Bellevue Working To Annex Factoria -- People In Area Get Little Say About It

FACTORIA - The Factoria area, as the story goes, got its name from developers at the turn of the century. They were selling lots on a hillside overlooking a site where they said a large furniture factory was going to be built.

"The deal was, if you bought a building lot for a home you'd be guaranteed a job in the factory," said John Starbard, a Bellevue city official. "The factory was never built, but the name stuck."

Eventually, though, economic development did come - in the form of a shopping center, a movie theater and office buildings. So did congestion and lax building codes.

Although Factoria is surrounded by Bellevue, it's part of unincorporated King County. But maybe not for long - Starbard has been working on a deal to bring it under Bellevue's control.

He predicts the City Council will vote on the annexation deal Monday. If it's approved, he says, Factoria could be part of Bellevue by the end of the year.

About 500 people live in the proposed annexation area, but they don't have much say in the matter. To take control of Factoria, Bellevue needs approval from just the owners of property equal to at least 60 percent of the area's total assessed property value. Because of the large parcels of valuable commercial land, that means just three property owners and the City Council will decide the issue.

The three: the owners of the Factoria Square Shopping Center; Sterling Realty Organization, which owns land under the Factoria Cinemas land, and Basil Vyzis, a developer who owns the five-building Newport Corporate Center.

On the surface, the annexation issue is akin to an arranged marriage. Bellevue appears to be in it for the money, and the property owners appear to be in it for the security. Starbard is negotiating the prenuptial agreement.

Annexing the 147-acre area would pad Bellevue's bankbook by $2 million a year in tax revenue, Starbard says, while Factoria would get faster police service from Bellevue as well as some road improvements and speedier permit review for future development.

Factoria, though, has a past that may be hard for some suitors to overlook. Access and zoning are a mess. Although it's at the intersection of two major freeways - Interstates 90 and 405 - there's no direct way to get on or off the freeway there, and traffic is often atrocious.

City Councilwoman Margot Blacker is one of those concerned.

"There are serious traffic problems in the Factoria area caused by the generous development that has been allowed there," Blacker said in a memo to city staffers.

Zoning was the major sticking point in the annexation talks. The zoning that now covers Factoria is below par when compared with Bellevue's stricter codes. The high-rise office buildings in Factoria, for instance, never would have been allowed in Bellevue, where the only high-rises are downtown.

The city and property have worked out zoning that basically transfers King County's codes, but would gradually phase in Bellevue's codes.

To some boosters of the annexation, the idea of bringing Factoria into Bellevue makes a lot of sense. It's already surrounded on all sides by Bellevue. People living in Bellevue shop, work and go to movies there.

Getting its hands on Factoria may also be an opportunity for Bellevue to solve some of the traffic and storm-drainage problems that spill over into Bellevue neighborhoods.

"We have had to confront the impacts generated by Factoria for decades," Starbard said. "There was little we could do because it didn't belong to us. By gaining jurisdictional control over the area, we will have the ability to address those impacts."

If annexation is approved, changes would happen gradually. The big bright signs along 128th Avenue Southeast could stay up for years. As redevelopment occurs, though, the area would look more like the rest of Bellevue.

One change that could happen soon would be road improvements the city has planned to get traffic flowing better at the north end of Factoria.

Starbard says the city has other improvement plans, including money to help control storm runoff.

"But we're not going to spend any of that money if it's not in our jurisdiction," he said.