The Bellevue Planning Commission voted May 13 to recommend a package of code amendments that the City Council can adopt to address the impacts of “megahomes” in existing neighborhoods.

A discussion about those regulations will take place during the council’s June 8 study session, 6 p.m. at City Hall.

The proposed guidelines include:

· Establishing maintenance standards for abandoned-building sites and vacant houses.

· Increasing tree retention requirements from 15 to 30 percent for new subdivisions.

· Revising noise construction hours for remodels and additions to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

· Reducing the lifespan of building permits from three years to two years for single-family residences.

· Establishing separate setback requirements for mechanical equipment installed with new single family-home construction.

The proposed regulations also aim to address concerns about incompatible size and scale of new homes and remodels by implementing one or more of the following:

· Establish development standards for houses over the size threshold of 0.5 Floor Area Ratio (building square footage exceeding 50 percent of lot square footage). Standards would require setbacks and roof styles to protect neighboring homes from loss of sunlight and privacy.

· Limit single-family building height to 35 feet from average existing grade to the ridge of a pitched roof or 30 feet to the top of a flat roof.

· Limit the highest façade of a single family building to 40 feet from the ground to the top of the roof.

The council adopted an initial phase of regulatory and procedural changes in 2007 to address three areas of concern: loss of trees and greenscape; infringement on privacy and sunlight; and impacts of construction activity.

To understand how these regulations apply to a specific project, contact the Land Use and Zoning Information desk at 425.452.4188 or LandUseReview@bellevuewa.gov.