A coalition of local business and development interests is presenting a plan for how a potential new transportation tax district should work and where the money should be spent. The proposal comes before the Bellevue City Council has begun formal discussions on the topic.
The Bellevue Mobility Coalition, organized by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to the City Council on April 21 recommending that any new Transportation Benefit District — a special taxing district created to fund transportation projects — prioritize the six areas of Bellevue seeing the most growth. The six areas identified are Downtown, Wilburton, Bel-Red, East Main, Factoria, and Eastgate.
Chamber President and CEO Joe Fain signed the letter on the group’s behalf. The Coalition includes local employers, developers, and transportation providers and had previously submitted similar recommendations to city staff in February.
The group’s central argument is that the funding should follow where the revenue is generated. Because these growth centers produce the majority of Bellevue’s sales tax revenue, the Coalition says a sales tax-funded district should direct dollars back into transportation improvements in those same areas. Separate existing funding tools would continue to cover transportation needs in Bellevue’s residential neighborhoods.
The Coalition is recommending five categories of spending within a potential district. The first would fund major projects already in the city’s pipeline, including Spring Boulevard Zone 3, the Bellevue Grand Connection, and 120th Avenue NE Stage 4. The remaining four are designed to be more flexible: targeted improvements at busy growth-area intersections projected to become congested, completion of bicycle and pedestrian corridors across the city, planning and engineering support for state highway projects affecting Bellevue, and technology investments aimed at improving how people and traffic move through the city.
For those four flexible categories, the Coalition is not proposing a fixed project list. Instead, the letter asks Council to work jointly with the group to establish clear goals for each category while leaving specific project decisions open as needs develop over time.
The framework is tied to Bellevue’s long-range planning period running through 2044, meaning the investments shaped by a potential TBD could influence how the city manages transportation for the next two decades. Specific projects referenced include the Coal Creek Parkway roundabout conversion and a shared-use path along the Eastrail corridor.
With no formal public process yet underway, the Coalition is framing its letter as early input rather than a response to any official city proposal.
Separately, the Chamber is coordinating a letter to Sound Transit on funding fairness for the East King County area ahead of the agency finalizing its financial plan in early May.
