BELLEVUE – Bellevue’s City Council postponed a vote Monday night, which would have allowed Sound Transit to take the next step in building the East Link and made a suprise move that could affect some 50 homeowners.
The Council failed to reach internal agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding with the agency, which included financial particulars and burdens on the transit tunnel through downtown. Several council members suggested they needed more time to read the document, and understand the ramifications.
During the same study session, the council also voted 6-1 to suggest Sound Transit use eminent domain and do a “total take” of roughly 50 homes along 112th Avenue in the Surrey Downs subdivision. Council members suggested it would be better than a “partial take” for homeowners like Susan Ilvanakis.
“I feel like we have the Scarlet Letter,” said Ilvanakis. Her home borders 112th. She’s felt in limbo as city leaders have negotiated the next steps.
“I don’t want to say you’re sacrificing the neighborhood for the tunnel, but that’s how a lot of us feel,” she said.
She vowed to keep fighting after the vote Monday.
A Sound Transit spokesperson had no comment on the vote, or the MOU delay. The agency’s board is meeting Thursday and had hoped to advance the project to the final planning stages.
Bellevue’s City Council also voted Monday to have a public hearing November 7 on the Memorandum of Understanding, and a vote on the document November 14.
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