Why things may be happening the way they are.

I heard one time that a good law was one that everyone hated. Such is the case with the Washington State Growth Management Act. My friends on the left hate it for being too weak and my friends on the right think it's burdensome. Part of that Act let's us say so in public meetings whenever a change is made or a certain development will occur. For more than a year the Lettered Streets has been going through that long process over a rezone in Old Town. Last week's Guest Spot writer brought that to the attention of the rest of the city under the headline, “What ever happened to public process?”
The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Growth Management sections 36.70A.140, .035 and .130 say in part, “The procedures shall provide for broad dissemination of proposals and alternatives, opportunity for written comments, public meetings after effective notice, provision for open discussion, communication programs, information services, and consideration of and response to public comments.” The issue of public process is one of five top complaints about the GMA brought before the Growth Management Hearings Boards, usually when the people feel that they haven't been heard.
The question raised last week was about public process. As a person who interned in Lewis County while their Comp Plan battle was being fought and has since sat in scores of public meetings, I can attest that the process our Planning Department and, especially, the Community Development folks have gone through for Old Town was the most comprehensive I've ever seen or heard of. Whether I agree or disagree with the outcome is beside the point, their response to the general outcry in my neighborhood was outstanding.
City staff responded to the call from my neighborhood and gave us the meetings we wanted and that they could lawfully provide. And that is the real point. The outcomes from the meetings irked some folks because they want control over what Old Town will look like in the future. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism in place in the Bellingham Municipal Code (BMC) for the Lettered Streets to have ultimate control over redevelopment in Old Town, the Cradle of Bellingham.
The Lettered Streets has no covenants and our design guidelines are unenforceable, as they are in nearly every other neighborhood plan. Without enforceable guidelines that architects and developers can follow, all of us are at the mercy of a city-wide least common denominator rather than well planned and well placed, appropriate development. City staff have almost no power there and if anyone is to be blamed it us for not giving it to them. If we want to protect or create a certain appearance or function in our neighborhoods then we must give City staff the ability to carry out our wishes.
As much as we may wish no more people would come here, we have an ice cube's chance on a hot country road of stopping it. This is still a free country and by golly this is a great place to live, so can you blame newcomers for wanting a little of what we have? The bottom line is that people are coming and we voted for a law that says we have to accommodate them. So let's stop bickering about how we don't want more people and, instead, reach development solutions that look good and function well for Bellingham.
PS: I didn't even know they printed that. I sent it in but never got confirmation on it. Anyway, I sent them another since they got the facts of Marilyn and my positions incorrect in the Editors comments up front about me not being elected (I am annually) and Marilyn being elected (she can't be, our bylaws have no provision for that - she's appointed). A phone call to me would have straightened that out. I am, however, bugged about how they set me up as taking an opposite position from Marilyn, esp. since we agree on more than 90% of the topic. The only disagreement we have is she wants no growth and I don't mind - either way we both want whatever happens to work well and fit in. Hmmmmm...makes me wonder about the Indy.
Michael McAuley
mcauley@qwest.net

Broadway Parkway Street Lights

Wow, take a look at the GREAT new street lights along the new Boradway Parkway.

OK Folks, we have seen the PLAN. It's time for your input.

The Old Town Plan is available: Meetings and Hearing postponed until 2006.
http://www.cob.org/documents/planning/growth/2005%20Old%20Town/2005-08-17-gglo-powerpoint.pdf.

Old Town Plan

Old Town Plan
I've taken a look at the slide show presented by the planners at the last Old Town meeting. Over all, I think they have presented a good plan, much better than we had a year ago. I think that the way the agenda was focused helped focus the discussion on the big issues. 1. View, 2. History, 3. Design, 4. Height .

I feel that the designers were given a task and did it well. However, I do not feel that this should be the end of community input. This is a start.
1 / 4. View / Height. I feel that looking at the tops of several 4 story building for the bluff along Dupont and Prospect is rather boring. I still would like to see the building vary from 1 story to 9+ stories in the filled area, depending upon the view from the bluff or street opening and 10 to 20 stories along the bluff. I don’t feel that we should be afraid of tall buildings in Bellingham as long as many of the existing views are preserved and open, public, ground level space is provided.
2. Design I would like the Old Brick Building to have more space, with the original 2 stories exposed by putting in retaining walls and pumps if required.
3. I would like to see a more “Historic” design standard; however, the planners did a good job of blending in their illustrations.
I feel that Old Town should still be a part of the Lettered Streets Neighborhood, especially the neighborhood between Holly, Broadway, Girard and "G". I feel that this is going to be the area where the design standards need to be expanded and enforced. The homes and offices that have been improved need to be preserved and any new development needs to honor the history of the area.
I feel that a review committee and a protective covenant needs to be put into place to assure the current property owners that their investments will not be destroyed by greed and unplanned development.
I also feel that the meetings expressed a great deal of distrust for and frustration with the Planning Department in Bellingham. I feel that several hours of consults time were wasted with the expression of distrust and frustration by attendees over what appears to be a complete disregard of the current Neighborhood Plan. I’ve lived in Bellingham for 20 years and with the planners we had for the first 17 years I never heard the frustration that I am hearing from citizens today; developers, yes, citizens, no…….