Realpolitiks Bellevue

Bellevue has long shown a penchant for parks, but now that relationship looks more like a love-hate ordeal.

The city council last week pressed Sound Transit to study a potential light-rail line crossing Mercer Slough Nature Park (see below), a proposal that’s sure to draw the ire of environmentalists.

Following that, the city made a series of moves this week aimed at establishing three new parks and open spaces.

The city’s parks department on Monday unveiled a draft master plan for a new 10-acre waterfront park featuring nearly a quarter mile of shoreline along Meydenbauer Bay.

The parks department also recommended plans for developing a new 27-acre park in the Eastgate business district, throwing “Bellevue Airfield Park” out there as a potential name.

Finally, the city council voted Monday to pay $3.3 million for nearly 12 acres of land in the Kelsey Creek and Newport Hills areas for preservation as open space. Funding for the acquisition will come from King County and the 2008 Bellevue parks levy.

More on this whole topic later as I talk to city officials and residents of the respective areas. If you want to share your thoughts, hit me by e-mail or on the Twitters @Reporter_Hicks.

For now, I’m off for what is billed as a three-hour tour of the BNSF rail corridor, followed by a discussion on passenger rail. Sounds dauntingly reminiscent of “Gilligan’s Island,” I know. It may be a few years before I return, and even then, it’s possible I’ll be a changed man.

Here’s a few polls to hold you over for awhile:

The Bellevue City Council took a fresh approach to one of its thorniest issues Tuesday, requesting work on a hybrid light-rail plan for South Bellevue.

The proposed design appears to be a compromise between those who want to attract more train passengers with the highly frequented South Bellevue park-and-ride, and those who want East Link to run along the abandoned BNSF rail corridor.

The new variation would extend the park-and-ride lot on Bellevue Way SE to accommodate a light-rail station. The route would then turn east across Mercer Slough Nature Park before curving onto the BNSF right-of-way, and then toward downtown by way of 118th and 114th avenues.

The city is drafting a letter to Sound Transit requesting consideration of the line, and the council is expected to discuss the matter again on Jan. 25.

In February, the council recommended a South Bellevue route along Bellevue Way SE and 112th Ave. SE. But residents from the Surrey Downs and Enatai neighborhoods oppose that plan because of its potential impacts to their communities.

The alternative idea is to run East Link along the BNSF rail corridor on its way downtown, but condo dwellers living near that route oppose the plan.

The BNSF route is less expensive, and would free up money for a potential downtown tunnel or a future expansion of the light-rail system toward Issaquah.

On the other hand, the Bellevue Way SE alternative utilizes a popular park-and-ride that could attract hordes of riders.

One drawback of the compromise proposal is that it would cross Mercer Slough Nature Park, requiring significant environmental mitigation.

The council would have to update its routing preferences by March to include them in Sound Transit’s final environmental review, which is due by year’s end.

Sound Transit’s board of directors will make a decision on final routing and station locations after that review is complete.

East Link design work is scheduled to begin in 2011, with construction slated to start by 2014.

Light rail service to Bellevue is expected to launch in 2020.

So much for the mayor playing a mere ceremonial role in Bellevue’s manager-council form of government. The charge for veteran councilmember Don Davidson is to play peacemaker during his third term – non-consecutive – as gavel wielder.

One of the first things Bellevue’s new city council did in December was vote against a property tax increase for 2010. That’s a reversal from the past two years, when the council voted for increases.

That same night, rookie councilmember Kevin Wallace made an ill-fated attempt to change the city’s recommended alternatives for light-rail routing.

That issue isn’t going away, it’s just on hold. Wallace has support from three other councilmembers: Davidson, Conrad Lee, and Jennifer Robertson.

Most recently, the city council elected the conservative-minded Davidson as its mayor.

These events suggest a new council majority for the city of Belleve.

Councilmembers don’t like to admit this sort of thing exists because it sounds too ugly for municipal politics, but it’s true nonetheless. There are four members who see eye-to-eye on the major issues, and all were either elected or re-elected in November.

The question now is whether this new council majority will force its will or play nice with the minority, consisting of former Mayor Grant Degginger, former Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci, and John Chelminiak.

No sooner had the council elected Davidson as its mayor than King County Executive Dow Constantine appointed Balducci to the Sound Transit board.

This gave the council minority a new weapon. Balducci is now one of the final decision makers on light-rail routing, making her the last person anyone wants to snub.

Wallace has proposed a new route that would travel through South Bellevue along the BNSF right of way west of I-405, and then on 114th Ave. NE to avoid impacts to the downtown core.

The new majority is open to this idea, while members of the minority have indicated their preference for a downtown tunnel on 110th Ave. NE.

If the city can identify funding for a tunnel, the issue of downtown routing might go away.

South Bellevue is another story, as the minority prefers placing the tracks along Bellevue Way SE, rather than the BNSF right of way. There’s no clear compromise there.

Davidson said he’d like to massage the light-rail issue, saying it’s still “a bit tender.” Of all the routes being considered, that’s probably the wisest for now.

That still leaves the budget to consider. The city is looking at deficits of perhaps $17 million in the operating budget and even worse for the capital budget – no one is offering exact figures just yet.

It’s hard to fill those gaps without raising property taxes.

Davidson and Lee, who became the city’s first ethnic minority deputy mayor last week, are both budget hawks who say they would like to pull back on capital projects until the economy recovers. Robertson and Wallace, who voted for the halt on property-tax increases, are likely to agree.

The council minority, meanwhile, talks about investing while the bidding market is good – actually it’s great. They’re hoping to spur new development and continue the Bellevue boom.

Whether that’s possible in this type of market is something the councilmembers will surely debate during their annual retreat this month.

The issues discussed in that meeting – and throughout the year, for that matter – will test Davidson’s ability to shape policy while maintaining friendly relations along the dais.

Kevin Wallace

The Bellevue City Council doesn’t change its mind overnight – not even for a new majority.

Newly elected council member Kevin Wallace learned that the hard way Dec. 7, when he asked the council to pull an immediate about-face on its recommendation for East Link light-rail routing.

Talk about sprinting out of the gate.  Wallace was just sworn in the previous Monday.

The newcomer withdrew his fast motion following rebukes from veteran councilmembers John Chelminiak, Mayor Grant Degginger, and Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci, who told him it was preposterous to expect a decision so quickly on such a big issue.

“This is a major shift,” Chelminiak said. “To spring this on your council members – not a good start. Not a good start.”

To be fair, voters this year did elect a full slate of councilmembers who support a different route from the one council previously chose in February. And Wallace stated he was under the impression that Sound Transit’s board was taking final input on routing this week.

In actuality, Sound Transit was expecting all new routing concepts, not all input, to be submitted for consideration this week. The alignment that Bellevue’s new council majority supports is made up of existing alternatives, so there was nothing to worry about.

This, plus a desire for “more unity and support,” as Wallace put it to The Reporter, led to a retraction of the motion.

To review the alignment issue, the council voted in February to recommend a South Bellevue route that would travel along Bellevue Way SE and 112th Ave. SE. It also chose a downtown tunnel route beneath 108th Ave. NE.

Wallace, Don Davidson, Conrad Lee, and Jennifer Robertson – whom voters elected and re-elected this fall – have expressed support for a different alignment through South Bellevue: one that uses the abandoned BNSF rail corridor west of I-405.

Supporters of the BNSF alternative say their route would cause fewer impacts to residential neighborhoods – mainly Surrey Downs and Enatai – and to a congested Bellevue Way. They also say their idea would be cheaper because it uses existing right-of-way.

Those favoring the Bellevue Way/112th Ave. option say their route would attract more riders and avoid a potential traffic mess caused by cars entering and exiting a new park-and-ride near SE Eighth St. and 118th Ave. SE, an intersection that is already jammed most days. Condo dwellers near the BNSF line also want to keep light-rail trains away from their homes.

It’s only a matter of time before supporters of the BNSF route get their way, barring any change in the minds of the newly elected council members.

Still, Balducci said at the Dec. 7 meeting that Wallace’s motion should be put on the Dec. 14 agenda, so there would be time to study the issue and allow for public notice.

Wallace suggested there was little reason to rehash a familiar topic.

“We all know all the arguments,” he said. “Continued additional study and conversation really isn’t necessary to make an informed decision about this subject.”

The council will think about it anyway.

If there was a mandate from voters in this year’s Bellevue City Council election, it was a call to re-think East Link routing.

The Bellevue City Council in February recommended a line that would run along Bellevue Way Southeast and 112th Avenue Southeast on its way from South Bellevue to downtown. Sound Transit’s board of directors  chose that route as its preferred alternative in May.

But voters just appointed a cast of candidates who oppose that option in favor of a route along the abandoned BNSF rail corridor.

Conrad Lee and Don Davidson are both incumbents who won re-election, and they supported the BNSF line when the council was deliberating early this year. Lee even went so far as to testify to the Sound Transit board on behalf of the BNSF option after the city council had already made its decision to support the Bellevue Way/112th Avenue route.

Newly-elected Kevin Wallace and Jennifer Robertson support the BNSF alternative as well.  Wallace is working on plans for a new routing alternative that would place East Link along the abandoned rail corridor through South Bellevue and then on elevated tracks that hug the west side of I-405 to skirt the downtown core.

Add it all up and you have a new council majority that favors a different route through South Bellevue than the one already recommended. A switch would please folks residing in the Surrey Downs and Enatai neighborhoods near Bellevue Way and 112th Avenue Southeast, but certainly not the condo dwellers living near the abandoned BNSF corridor.

There’s also this to consider: what will the Sound Transit board think if Bellevue flip flops on its recommendation? Vicki Orrico, who challenged Lee and lost, said the city needs a unified voice on light rail.  Just how seriously will Sound Transit take a city that changes its mind deep into the East Link environmental-review process?

One thing seems certain: the debate over routing will continue, and all sides will be armed with valid arguments about which options are most cost-effective, which cause fewer impacts, which attract more riders, and which are even feasible.

Perhaps light rail becomes the laughingstock issue of Bellevue, much like the SR-99 viaduct matter in Seattle.  That was the fear Orrico expressed during her campaign.

There were other issues beyond East Link in this election.  I heard grumblings about helipad regulations, budget shortfalls, council transparency, planning for the Meydenbauer Bay Waterfront Park, displacement of businesses caused by the Bel-Red revitalization plan, and the possible installation of a controversial synthetic field at Newport Hills Park.

But the candidates glanced over most of these issues with standard campaign fare.  They talked in non-committal fashion about doing what’s best for everyone, listening, reaching consensus, and thinking about neighborhoods first.

It was East Link where at least some of the candidates took a stand.  It just so happens that all those candidates won.

Election day is tomorrow. How did/will you vote in the Bellevue City Council election? How about the King County executive race?

Complete this poll and I’ll talk about the results on “News Talk” KIRO 97.3 FM Tuesday. I’ll be on “Northwest Nights with Dave Shiers,” probably twice between 8-11 p.m. Be sure to tune in.

The Seattle Humane Society is sparring with a local union over employee representation and quality of care at regional facilities.

The fight follows a recent whistle-blower report slamming King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC) for alleged mistreatment, neglect and overcrowding at the agency’s Kent shelter.

A KCACC employee, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, issued the report to the county ombudsman in August. The county ombudsman confirmed that the whistle-blower does indeed work for KCACC.

Meanwhile, the Animal Control Officer’s Guild, which represents employees at KCACC, found a whistle-blower of its own: a Humane Society worker who alleges quality-of-care problems such as overcrowding, ventilation problems, and lack of concern about disease prevention at the organization’s Bellevue campus.

A fight is also brewing between these two groups over unionization.

Workers at the Humane Society voted Sept. 29 by a one-person margin to join the officers’ guild. The Humane Society has appealed the outcome on grounds that its workers thought they were voting to create a union of their own.

Guild president John Diel says the vote is legitimate, and indicative of problems at the animal-care facility in Bellevue.

“People don’t want to organize a union unless they have severe problems with working conditions,” he said. “These people obviously thought there were problems, and they felt the conditions were affecting the animals in a negative way.”

The guild has accused the Humane Society of mistreating its employees, and issued a statement Tuesday suggesting that over 60 workers have left the organization in the last 18 months.

Asked about the turnover rate, Humane Society CEO Brenda Barnett did not explicitly deny the union’s figure. She did, however, say that 31 people had left the organization in the last six months, noting that many of them departed on good terms.

Barnett says the guild’s accusations are part of an act of survival for employees of the KCACC.

King County Interim Executive Kurt Triplett proposed closing the agency in his 2010 budget, and executive candidates Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison are both pushing for the county to get out of the animal-care business.

In addition, a 2008 report from the University of California Davis revealed multiple problems with procedures and facilities at the Kent shelter.

“The union is scared that it’s going away because we’re going to be doing the work,” Barnett said.

Diel claims KCACC employees are victims of a smear campaign orchestrated by the likes of Constantine and the Humane Society.

“They’ve been trying to put us out of business for years,” he said. “Dow Constantine has done everything including lying, cheating, and stealing to get rid of us.”

Why would the Humane Society want to see a fellow animal-care organization collapse?

“It’s a money grab,” Diel said. “Along with shelter contracts comes funding.”

The Bellevue City Council on Monday rejected a moratorium on new helicopter landing stations, voting instead to consider new regulations for such facilities.

Bellevue hasn’t made significant changes to those regulations since adopting an original set of guidelines in 1989, according to a memorandum from city staff.

Residents have been calling for a comprehensive look at the issue since Kemper Development applied for a conditional-use permit to operate a helicopter landing station at the Bank of America building, located near Bellevue Place. The proposed moratorium would not have affected those plans.

The city currently has one helicopter landing facility that supports Overlake Hospital’s trauma facility.

Bellevue code does not allow private helistops in parts of the city designated for residential use, professional offices, and neighborhood businesses.

Landing stations are prohibited outright in the residential and “Old Bellevue” districts of downtown, as well as certain parts of the Bel-Red corridor – with the office-residential and hospital districts being exceptions there.

Many of the residents calling for new regulations say private helistops should only be allowed in industrial areas.

Residents have complained that the proposed Kemper Development helistop would create a nuisance and pose safety risks downtown.

Sound studies have shown that helicopter noise related to the proposed helistop would be comparable to bus traffic. A SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) determination of non-significance was issued for the planned facility.

Bellevue developer John Su appealed the SEPA determination, but later withdrew his case.

The Bellevue hearing examiner granted Kemper Development’s conditional-use permit, but residents appealed that decision to the city council. Su is named as one of the appellants.

A public hearing on the appeal will take place Nov. 2, 8 p.m. at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Avenue Northeast), with only the appellants and parties of record allowed to present arguments.

Kemper Development’s conditional-use permit would allow only light-turbine helicopters to use the facility while limiting the number of helicopter landings and takeoffs to five per week, prohibiting activity on Sundays and legal holidays, and restricting flight paths to freeways and Northeast Eighth Street.

The permit would also require the company to provide monthly documentation of flight frequency and times for the first year, followed by semi-annual reports thereafter.

A phone line and web site would also have to be put in place to take complaints.

The State Public Disclosure Commission is sorting through a barrage of complaints from recent weeks alleging improprieties by the Dow Constantine campaign.

The accusers say Constantine’s camp has collaborated with independent groups that opposed his rivals in the race for King County executive. State law prohibits candidates from coordinating with independent campaigns (see Section 28 of RCW 42.17.020).

Allegation 1
The PDC is investigating a complaint by Seattle resident Judy L. Brown that alleges Constantine’s campaign treasurer, Jason Bennett, also served as treasurer for the group FAIRPAC/Citizens To Uphold the Constitution, which sponsored a phone campaign against opponent Susan Hutchison.

Bennett owns Argo Strategies, a political consulting firm that is working with FAIRPAC/Citizens To Uphold the Constitution. He reportedly recused himself from his role with the account, and said earlier this month that he would send a form to the PDC explaining that he doesn’t discuss campaign strategy with the two campaigns.

Allegation 2
The PDC has rejected a second complaint from conservative blogger Angie Vogt of Federal Way that alleges collaboration between one of Constantine’s consultants and an adviser for several independent groups that sponsored campaigns attacking Hutchison and state Rep. Ross Hunter, who was an executive candidate during the primary.

Vogt accused former Constantine political consultant Christian Sinderman of coordinating strategies with Lisa MacLean, who helped put out mailings attacking Hutchison.

Sinderman runs Northwest Passage Consulting, which leases space in Seattle to an outfit run by MacLean called Moxie Media.

The PDC said Vogt’s evidence was not conclusive enough to prove campaign misdeeds.

Allegation 3
A third PDC complaint comes from P. Scott Cummins of Seattle, who alleges that Sinderman has broken campaign rules by serving as political consultant for Constantine and the Service Employees International Union, which endorses Constantine and has spoken out against his rivals.

I’ll look more into this last complaint on Monday. I’d like to find out what the PDC says about Sinderman’s association with the SEIU — as in whether or not this kind of thing is prohibited. In the meantime, flip to the Northwest Passage Consulting client list, which includes SEIU groups.

Here’s an interesting letter a reader sent about demolishing the 520 bridge and replacing it with…nothing. Discuss.

From the point of view of someone who moved to the Seattle/Bellevue area in 1949 the planning for changes to the 520 Bridge was very interesting.

In 1949 the Evergreen Point Bridge did not exist but was later constructed to improve the traffic flow across Lake Washington, tolls were charged and then eliminated. The I-90 bridge was expanded to provide for even greater capacity. After the development of these bridges it would seem to be appropriate to answer the question: “Has traffic flow improved?”

It would seem the obvious answer is”No”! The more traffic lanes we provide, the more people commute back and forth on these billions of dollars worth of bridges and freeways.
As offramps are built from these highways neighborhoods become less and less liveable.
As the new expansion of the 520 Bridge develops it seems obvious that traffic will once again increase bringing along more local congestion.

To be brief it seems obvious that the way to improve our neighborhoods on the Eastside would be to eliminate the 520 Bridge. If the estimated cost is $800 million we know we could save at least twice that by just getting rid of the Bridge.

The traffic on Bellevue Way would decrease, quiet would return to Hunts Point, Clyde Hill and Medina. The ramps to and from 405 could be eliminated. Space would be opened up for parks and other neighborhood amenities and we wouldn’t have to think about even further expansion thirty years from now. Even sailing on Lake Washington would be vastly improved.

Having been called a man of “Immeasurable Intelligence” it has become obvious to me that by building more and more bridges, highways, lanes, etc. we just cause the problem to become greater and gtreater. The removal of the bridge would lead the way to a quieter more livable Bellevue. Our air would be cleaner and money saved for greater opportunities.

Duke _____
Bellevue