Recap: 2024 Annual Conference

Over the course of October 16-18, the City of Bellevue served as the proud host for the 2024 APA WA Annual Conference. The theme this year was Renewing the Plans: Embracing Innovation & Resiliency. I’d like to thank fellow conference co-chair Nancy Eklund, the many volunteers from across the state and locally who helped plan the proceedings, numerous event sponsors, and the WA APA Board for their support. And, of course, a big Thank You to our conference coordinator, Stephanie Martinez.

A record 630 attendees gathered in Downtown Bellevue. Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Councilmember, Donny Stevenson provided a tribal welcome to open the conference and shared his experience on the Muckleshoot Tribal Council, a role he considers to be the greatest honor of his professional life. The Bellevue mayor and deputy mayor shared their thoughts on the importance of planning and community engagement from their perspective as policymakers in a fast-growing city like Bellevue.

Conference goers had the opportunity to hear from filmmaker and keynote speaker, John Paget speak about the importance of story-telling and how it’s shaped his view, as well as the empowerment of towns and cities across the nation. Venturing outside the U.S., Rick Steves (yes, that Rick Steves) tied observations from his many adventures, and what can make travel destinations so great, to the planning and placemaking happening here back home. The importance of piazzas and people- friendly spaces is something he encouraged folks to embrace in their work, as he’s doing right now in Edmonds where he resides.

The breakout sessions provided a great opportunity to learn from one another and meet new people. I talked with a number of attendees who had not been to Bellevue previously, or it was their first state conference. Kudos to all who took the time to prepare and present! A total of 36 sessions, a Plan Slam (keep it under seven minutes, please), and four mobile workshops (all done by light rail and/or walking) kept people engaged over the three days. But that’s not all! The opening reception at the Puget Sound Energy headquarters, pub crawl (with over 100 people in three groups), and 6:15 AM. fun run filled in the early and late hours.

The generosity of conference attendees was able to raise $7,500 for the planning of student scholarship programs at the University of Washington, Western Washington University, and Eastern Washington University. Thank you to all who contributed.

That’s a wrap for 2024 APA WA Bellevue. I’m already looking forward to next year in Tacoma.

Emil King, AICP
Community Development Director
City of Bellevue