The Bellevue City Council voted unanimously to extend temporary development rules protecting Old Bellevue’s Main Street corridor, keeping the interim regulations in place through February 2027.
The council both continued and amended the interim official control first adopted in February, which governs how new construction can proceed along Main Street in Old Bellevue. The rules are designed to keep new projects aligned with the district’s small-scale, walkable feel and to protect older building facades that help define the area’s historic character.
The six-month renewal comes after property owners and developers raised concerns during the initial rollout, particularly around the cost of compliance and ambiguity in the design requirements. City council responded by revising the temporary rules to spell out standards more clearly and to add incentives for developers who preserve existing facades.
Background: How the Rules Began
The council first put the interim controls in place on Feb. 10 with a 4-3 vote, covering properties along Main Street between 100th Avenue NE and Bellevue Way.
The original rule requires new development in that stretch to be compatible with neighboring buildings and to reflect the area’s established design character. It also set a high bar for tearing down older structures: any facade more than 50 years old can only be removed if the owner shows it holds no historic or cultural value.
None of the buildings in the corridor currently holds official historic landmark status at the state or national level, and projects that were already approved or vested under prior zoning are exempt.
The original interim control was prompted in part by a development proposal from Vander Hoek Corp. This was for an eight-story, 176-unit apartment building with over 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at Main Street and 103rd Avenue Northeast, called North of Main.
Because that project had already vested under existing zoning, it will move forward unaffected by the interim rules; construction was expected to potentially begin in early 2026. The interim control instead applies to other Main Street properties that have not yet entered the permitting process.
Interim official controls are a tool that state law allows cities to use to impose regulations quickly, for up to six months at a time, while longer-term policy is developed. They require a public hearing within 60 days of adoption. City staff have said the approach gives Bellevue time to study and craft permanent standards for the corridor without holding up development decisions during that process.
The regulations do not require developers to keep existing businesses or tenants in place. The city does not have the authority to mandate that property owners retain specific commercial occupants through redevelopment.
Any future rules could shape building size, scale, or architectural design, but tenant retention would remain outside the city’s regulatory reach.
With this latest action, the interim control remains in effect while Bellevue continues weighing whether to make the Main Street development standards permanent.
