Back then, the office estimated they had processed 124 Eviction Resolution Pilot Program (ERPP) cases since the moratorium's expiration. That number's now gone up to 381. Tenant response rate has remained steady at 92%.
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As I noted in my article, Bellevue's actually done a good job getting rental assistance funds out to the community, approving over $7 million in ARPA funds for rent relief. That money's gone to over 2,000 households in the city, but the need is still so great.
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An additional concern that I mentioned in my article is tenants defaulting on their payment plans going forward. Yes, they might not be getting evicted now w/ payment plans, but with payments *on top of* normal rent payments & the economy still precarious, people can fall behind.
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After a Women's History Month proclamation, move onto the first speaker, who believes that landlord-tenant laws are not being enforced in Bellevue. Wants to give code enforcement more power to enforce fines against landlords.
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Lochleven Community Association is declaring victory, as a developer withdrew their rezone application for a plot to the west of Downtown Park. Was going to change it from multifamily to community business, which would allow for some retail too.
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2nd speaker also has concerns with the Comp Plan Amendment. This would rezone a site at the SW of the Downtown Park from high-density residential to neighborhood mixed use, which would allow for more commercial uses in addition to residential ones.
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Next three people are speaking in a group on Bellevue's Tree Code. Says Bellevue has some of the more lax tree codes in the region. Second speaker follows up with some anecdotes of how redevelopments have increased dramatically & clear cutting the lot often comes with them.
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Final speaker discusses the outcome of the group's study, which showed that Bellevue's code allows for the removal of up to five significant trees without a permit.
Cites endorsements from PCA Bellevue & 350 Eastside, both orgs I trust & am involved in.
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They link to their website and report, which includes their recommendations. I know people in the cohort (including some of the people that spoke) and they've assured me their effort is not anti-development - members support housing diversity on all lots.
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Final speaker is rep from Bellevue Green & Clean asking for city to create an Adopt-A-Street program to support litter pickup in the city. Cites programs in other cities of all sizes around the region. "When it comes to litter, Bellevue's not leading. It's not even following."
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After an additional speaker concerned about the loss of trees and approval of the consent calendar (therefore approving the $1.6 million I mentioned before), we're now onto the discussion around making Juneteenth a paid holiday for city staff.
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CM Robertson supports this coming back to consent and wants the city to buy a Juneteenth flag, pictured below. CM Barksdale agrees and wants city to provide resources so residents can learn more about the history of slavery.
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CM Stokes & Zahn also support. Zahn would want to continue issuing a Council proclamation for the holiday, as well as incorporating a staff celebration. CM Lee supports this &, among other things, hopes this will lead to "recognition of other inequalities towards other races."
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DM Nieuwenhuis supports & makes the motion and it passes unanimously. Will return onto next week's consent calendar for final approval.
Now moving onto the funding approvals for ARCH grant recommendations and the Interlocal Agreement (the name change).
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CM Robertson will still vote on the budget allocations but is recusing herself from the ILA discussions because she works with Inslee Best, a law firm that works with two of the cities in the ILA.
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CM Robertson's left the call, so we're starting with the ILA vote and then will do the budget allocations. Four of the five projects that submitted an application to ARCH are recommended for funding.
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In addition to changing the name from "Citizen Advisory Board" to "Community Advisory Board", ARCH unanimously approved expanding the board to be beyond 15 members, to facilitate greater community participation.
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Needs member city approval though, so moving onto CM comments. CM Lee: asks what making the board more diverse means in this context. ARCH staff note this means diversity in skillsets, expertise, backgrounds, and ethnicities.
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CM Lee is confused as to what purpose this amendment will serve if the number of cities incorporated into ARCH isn't increasing. Staff explain that there are times when they receive a lot of good quality applicants, so they want to be able to go over the previous 15 person limit.
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Then, through attrition, the number of board members would go down, but in the interim, this would allow for more good candidates to get on the board. Changing the name from "Citizen" to "Community" is meant to make clear that you don't need to be a citizen to be on the board.
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Mayor says the presentation and information from staff was very good, so she asks CM Lee to take his questions offline. CM Stokes comes in and says that ask from ARCH is very clear, supports expanding the advisory board as recommended. CM Zahn also supports the name change.
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ILA passes unanimously, now getting CM Robertson back in the call to discuss the following funding allocations. The withdrawn project was in early stages of feasibility, so they didn't feel they were quite ready for grant funding. It might still come back in future rounds though.
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Application process had $6 million in funds available. Since only $3.1 million is being allocated, nearly $3 million is still on the table, and ARCH staff mention the Executive Board is looking at a project that might receive this funding. Would come back for additional vote.
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ARCH staff note that the partnership was able to leverage *$14* in other public & private funds for every $1 contributed by members.
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First project is at Totem Lake, would have nearly 100 units at 50% AMI or less. The project has previously received ARCH funds, but cost overruns made them need to come back. Estimated completion in 2024.
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Second project would be 14 units at 50% AMI, also in Kirkland. Near grocery stores in Houghton and along the 245 bus route. Meant for young adults ages 18-24. Slated to open later this year.
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Third project is the Lifewire project that the city funded with its HB 1590 money. ARCH would be giving an additional $750k to the project. As covered previously, 25 units for survivors of domestic violence. 10 units transitional, 15 units emergency housing. Opening late 2022.
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CM Lee asking why the Totem Lake developer needed to come back for more money. Staff note increases in labor costs (17% over the last couple of years) but believe this final bit of funding will be enough to fill the gap.
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CM Zahn asks for details on why the one project was denied funding. Staff needed additional information around zoning for the project & if design of the building would've been consistent w/ current zoning. Staff hope they'll come back for next year's funding round w/ more info.
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Funding for Horizon @ Totem Lake, Friends of Youth, and Lifewire projects are approved unanimously. Mayor Robinson is now recusing herself for the final allocation votes, as her husband works for the King County Housing Authority.
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W/ Mayor off the call, discussing a project in Issaquah. Single Room Occupancy w/ shared kitchen and office space. Meant for residents at 30% AMI, and they'll have access to behavioral & health clinics. Opening in 2024.
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Final project, which was not approved for funding, which had questions around zoning and other funding sources. Staff are open to continuing work w/ Attain Housing, including offering an earlier round of funding should they choose to apply again.
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CM Zahn appreciates how the Issaquah project will specifically have services and design features for people w/ disabilities. CM Lee asks what all is close to the Issaquah site. Staff mention the health clinics that would be inside the larger building once it's built.
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Additional funding allocation for the Issaquah project passes unanimously, so Mayor rejoins the call after a quick break. Moving onto the final item, which is the report on the Conflict Resolution Center's renter program.
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Staff note the program provides services both to residents of Bellevue & Kirkland, and that the program "gives attention both to the needs of landlords and to the needs of tenants. It is not taking sides. It's helping keep landlords whole and keeping people housed."
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Staff note it's hard to know exactly how many renters face eviction, but estimates are that 13% of renters were behind on rent in KC metro area. For Bellevue specifically, staff are taking the current unemployment rate of 2.7% (close to prepandemic level of 2.2%) as a good sign.
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*However*, participation in the labor force is down 3% from pre-pandemic levels, which they say is equivalent to 4600 individuals no longer in the labor force. Barriers from reentering the labor force remain ongoing health concerns and access to affordable childcare.
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CRC staff outline the process. After a landlord posts a pay or vacate notice, the CRC is supposed to reach out to the tenant 3 times. Staff say they have a high success rate of doing outreach in culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed ways.
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In its typical bothsidesyness, staff sharing steps for landlords and tenants to take in this process.
In tenants portion, staff acknowledges residents are fearful w/ the amounts of debt they're accruing and might interpret pay or vacate notice as the eviction.
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Staff previously noted how we'll never know the number of people who just self-evicted.
Just wanna note the power imbalance that gets sweeped away - yes there are "mom and pop" landlords that stand to lose big, but there's also a lot of big landlords losing out on profit.
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In contrast, *every* tenant involved in this situation is a person who stands to lose their housing, get saddled with thousands in debt, and have a stain on their record that would make rental housing near-impossible to obtain in the future.
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