Bellevue homeowners could lose property to make room for new fire station

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- It’s an entity that works to save lives and property, but plans for a new fire station in Bellevue could mean the loss of some people’s homes.

The city of Bellevue has said one more fire station is necessary to handle the growth in this city, but we talked to homeowners who say it’ll come at a price, not just of their homes but their livelihood.

Walking us through each room in their Bellevue house, Richard Edgar says he and his wife, Frances planned every detail so they could stay independent.

“We built this house, which we had been planning for years, because it would be a place close to the hospital, the library, the post office the banks,” said Edgar.

What they hoped would be their forever home may not be the case after all, as the city of Bellevue plans to acquire their land and their neighbor’s to build a new Fire Station 10.



According to the city’s website, the new station will:

-close gaps in response times

-respond to expected growth from just over 7000 in 2010 to 19-thousand by 2030

But Frances Edgar isn’t buying it.

“You just can’t be moving elderly people around here or there at the whim of city politicians,” said Frances Edgar.

She and her husband prepare to fight with the help of their neighbors.

The Edgars and their Northtowne Community say the homeowners didn’t get a chance to give input before the city decided the location. They said if it could happen to them, then it could happen to anyone.

“The disruption, the chaos and to pack up in a time you don’t want to is very disruptive; it’s emotionally straining, painful,” said Edgar.

Bellevue voters would still need to approve a ballot measure in November to give the city the money to fund the Fire Station 10 project.