Driving through the cul-de-sacs of Spiritwood, Stephanie Walter points out the idiosyncrasies of neighborhood life – the dog owners, families with young children and new arrivals.

“If I’m not mistaken, they’ve lived here since the time the neighborhood was developed,” says Walter, pointing to one stately house. “She was a second grade teacher and of course, it’s just beautiful at Christmas time when the lights go up.”

Around the corner, in a meticulously well-kept front yard, a woman gardens.

“I love this house,” says Walter, pausing again. “This nice lady slowly painted her own house in little bits and pieces, and comes out and works fastidiously on her yard.”

But Spiritwood, a neighborhood built in the 1950s, and called by many a “sleepy community,” has undergone changes in recent months. In May, residents of the low-density, single-family neighborhood began noticing the redevelopment of several properties. A three-bedroom house was renovated to eight bedrooms without appropriate permits. Concerned neighbors began exchanging notes and soon realized that five properties in a several block radius were owned by a handful of property owners, several of them seemingly related: 1613 144th Ave. SE by Blue Sky Equities LLC; 1718 144th Ave. SE by HG Investment Group LLC; 1722 144th Ave. SE by AS Wealth Group LLC; 14424 SE 17th St. by C&S Real Estate LLC; and 2017 146th Place SE by US Wealth Management Group.

Neighbors think the redevelopments are already operating as, or could become boarding houses, a trend they worry could come to define their area.

“It’s a type of housing that seems to be pervasive or popping up around Bellevue,” says Walter. “It’s something the city needs to wrestle with. [We’ve always had] mother-in-law apartments and rented rooms to boarders…But we want our neighborhood to stay a neighborhood.”

Residents, who have voiced their concerns at past City Council meetings and have met and exchanged emails several times with city staff and council, say that the reason for the expansions could be twofold. Spiritwood is one of Bellevue’s few modestly priced neighborhoods and Bellevue College’s expansion into a four-year institution will grow the student body without first meeting the housing demand. BC doesn’t have plans to build dorms until years down the line.

The changes are indicative of bigger trends in Bellevue: the paucity of affordable housing, the complications of city zoning and a still recovering real estate market. Bellevue is in the process of updating its comprehensive plan, last modified in 2004, and with it, its vision for Bellevue neighborhoods.

“The pressure of growth is being felt citywide, but also in single-family neighborhoods” says Deputy Mayor Jennifer Robertson, who adds that in her years working with the planning commission, neighbors from Crossroads, Lake Hills and East Lake Hills complained of houses not meeting the character or proportions of the neighborhood. The issue is not a new one.

Changing neighborhoods

Neighbors believe there are five houses in Spiritwood being used as rentals or boarding houses, though they’re keeping their eyes on several other properties also thought to be at risk.

“If this takes off and becomes a new model,” says Nanette Fricke of Spiritwood, “we could be in trouble as a city.”

City code defines Spiritwood as a single-family neighborhood and defines boarding houses as dwellings where boarders are housed for profit. Under the existing land use code, occupants of a single-family dwelling who meet the definition of family (one or more persons, but not more than six unrelated persons living together) can rent out up to two rooms for profit, permitting they meet the right criteria. But that line has been blurred by the new developments.

The squat yellow house at 1613, designed as a three bedroom, underwent renovation to become an eight-bedroom house. Neighbors complained, suspecting that the work was being conducted without permits. The city issued a stop work order, though neighbors say the house was occupied at different times by what they observed was a disparate group of people.

Down the street at 1722, the house used to be a rental before it was torn down and sat as a vacant lot for several years during the bad economy. In July of last year the empty plot was purchased for $270,000. Early designs indicate that it was designed to be a three-story duplex, which falls outside the parameters of Spiritwood’s single-family zoning.

Neighbors watched as the footprint of the new structure was laid. Though only the frame has gone up, already it dwarfs many of the adjacent houses. Neighbors worried that the property owners could attempt to change zoning in Spiritwood to include multi-family residences. In response, the city ordered property owners to resubmit permits meeting zoning standards, by removing features like a second kitchen.

“Not only will it reduce the livability of the neighbors’ homes [with] no light and no view of the sky,” says Walter, “but also the value of the property will raise the assessed values of the neighboring houses causing property taxes to rise.”

Next door, 1718 is one of the residences neighbors know to be occupied. Several cars are parked in front and residents have noted the people coming and going aren’t related. When brought to the city’s attention, staff confirmed the garage had been converted to a living space without appropriate permits. The final two properties, 14424 and 2017, have had minor cosmetic work done, say neighbors, but no serious redevelopment. The house at 2017, neighbors also say, is being rented.

Mediation offered

“The ideal way is to get two parties to talk to one another and to resolve these issues,” says Emily Christensen, chief communications officer for the city of Bellevue, “especially if the current situation doesn’t violate any land use code, which at this point we haven’t determined any violation.”

Christensen explained the city had met with a representative of the property owners and proposed mediation between neighbors and the owners. Mediation allows the city to facilitate a dialogue between parties and would likely take place in August. Christensen also clarifies while some of the properties were missing appropriate permits early on, there are not outstanding offenses based on the information provided to the city.

Robertson says the city will need to tackle this in a multi-pronged fashion, while keeping an eye on other neighborhoods potentially impacted.

None of the property owners could be reached for comment.

“I remember neighborhood folks coming to planning commissions,” recalls Robertson, “sharing that there were eight cars [on their street]. That really puts a lot of pressure on single-family neighborhoods where kids want to ride bikes on the street, or eight cars are coming and going out of one house. That can be challenging.”

David Pater, who lives across from 1613, says he’s lived in Spiritwood since 1997. An environmental planner with the state, he understands the neighborhood’s concerns present a difficult intersection of issues.

“Our concern is this particular developer or agent is implementing a boarding house model in the neighborhood to maximize profit. He’s turning properties into businesses,” says Pater. “We’re not trying to target anybody, we just want a solution to preserve the quality of life in the neighborhood.”