Responding to residents upset by the number of rambler teardowns in the Northtowne neighborhood being replaced by large, multimillion-dollar homes, Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci on Monday called for increased study and outreach ahead of subarea planning next year.

Monday was the second night in as many weeks that  members of the Northtowne Neighborhood Association told councilmembers they are worried how these larger developments are affecting the integrity of their neighborhood and exacerbating traffic issues there.

“It’s a trend that you actually do see during an up-cycle in the development cycle,” Balducci said Monday.

One club member on its steering committee told the Reporter Tuesday the group reenergized in 2013 to address speeding drivers on Bellevue Way, but then teardowns began occurring, now at around 44 over the past 18 months. Members of the association are also upset that much of the new developments are speculative homes that sit vacant for months.

Balducci said she’s interested in exploring ideas presented by the neighborhood association about amending rules for what types of homes can be built in Northtowne, such as a proposal to short plat some properties to allow more cottage-style homes to be built on a smaller footprint.

“They took an interest. They asked for it to go forward to staff for investigation,” said Janet Jelleff with the association. “We’ve been asking for this for a while and I think this was a major breakthrough for us.”

Jelleff said Northtowne residents don’t oppose tearing down aging homes, but want their replacements to be more in scale to those that already exist. She said demand for property in her neighborhood is so high, she and other neighbors are frequently solicited by investors wanting to buy their homes.

Councilmember John Stokes noted other neighborhoods in Bellevue might not prefer the city imposing smaller lot sizes, but Balducci said specialized policies have been implemented before, such as more stringent tree restrictions in Bridle Trails that do not exist throughout the rest of the city.

Stokes told the Reporter Tuesday that after the Korean War a lot of construction took place in Bellevue, such as the types of ramblers now being torn down in Northtowne for “McMansions.” Just like many of the large, upscale homes being built now, back in the late 50s and 60s many homes were built as spec houses.

“I think what their concern is, and the other night they were very clear, that these were foreigners, they didn’t say Chinese, but maybe other people with money who rush in and kind of have no regard for the neighborhoods,” Stokes said.

He said he favors a comprehensive analysis of all Bellevue neighborhoods, not simply putting those at the top of the city’s priority list based on the number of complaints received. Part of that will involve renewed visions for each neighborhood that would guide regulations for building heights and setbacks in the future.

Jelleff said neighborhood association members will attend the Nov. 17 council meeting for a public hearing on the 2015-16 budget.

“I don’t think anyone knows the answer right now,” Stokes said, “but it is a problem and it needs to be tackled.”