Bellevue’s Safe Parking program gives families with children who live in their vehicles a staffed place to park near Downtown Bellevue. The city has proposed moving it to Newport Presbyterian Church at 4010 120th Ave. SE because part of the current city-owned property is scheduled for demolition in 2026.
Bellevue nonprofit 4 Tomorrow runs the program under a city contract. The City Council directed staff in 2021 to look into a local safe parking program, and the pilot opened in 2024. The council extended it into 2026 in March 2025. The current lot holds up to 20 vehicles, with an average of fewer than three people per vehicle. Participants get case management, restrooms, showers, laundry, a kitchen and daytime indoor space for families. Program staff and security are on site around the clock, and the city runs a 24-hour public hotline.
Participants are pre-screened by city outreach staff and then meet with 4 Tomorrow. They must pass a background check and agree to a code of conduct that bans illegal drugs, alcohol, weapons, violence, open flames and trespassing on nearby private property. Each household works on a case plan with a goal of moving into permanent housing within 90 days.
As of February 2026, the program had served 63 households, including 95 children. Fifty-three of those households, more than 84%, moved out of homelessness with the program’s help. The city says the lot has caused no disruptions or problems for neighboring properties, and the hotline has received no complaints.
What the Newport Site Would Look Like
At the church, the program would be limited to 20 vehicles at a time and would accept passenger cars only. It would serve families with children exclusively. Newport Presbyterian already runs its own safe parking program for up to eight vehicles driven by single women.
That program would be folded into the city’s, though the city has not said how single women would be served under the family-only rule. Staff, security and site hosts would be on site at all times, and participants would meet with staff privately in on-site offices.
How the Site Gets Approved
The move needs a temporary public safety facility permit, which city staff approve without public notice or a comment period. It also needs a review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), which does include public notice and comment. When the city last updated its relocation FAQ in March, no date had been set for the SEPA decision.
Neighbor Response
City staff and church members went door to door near the church in early February. The church held a community meeting on Feb. 25. On May 16, the city held an open house at the church with 4 Tomorrow, Bellevue Police and Fire, and the city’s homelessness outreach, neighborhoods and conflict resolution teams.
A Change.org petition started Feb. 27 asks the City Council to pause the Newport site, adopt siting and safety criteria with neighborhood input, and move the program somewhere else. It has 172 signatures. The petition says the site would hold 80 to 100 vehicles; the city’s limit is 20. At a June 23 public hearing on the city’s 2027–28 budget, several neighbors asked the council to hold off on the move until the city produces a documented site analysis.
The city says more than 50 vehicles were recently counted being used as someone’s main residence in Bellevue. The Bellevue School District reported 651 students experiencing homelessness in the previous school year.
The city says it will announce more community meetings and ways to give feedback. The SEPA review will open a public comment period before a decision is made.
