It begins on Monday, March 22, with a project team orientation. Public meetings are on Tuesday. By the concluding “pin-up” of work on Thursday, March 25, we’ll have turned our growing smarter goals into an outline for a new regulatory framework in harmony with what we all love most about Bellevue. [cont.]
What do we mean when we say “Bellevue character”? What does it look and feel like? Those were the questions on the table Saturday, February 27, when some 50 local folks gathered for a four-hour visioning exercise led by Jeff Raser of glaserworks. [cont.]
Ready to begin thinking of how you want Bellevue to grow into the future? Then, don’t miss opportunities to advance the conversation on the evening of January 27 and the morning of February 27.
Here’s how the coming events link to a larger process: We’re fashioning new guidelines for developing and redeveloping Bellevue neighborhoods based on the historic patterns we all love. Most of the work creating those guidelines will take place in a public “charrette,” March 22-25. [...]
Come join your neighbors, City officials and staff, and our team of experts in shaping the guide for future growth in Bellevue.
The event is a “charrette,” a four-day, public workshop where we’ll create the first rough draft of a zoning approach designed to protect what we love about Bellevue’s past and encourage new development in similar character. [...]
Towards a Future
Informed by Our Past
While too many towns risk losing their identity in an era of sprawl and redevelopment, Bellevue has a distinct advantage. We have an architectural heritage, a time-tested pattern of human settlement, to build upon.
“We need to ensure where there is redevelopment it is sensitive to our community,” says Mayor Jack Meyer. “We already have the model in our livable city for shaping the kind of future we all want.”
The event that will host a lot of that future shaping is a “charrette,” a multiday workshop, scheduled for March 22-25, 2010. During the course of those four days, City officials, staff, citizens, and an expert consulting team will apply the best lessons of the past to the task of creating a regulatory framework to guide future growth. Coming out of that public workshop, we’ll have the key elements of a new zoning code and a strategy for how best to introduce it into our planning.
The need for a new kind of zoning has become increasingly obvious in many American communities. Conventional zoning was conceived in a time when the principal concern was separating noxious industry from residential living. The trouble is, that sort of zoning kept right on separating, even when polluting industries left populous areas. It’s contributed to an unsustainable land use pattern that isolates people from where they live, work, play, and engage with others. And it devours land and demands infrastructure out of proportion to community needs. It’s also ugly, especially compared to the look and feel of historic neighborhoods where people have always been able to walk to a wide variety of shops, services, and entertainment – even after they had access to cars.
While we know we’ve been wise in preserving the historic examples that are the antidotes for insensitive development, we also know we have to be proactive in affirming Bellevue’s character and protecting it in the future. That’s why we’re interested in the core principles of Smart Growth, which build on the best lessons of the past. And that’s why we’re investing the City’s time and resources in exploring the benefits of a SmartCode that encourages the time-tested patterns of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods as opposed to the unsustainable patterns of sprawl.
“If we want to grow in smarter ways,” says Mayor Meyer, “it just makes sense to use a smarter code.
“We’re not talking about forcing any radical changes in the way people live in Bellevue right now,” the mayor continues. “Nor are we out to restrict opportunities. In fact, we are ‘preserving the past, while preparing for the future.’“
What’s more, whatever approach we take, we’ll decide together in public discussions before, during, and after the charrette. “That’s the beauty of this process,” says the mayor. “Everybody is welcome to participate. And everyone is able to see what’s going on all the time.”
Before the charrette, we’ll stage at least two public events that will tap into the community’s visions for growth and the ways in which we might adjust our regulatory framework to better enable those visions. More detailed explanations of those events, the SmartCode, the charrette, and the process in general will appear on these web pages. So please return here often.
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Want to see how discussions about goals and values for Bellevue growth play out in real places? Then, don’t miss the chance to participate in the four-day public workshop beginning March 22 at Callahan Community Center, 616 Poplar Street. For the day-by-day schedule, go 