Bellevue’s Development Services Department coordinates building permits, land-use review, clearing and grading, utilities, fire review, and right-of-way permitting. The City’s permitting process is fully electronic through MyBuildingPermit, where applicants can submit applications and plans, check permit status, pay invoices, and request inspections. Land-use planners separately apply Bellevue’s Land Use Code to zoning, subdivisions, conditional uses, variances, and other development decisions.
Environmental conditions can significantly affect what can be built on a Bellevue property. The Critical Areas Overlay District protects streams, wetlands, flood-hazard areas, geological hazards, and habitat for species of local importance, generally with buffers or setbacks around protected features. Development that disturbs or modifies a critical area or its buffer can require a Critical Areas Land Use Permit. Shoreline properties follow additional rules under Bellevue’s Shoreline Master Program, and even work exempt from a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit may still require City shoreline review.
Tree protection is another prominent local requirement. Bellevue regulates retention and replacement of trees during development and requires permits for removal of qualifying significant or landmark trees in many situations. Different procedures apply when trees are within critical areas, protected vegetation tracts, or public right-of-way, so tree removal should be evaluated together with the site’s land-use and environmental constraints.
Right-of-way activity is reviewed separately by Development Services. Driveways, fences, landscaping, utility connections, construction staging, parking, loading, lane closures, and other uses of public streets or sidewalks can require a right-of-way permit. Applicants can start with the City’s permit process overview and identify zoning, critical-area, shoreline, tree, and right-of-way requirements before submitting plans.