City adopts updated affordable housing strategy

Published April 30 2026

After engaging across the community for more than a year, the City of Bellevue adopted its 2026-2032 Affordable Housing Strategy, outlining a path towards meeting the city's target of building or preserving 5,700 affordable units in 10 years.

The strategy, adopted by the City Council Tuesday, provides an organizational roadmap for how the city can continue to improve housing opportunities for the people of Bellevue over the next seven years.

Goal areas include Affordable Housing, Housing Equity, Housing Stability, Housing for Unique Needs, and Housing Supply and Diversity. With the help of the Affordable Housing Strategy, the city aims to:

• Implement policy guidance in the Bellevue 2044 Comprehensive Plan
• Build or preserve 5,700 affordable units in the next 10 years
• Identify new funding and resources for affordable housing

The plan's strategies build on the city's current housing work and accelerate the production of income-restricted units.

"Bellevue is focused on meeting the needs of our growing community," said Bianca Siegl, executive director of the city's Office of Housing. "The Affordable Housing Strategy builds on past progress and accelerates the important work of expanding access to safe, accessible and affordable homes for all."

An update of the city's first 2017 Affordable Housing Strategy, the new plan outlines 24 strategies to advance the city's housing goals. The affordable housing action plan operates as a menu of options to guide future implementation. It is flexible and can be updated to new opportunities and conditions.

The strategy was informed by significant engagement with the community members and organizational partners, including over 650 residents and 60 organizations. Engagement included multiple language options and was tailored to also reach those experiencing housing insecurity. Community input reflected diverse views and perspectives and emphasized that the city should address housing needs urgently through bold and decisive actions.

The strategy responds to this input and is designed to accelerate affordable housing growth and advance efforts to address housing-related needs in Bellevue. Background on the 2026-2032 Strategy, including information on engagement and a link to the final, approved plan update, is available at Affordable Housing Strategy.