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PLUSH debriefs what to expect locally, statewide for 2025 housing policy chats
PLUSH debriefs what to expect locally, statewide for 2025 housing policy chats

Our PLUSH (Permitting, Land Use, Sustainability, and Housing) Committee put their policy hats on this last month, as we received a briefing from the Association of Washington Business and our Committee chair, Jessie Clawson, on upcoming housing discussions across the state. Morgan Irwin,... Continue Reading

Date posted10/25/2024


Council unanimously approves City of Bellevue’s 20-year Comp Plan update
Council unanimously approves City of Bellevue’s 20-year Comp Plan update

After years of painstaking work by City of Bellevue staff, Council unanimously approved the Comp Plan update for 2024-2044 last week. Most recently updated in 2015, the Comp Plan acts as a guide for growth and development for the next two decades, and the most recent iteration includes plans for... Continue Reading

Date posted10/24/2024


PLUSH Committee urges City to further streamline, revise downtown design review guidelines
PLUSH Committee urges City to further streamline, revise downtown design review guidelines

On Monday, October 21, the Chamber’s PLUSH (Permitting, Land Use, Sustainability & Housing) Committee submitted a letter to the City of Bellevue’s Planning Commission regarding the revision of downtown’s design guidelines, particularly as it relates to the implementation of... Continue Reading

Date posted10/22/2024


Chamber, BDA submit joint letter regarding City budget
Chamber, BDA submit joint letter regarding City budget

The Bellevue Chamber and BDA (Bellevue Downtown Association) recently submitted a letter to the City regarding the budget and CIP (Capital Improvement Program). Read it below! Continue Reading

Date posted10/22/2024


Transportation Committee talk through Initiative 2117, start curb pricing convo
Transportation Committee talk through Initiative 2117, start curb pricing convo

For a bulk of the Chamber’s October Transportation Committee meeting, our advocacy members received an update on Initiative 2117 from Morgan Irwin, the Government Affairs Director for the Association of Washington Business (AWB). Irwin began by discussing the alternative revenue sources that... Continue Reading

Date posted10/15/2024


Policy Council gears up for election, 2025 legislative session
Policy Council gears up for election, 2025 legislative session

The Chamber’s Policy Council met in early October, and during its meeting, heard from voter behavior experts, City officials, and our very own advocacy leaders as we gear up for the election and upcoming legislative session. Kicking things off was Tony Williams and Jeff Bjornstad with W2A... Continue Reading

Date posted10/11/2024


PLUSH Committee learn about Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, previews COB’s legislative action
PLUSH Committee learn about Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, previews COB’s legislative action

At the September 24 meeting for the Bellevue Chamber’s PLUSH Committee, members learned a bit about Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, and previewed the City of Bellevue’s upcoming legislative actions. C.W. Early, Senior Managing Director at JLL, was on the advisory team working... Continue Reading

Date posted09/25/2024


Diane Carlson unanimously confirmed as Bellevue City Manager
Diane Carlson unanimously confirmed as Bellevue City Manager

The City of Bellevue has been looking for a new City Manager since Brad Miyake's departure at the end of 2023, but as of last night, Diane Carlson, who has been serving as Acting City Manager since then, has been officially — and should we mention, unanimously? — confirmed to the... Continue Reading

Date posted09/18/2024


BSD’s Dr. Aramaki discusses district goals with Policy Council
BSD’s Dr. Aramaki discusses district goals with Policy Council

At the Bellevue Chamber’s most recent Policy Council meeting, we were joined by Bellevue School District superintendent, Dr. Kelly Aramaki, as he gave an update on BSD’s programming updates, mission goals, and policy initiatives. The council was intrigued to hear about the innovative... Continue Reading

Date posted09/16/2024


Chamber’s Alberts weighs in on 5G successes in Bellevue
Chamber’s Alberts weighs in on 5G successes in Bellevue

Our VP of Government Affairs, Jodie Alberts, spoke at Bellevue City Council recently alongside Ken Lyons with Wireless Policy Group and several representatives from T-Mobile, ultimately thanking City staff for their work on expanding 5G facilities throughout town. “This has truly been years... Continue Reading

Date posted08/15/2024


Policy Council chats cross-Chamber collaboration, receives Wilburton update
Policy Council chats cross-Chamber collaboration, receives Wilburton update

At the Bellevue Chamber Policy Council’s July meeting, we were joined by Rachel Smith — President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce — as we discussed how to further deepen the relationship between our chambers, specifically as it applies to regional issues... Continue Reading

Date posted07/17/2024


East King Chambers Coalition hosts six electeds at Legislative Wrap-Up event
East King Chambers Coalition hosts six electeds at Legislative Wrap-Up event

Chateau Ste. Michelle saw a slightly different crowd than usual last month, as we joined our fellow Eastside chambers of commerce, local government affairs specialists, and elected leaders for a Legislative Wrap-Up session. Six state legislators were able to hop on mic — Sen. Mark Mullet,... Continue Reading

Date posted07/1/2024