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Up to 32 new homes along a busy transit corridor could be built if the city of Bellevue approves a rezone application from Glendale Country Club.
The private club’s property is currently zoned single-family (SF R-1), but it is adjacent to single-family R-2.5 and multifamily R-20 and R-30 zoned properties with a corresponding multifamily medium density (MF-M) Comprehensive Plan designation. The application seeks to change the comp plan designation to MF-M and subsequently rezone the property to Multifamily R-10. (The Comprehensive Plan for the property was amended to multifamily medium density in 2020.)
“The purpose of the Application is to better align the land use designation for a small section of Glendale Country Club with the City’s vision for a vibrant, transit-oriented NE 8th Street corridor,” stated Brenda Barnes, partner at Seattle architectural firm Clark | Barnes, on behalf of Glendale.
Citing Bellevue’s housing goals and policies to “encourage housing opportunities in mixed residential/commercial settings,” Glendale’s application noted the additional housing “will contribute to the Comprehensive Plan’s anticipated 15,800 housing units needed by 2035,” adding, “It is particularly important to provide housing along transit corridors to allow for transit-oriented communities.”
The proposed site, located on the northeast corner of the golf course, accounts for 3.35 acres, a small fraction of the 137.5-acre golf course property. Of the site’s 143,733 square feet, a wetland buffer and power easement erase all but 18,790 square feet, about 13 percent of the total, for building.
Clint Whitney, the club’s general manager, said the property is somewhat isolated from the facility’s operations and unsuitable for golf course use. Its proximity to the transit corridor offers an opportunity for “modestly dense housing options” that are compatible with the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood, he noted.
The proposed rezone also assumes a boundary line adjustment to create a new tax parcel.
Whitney said no specific development plans have been made and there is no timing for development. Subject to the club’s approval, he said future redevelopment or sale of the property would support long-term viability of the club. Proceeds from the property sale could fund much-needed new infrastructure on the property, he added.