City of Bellingham
We are monitoring the City of Bellingham, including City Council and Planning Commission. See the Hearing Examiner for public hearings on development projects. The City has an interactive map of development projects and posts Planning's development notices here.
Meeting Update Reports
5/30/24
The City Council continues their discussion regarding the Silver Beach Neighborhood Rezone on June 3rd during the City Council's Meeting of the Whole, and later that evening when the Council is anticipated to direct action on a final ordinance. See Whatcom Environmental Council's original comments here and our updated comments here. If the Council doesn't take action, a public hearing on extending the development moratorium will be held.
Also during the Meeting of the Whole, Council members will be briefed on The Bellingham Plan, the 2025 periodic update to the Comprehensive Plan.
Bellingham Urban Growth Area, 1997
Bellingham Plan
2025 Periodic Update to the Comprehensive Plan
https://cob.org/services/planning/comprehensive-plan/periodic-update
Population and Employment Projections
The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires Whatcom County and the cities to accommodate the growth that is expected in the next 20 years (2045). While the State provides a range of county growth projections, the decision as to which projection to choose is left to Whatcom County in collaboration with the cities. Population and employment projections are then allocated to cities and their Urban Growth Areas (UGAs).
Whatcom County and the cities are currently (June 2024) going through the projection and allocation process. Elected officials have begun quarterly meetings to discuss the process and policy implications.
Click here for the Technical Report prepared by Leland Consulting Group, "Population and Employment: Growth Projections and Preliminary Allocations", May 7, 2024.
Growth Alternatives
Several growth alternatives will be developed to evaluate ways the City might grow in the next 20 years. These alternatives are meant to "represent a different approach, driven by a proposed land use map and supported by policies that would help implement that approach." Public and decision-maker input will help define what is brought into the preferred alternative.
At the June 3rd City Council meeting, staff showed three action alternatives:
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Urban Village Focus - addition of two new mid-sized Urban Villages and emphasis on middle-scale housing near all Urban Villages
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Transit-Oriented Growth - focus on new growth along high frequency transit routes, with mid-scale housing near these routes. Addition of three new Urban Villages along transit routes
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Complete Neighborhoods - spreading growth around the city, focusing on providing small-scale commercial uses in every neighborhood with middle-scale housing nearby. Addition of some area to the north and south that the city could eventually grow into (UGA)
