SOUTHSIDE SHORELINE STEWARDSHIP TASKFORCE
Name: Southside Shoreline Stewardship Taskforce
Composition: One
delegate and one alternate selected by each of Bellingham’s Southside
Neighborhood Organizations (see below), two
representatives from the
tenants in the Fairhaven Marine Industrial Park
and two representatives
from the Western Washington University
community.
Citizen View
Edgemoor Neighborhood Association
Fairhaven Neighbors
Happy Valley Neighborhood Association
Old Fairhaven Association
South Hill Neighborhood Association
South Neighborhood Association
Purpose: To be recognized by the City and Port of
Bellingham as the permanent vehicle
for implementing the recommendations of the Waterfront Futures Group
relative to the South Hill & Boulevard, Fairhaven and Chuckanut
&
Edgemoor areas and for any additional
recommendations on waterfront and/or
shoreline projects that may be forthcoming for
these three areas. Activities
may include mobilizing volunteers to undertake
selected projects, updating
existing neighborhood plans, forming a
Community Development Corporation
and/or a Community Development Trust and
exercising ongoing concern for the
natural attributes of the Southside Shoreline
and Waterfront and the current and
projected uses thereof, whether they be
recreational, industrial, commercial
residential or institutional.
Projects:
1. Paint Multi-Language Welcome Sign
on Fairhaven Shipyard Dry Dock
2. Create New Park between the FMIP
and Reid Boiler Works
3. Create Community Arts Center on
Mill Ave. Opposite the Village Green
Ralph W. Thacker, MPA July
22, 2004
BELLINGHAM BAY STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE
Mission
Perpetuating, expanding and realizing the
vision of the Waterfront Futures Group
Initiating one or two near-term projects for
each area of the shoreline
Initiating and/or monitoring longer-term
projects for the entire shoreline
Creating and being represented on the boards of
entities aimed at specific areas
Involving all sectors of the community
centrally in shoreline stewardship
Combining simultaneous strategic and tactical
planning efforts
Initiating frequent celebrations of proposed
and completed projects
Obtaining funding from public and private
sources nationwide
Observing what other communities are doing in
the area of shoreline stewardship
Monitoring its own management style, energy
level, efficiency and effectiveness
Areas
¡BIENVENIDOS A BELLINGHAM!
When people approach Bellingham by water, the
first, major, close-up visual impression they receive is from the dry dock
anchored at the northwest corner of the Fairhaven Shipyard. This vintage structure, 289’ long and 26’ high,
provides an ideal space for displaying an engaging greeting and creating a
lasting impression.
A sign could be painted on the dock having the word
“BELLINGHAM” in red letters ten feet high, surrounded by the words for
“WELCOME” in all of the languages that have been spoken by our historic ethnic
groups in black letters five feet high
(See sample sketch attached.)
Creating the sign could be an exciting, community-wide project with
highly visible results.
Public schools could involve students in
identifying Bellingham’s historic and current ethnic groups, in translating the
word “welcome” into their respective languages and in designing the sign. Local artists and outdoor advertising firms
could provide consulting assistance.
Hardware and paint companies could furnish materials. Public and private organizations, ethnic
groups and individuals could offer financial and/or “in kind”
contributions. The local media could
make the project. project a regional
happening.
The dry dock could be turned around so that
painting could be done from the adjacent dock by community volunteers, of all
ages, after shipyard workers had cleaned and primed the surface. With the consent of the shipyard’s owner and
managers, the approval of the City and the Port, the participation of the
Public Schools, the support of the wider community and, most importantly, passionately local ethnic and citizen groups, this project
could be a huge success.
Ralph W. Thacker July 1, 2004
FAIRHAVEN FULL AND BY
Fairhaven enjoys a natural setting and an architectural style that
produce a two fold sense of place. The
shoreline offers an experience of openness, invigoration and challenge and the
Village Green elicits a feeling of security, comfort and familiarity. The bluff that separates these two venues is a
powerful means of reinforcing their respective impacts. By a process of community-wide stewardship,
these causal elements can be preserved and enhanced to make Fairhaven an even
more desirable area in which to live and work and an even more inviting
destination for visitors whether they come by land or by water.
Restoring Fairhaven’s Natural Gifts
Fairhaven is blessed with a bay, a wooded estuary, a tidal pond, a
beach, a waterfront park and a long, shoreline bluff. These gifts should be returned to their
pristine states and appearances as far as possible in order to sustain the
natural habitats they shelter and to increase the potential for responsible
public enjoyment of their natural beauty and appre-ciation of their inherent
value. Water and soil contamination
should be remediated, riprap breakwaters should be softened, storm water runoff
should be controlled, native vegetation replanted and the impact of railroad
trestles on tidal flows should be reversed
Reinforcing Fairhaven’s Two-level Ambiance
Fairhaven needs a gathering space at the shoreline to foster community
self identification just as the Village Green does on the upper level. The open area just south of Reid Boiler Works,
which the Waterfront Futures Group is recommending as the site for a new park,
is ideal for this purpose. This location
is one of the few in Bellingham from which a view of the bluff may be enjoyed
from both the land and the water. It
should be cleared of fill down to the level of the railroad trestle, except for
an emergency and pedestrian access way running down the Douglas Ave. right of
way and southward along the tracks.
The new park should have a pristine appearance. The “shoreway” proposed for the Bell-ingham
waterfront should be routed through it, a vista point created along the South
Bay Trail just above it and a sloping pathway placed along the face of the
bluff to connect it with the Village Green.
A low enclosure of rustic design incorporating ethnic symbolism should
be placed on the site for a shelter, gathering place and venue for ethnic
displays and celebrations. A tall,
illuminated stabile projecting a pan-ethnic theme should be erected as an icon
marking the new park as the focal point of the Fairhaven waterfront.
This site has a sandy beach, presently accessible only at low tide,
which was formed by natural forces after the rip-rap railroad trestle was
constructed. Perhaps those same forces
could be assisted in making the beach accessible at high tide as well. In either case, given a safe means of
crossing the railroad tracks, the new park would become a favorite destination
for local families to walk, rest, contemplate, picnic, swim, row, paddle and
sail all within a short walk from a town center. Few other areas in Bellingham have an
equivalent potential.
To ensure public ownership of the new park and maximize its ongoing
utilization, wide-spread community involvement should be elicited both in the
process of planning it and in doing much of the physical work of creating it,
especially by members of local ethnic groups.
The direct pedestrian links between the new park and the points of
interest on the waterfront and between the new park and the Fairhaven Village
Green would enable both residents and visitors to readily experience the
palpable difference in the sense of place between the expansiveness at the
water’s edge and the intimacy of uplands.
Several infrastructure adjustments will be required to create the new
park. The City must acquire from the
Port the land lying between the Douglas Ave. and Gambier Ave. rights of way and
also a strip of land on which to build the proposed pedestrian access way
between the Village Green and shoreline.
The Port must secure State permission to refurbish and reconnect the Log
Dump Dock. The City and the Port must
arrange with the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railway Co. for a safe and secure
overpass or under-pass near the Log Dump Dock
Finally, utility lines should be rerouted above the bluff.
Fairhaven also needs an indoor space near the Village Green to extend
its seasonal func-tion as a neighborhood forum to a year-round basis.* This space could be part of a larger complex
housing retail shops, residential condominiums and shared underground
park-ing. It could feature
multi-purposes areas for films, plays, concerts, folk dancing, com-munal
exercise, meetings, lectures, conferences, rallies and celebrations. It could also house an international
cafeteria overlooking the Green, a health club, craft workshops, and music
practice rooms. It could have a tower
visible for several miles and a carillon.
Reclaiming Fairhaven’s Historical Roots
Fairhaven has a rich cultural history, rooted in the Indigenous Nations
that have occupied the area for thousands of years and the many ethnic groups
that have arrived since 1850. Each
tradition deserves tangible recognition and frequent celebrations. Fairhaven also has a “working waterfront” of
marine-related endeavors. These should
be retained and increased. Spaces should
allocated for displaying their history and opportunities created for public
observation of their daily operations, either by direct viewing mezzanines,
win-dows or Closed Circuit TV in order to forge a seamless link between the
past and present.
Reorienting Fairhaven’s Transportation Pattern
Fairhaven possesses great potential for being predominantly a pedestrian
and bicycle locale. Actualizing this potential
will require providing more frequent visual focal points, improving our trail
system, creating more bike lanes, increasing the type and frequency of mass
transit service, including waterborne people-movers, reducing the volume of
automotive traffic and meeting the vehicle parking challenge creatively and
effectively. The psychological
resistance to this change may be mitigated by the experience of a city like
Groningen, in Holland, where it unexpectedly produced major financial
benefits.
* The importance of
creating an all-weather public gathering space in Bellingham was
highlighted by Ann Breen and Dick Rigby,
Consultants from the Waterfront Center in
Washington, D.C. in their report to the
Waterfront Futures Group.
Fairhaven also has the potential for rivaling harbors in the San Juan
Islands as a destina-tion for pleasure boating.
The former Log Dump Dock could be rebuilt and reconnected and provided
with a safe railroad crossing.
Additional moorings could be placed between the Log Dump and Taylor Ave.
Docks. Building # 8 in the Fairhaven
Marine Industrial Park could be remodeled to serve as a museum and boating
service center. A new launching facility
for power boats could be installed next to the Stub Dock near the Cruise
Terminal, leaving the existing ramp for hand launched craft and small
sailboats.
To provide a dramatic entree for visitors arriving
by water, a giant sign could be painted on the west side of the 289’ by 26’ dry
dock at the Bellingham Shipyard. This
sign might have “BELLINGHAM” in red letters 10’ high and the words for
“Welcome” in the languages of our historic ethnic groups in black letters 5’
high (see attachment). Public school
students could do the research and design work and help to paint the sign. Mem-bers of local ethnic groups and other
organizations could offer financial and/or “in kind” contributions. With media support the project could be a
regional “happening.”
Relying on Local Resources
Fairhaven’s residents and business owners
possess the commitment, leadership, expertise and capital to implement the
projects outlined above. A Fairhaven
Community Develop-ment Corporation could be established by representative
stakeholders to make detailed plans and carry them out. A nonprofit organization, also created by a
cross section of local stakeholders, may be needed to obtain grants, acquire
property and conduct public programs.
Utilization of neighborhood volunteers should be maximized. Every effort should be exerted to make both
the process and the results experiences of community.
Note: Creating a welcome sign on the dry dock at
Fairhaven Shipyard, grading and
landscaping the site for the new park south of
Douglas Ave., erecting a pavilion on
the site and building the pathway between the
shoreline and the Village Green
are examples of projects which could be
started immediately. They should be
added to the Waterfront Futures Group’s
inventory of “low-hanging fruit”
Note: “Full and by” is an old fashioned nautical
term. It describes a vessel sailing
close-
hauled, with all sails drawing to capacity, while heading as closely as
possible into
the wind. It is used here to
signify Fairhaven mobilizing all of its resources to
maximize its potential as a unique and satisfying place to live, learn,
work, play,
create and recreate in an environmentally sustainable and ethnically and
histori-
cally rich communal setting.
Submitted to the Waterfront Futures Group June 10,
2004 by Ralph W. Thacker, MPA