August 22, 2023

Effort to stop 35-home development at Bellevue's Coal Creek buoyed by $9M grant

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Map showing the site of Isola Homes’ proposed development. Nonprofit Save Coal Creek wants the city of Bellevue to purchase the land and conserve it as public open space.

Nonprofit Save Coal Creek is celebrating after the group's goal of stopping a new housing development within Bellevue's Coal Creek wilderness area near Newcastle inches closer to success.

Since 2019, the group has been advocating for the city of Bellevue to purchase two parcels of land covering 12.3 acres at 7219 and 7331 Lakemont Blvd. S.E. from private developer Isola Homes.

Isola is proposing to develop the site, located at what was formerly an active coal mining area, with 35 luxury single-family homes. Save Coal Creek says the project would be detrimental to the surrounding natural area and wildlife. The non-profit wants the city to buy the land and instead conserve it as public open space for the community and local wildlife.

Hopes for that purchase have been buoyed by a recent $9.2 million grant from King County to the city of Bellevue to support its proposed purchase of 18-acres of private lands, which include the Isola Homes parcels, for a conservation project.

The money was granted to support the city of Bellevue's Cougar Mountain Connections Project. That project calls for the acquisition of private lands both east and west of Lakemont Boulevard to add to existing parks and improve connections in the city's regional trail system. Trail connections would be made in the Lakemont trail system, Lakemont and Lewis Creek Community Parks, and to over 35 miles of trails in Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, according to a press release from King County. With the land purchase, the city would also expand the capacity of the Red Town trailhead, including more parking for hikers.

The city applied for the funding in February and the award was announced at the end of July. The money comes from the Conservation Futures grant program.

While a positive indication that Bellevue will move ahead with approaching Isola Homes about buying its land, the receipt of the grant is not a commitment to do so, and the city council has yet to formally announce its intent to pursue a sale. If a land sale were to go ahead, the council would first need to approve a 25 percent funding match. A representative from Save Coal Creek said they do not know when that funding match might be discussed or announced.

In a statement responding to the $9.2 million grant, Bellevue mayor Lynne Robinson thanked King County for the money and said the city is “always looking to bolster our image as a ‘city in a park,' and we also wish to preserve our mining heritage where we can. This generous funding could make it possible to do both.”

Isola Homes purchased the parcels at Lakemont Blvd. S.E. in 2016 and 2017 for a combined total of $3.8 million. The land formerly belonged to the now-deceased Newcastle historian Milt Swanson. Swanson's family homestead still stands on the site.

As revealed by public records, Isola's plans for the land include the development of 35 luxury homes, with two levels and up to 3,275 square feet, and associated parking. The homes would be built on approximately half of the 12.3-acre site. The remaining six or so acres would be preserved as open space. Responding to Save Coal Creek's opposition to the development, Isola Homes told the Seattle Times that it has voluntarily decided to dedicate those six-acres to be used by the Bellevue parks system. This dedication will allow an existing trail connection that crosses the site to be preserved.

In addition to the homes, the proposed development would entail significant landscaping including the construction of two new roads to serve the community. Lemons Architecture is the architect for the project which is called Park Pointe.

On Jan. 26 of this year, the city of Bellevue issued a notice of decision on the Critical Area Land Use Permit application, and a SEPA determination, for the Park Pointe development. The critical area land use permit was approved with conditions and a mitigated SEPA determination of non-significance was issued.

Save Coal Creek has submitted to appeal these decisions. The developer and non-profit are now awaiting the city's Hearing Examiner's final decision on whether or not to grant development permits for the project, and if so with what conditions. A date for that decision has not been set.

In a press release announcing the Conservation Futures grant, King County councilmember Reagan Dunn commended Save Coal Creek for its efforts to conserve the land as public space. “The Cougar Mountain Connections project is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to conserve our green space, fill in a critical wildlife corridor, and preserve local history while also adding more trails to one of our region's most popular hiking destinations,” Dunn said in the release. “Thank you to Save Coal Creek for highlighting the need to conserve these lands for generations to come and to the City of Bellevue for working to make this project a reality,” he added.

Save Coal Creek previously told the DJC that if the city does buy the site it would like to work with them on transforming the Swanson homestead into a visitors center/museum that would tell the history of coal mining in the area.

“We are hoping that the Conservation Futures grant from King County proves to be a persuasive amount of money for the city to move ahead with the purchase,' Sally Lawrence, a member of Save Coal Creek, shared.

Coal was first found in Newcastle/Coal Creek in 1864. By 1918 the area along Lakemont Boulevard Southeast had grown into a thriving coal town with a population of 1,000. Coal mining finally ended there in 1963. The largest coal mining company in the area, Pacific Coast Coal Co., ceased operations many years earlier in 1929, amidst the great depression. Between 1864 and 1963, 11 million tons of coal were dug at Coal Creek and in the surrounding area. Visiting today it is hard to imagine this past. Wooden railroad tracks that were built along the creek to transport coal were pulled out in 1937 and nature has reclaimed much of the creek and the surrounding area.