Developer’s Fingers of Growth Extend into Rural Areas

Judy Tilley is a fifth generation Puget Sounder, having ancestors who came to the Seattle and Kitsap Peninsula areas before Washington became a state. A Whatcom County native, she is very alarmed at the continual urbanization of this county.

Many of you are aware of the many fingers of growth extending out from the city limits of Bellingham. These city limits are further augmented by Urban Growth Areas. Areas which were traditionally rural are now urban; commercial and high-density residential have replaced the once bucolic Bakerview neighborhood.

Bellingham and Whatcom County are currently conducting a five-year review of the Urban Fringe Subarea Plan, which has identified four areas to be considered for addition to Bellingham’s Urban Growth Areas.

They may be added if it is determined that demand for more land is justified because of inadequate build-out potential in the city. The availability and capacity of urban services, transportation, property owner feedback, land use and ownership patterns, etc. will be studied.

Three areas lie north of Bakerview Road and the other is the Toad Lake area. A Whatcom County Planning Department employee told me that other areas may be added, including the area where I have made my home for twenty years. If you are a mountain biker, trail horse rider or hiker, you may be familiar with Galbraith Mountain and/or Lake Padden Park.

Galbraith Mountain, a recreational mecca, is mainly zoned Commercial Forestry.. The corporations, which have owned it (Trillium, MacMillan-Bloedel, and others), traditionally have allowed recreational use of their property—it is also actively logged and reforested. Currently, they restrict use to non-motorized vehicles and have posted accordingly by access gates off Galbraith Lane.

R5A (rural: one house per five acres) zoning is in effect along Samish Way east of the Olympic Pipeline, including Gaibraith Lane up to the Tourist Commercial area surrounding the North Lake Samish 1-5 interchange. North of this rural zoning lies Gal-braith Mountain. Currently, Bellingham’s city limits are at 48th Street and Samish Way on the northern side of Samish Way but they terminate at Lake Padden Park’s eastern boundary south of Sam-ish Way. (See map)

Lake Padden Park, a many-faceted jewel in Bellingham’s park system, has urban and developed amenities such as wide graveled paths, a public swimming area, a golf course, baseball fields and picnic areas. But, much of the park is old second growth woods traversed by unimproved trails showcasing this Northwest forest. I have been startled by a barred owl staring at me from a tree limb hanging with moss. Midweek, on a hot summer day, it is eerily quiet.

At the February 26 County Council meeting, John Templeton proposed an amendment to the Growth Management Plan: rezone his sixty-acre parcel directly adjacent to the eastern portion of Lake Padden Park from R5A (rural: one house per five acres) to UR4 (urban residential: four houses per acre) and add this property to Bellingham’s Urban Growth Area to enable the extension of city utilities (sewer and water).

The council wisely voted five to two against this proposal, which denies further discussion and study by the County Council, planning department and planning commission this year. However, it may be resubmitted next year.

Three Whatcom County Council members have told me that they very strongly favor the retention of our county’s forestry/logging tradition. R5A, a rural zoning designation, is a better companion to Commercial Forestry than UR4 or any other denser residential zoning. UR4, a twenty-fold increase in density, would be incompatible for many reasons.

The paramount reason to retain R5A is precisely because it is rural: we are fewer in number, traffic is sparser and we are accustomed to logging activities. The Washington Department of Natural Resources is against rezoning to denser levels in areas adjacent to lands zoned forestry.

The visioning portion of the Growth Management Act states that rural areas should retain their rural characteristics. A corollary to this concern is that cities should contain sprawl by infilling where there are existing infrastructures to support a denser urban population.

If you value rural Whatcom County and the many ways it provides a buffer from urban areas, please contact the following: Bellingham City Council, Planning Department, Planning Commission and their counterparts in Whatcom County government. I spoke out against the proposal by John Templeton; I was the only one who testified about this request besides the proponent’s lawyer. One member of the council revealed that my testimony changed their vote from for to against.

At this same meeting, I also brought up notification guidelines, which need to be modified in several ways. I don’t know at which point adjacent property owners are notified when there are such staggering changes proposed. These changes, if allowed, would drastically alter our rural lifestyles.

Two of my neighbors who are within 300 feet of the parcel were completely unaware of any request. I found out inadvertently by inquiring about another matter. Three hundred feet may or may not be adequate for notifying owners of 50-foot city lots, but it is completely inadequate for R5A. I also think that affected property owners should be made aware of any proposed changes in the very early stages.