Bellevue considers protections against megahomes

The streets a few blocks west of Bellevue Square are shaded by leafy trees and boast views of Lake Washington. They also are jammed with "megahomes" — outsize, new houses that have replaced older, smaller homes and cut off panoramic views.

Bellevue has tried to regulate such outsize homes in the past and is taking up the issue again now, despite the construction slowdown caused by the recession. A hearing on ordinances that would put more limits on the size of new single-family homes is slated for May 13.

That's a relief to some residents. For Kathy Gwilym, it's just too late.

"What's going to be left for them to save?" said Gwilym, a West Bellevue resident who has been objecting to megahomes for years.

Gwilym noticed a shift toward megahomes six or seven years ago. The stoop of her century-old, 1,600-square-foot home offers a prime view of a three-story house being built across the street, which blocks part of her view of Lake Washington. Towering homes rob neighbors of sunlight and privacy, she said.

"We have so many new homes, we just feel like everything has changed," said Gwilym, who moved into her home 37 years ago. "We've lost the character of what brought us here."

But redevelopment of older neighborhoods is healthy, bringing new families and increasing property values, builder Todd Lozier said. "With everything happening in downtown Bellevue, it adds a sense of vibrancy."

Certain neighborhoods adjacent to downtown have seen most of the change, city officials said.

In 2004-05, 28 percent of all new homes in the city were built in Northwest Bellevue, said Cheryl Kuhn, the city's neighborhood-outreach manager. Those neighborhoods already are developed, which means most of those new homes replaced old ones that were torn down.

Then, in 2007, the city passed laws to deal with problems such as lots cleared of mature trees, Kuhn said. The city now requires preservation of 30 percent of trees on a lot. It also stopped people from piling up dirt to raise the grade to make homes taller, and it required more greenery in front yards.

The ordinances under consideration deal with size and scale and other construction issues, she said. If passed by the City Council, the ordinances could limit building height to 35 feet and facades to 40 feet, and also would require that houses bigger than 50 percent of the lot size would trigger requirements including 7-½ feet setbacks from neighboring lots and techniques to limit shading of adjacent homes.

Kuhn has seen homes reach 40 to 50 feet high.

The ordinances are "aimed at the kind of developments that do impact the character and appearance of our existing neighborhoods," Kuhn said. "The city is addressing the most negative impacts of redevelopment and trying to do something about those."

Builder Lozier, president and co-owner of Lochwood-Lozier Custom Homes, would like more flexibility in size and scale based on lot size in the new ordinances, but he doesn't object to height restrictions and other proposals. He knows it is hard for neighborhoods dealing with builders who don't appear to care about neighborhood character.

New ordinances can't change the aftermath of a previous frenzy, such as the one in West Bellevue.

New homeowners in the neighborhood — those with custom homes and those who bought from builders — said location was the main draw. Residents with bigger houses, some ranging up to 8,000 square feet, have heard that neighbors didn't like mature trees being removed or disliked the height of a new home's roof.

Karen Pray and her husband bought their 4,200-square-foot home two years ago and haven't heard any complaints. They chose West Bellevue for the school system and because they liked the house, which was then being built.

Their house replaced a small one similar to another nearby house with about 700 square feet of living space, according to public-property records. When small homes like that need renovations, Pray said it makes sense to replace them.

"At some point, houses just get too old," she said.

Doug Leigh, a West Bellevue resident who served on a committee studying the ordinances, said people don't always mind new homes and the rise in property values, but they might object to styles that don't fit in with the neighborhood.

"That's one of the challenges, trying to create a smoother transition," he said.

Gwilym hopes people will learn to value smaller homes like hers.

"I think these megahomes are passé," she said. "Hopefully people will start investing in smaller homes like ours that are more energy-efficient and find they not only can save expenses but conserve."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com

The information in this article, originally published April 27, 2009, was corrected July 15, 2009. A story about a proposal to restrict the size and scale of megahomes in Bellevue inaccurately said the city is considering limiting new homes to 50 percent of lot size. It should have said, according to the proposal, if a house is bigger than 50 percent of the lot, it would trigger requirements including 7-½ feet setbacks from neighboring lots and techniques to limit shading of adjacent homes.