December 4, 2006
Section: Local
Page: 1A

Backers seek Chuckanut park district; Proposed area ranges from arboretum to Samish Island
Katie N. Johannes
Staff

KATIE N. JOHANNES

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

A Chuckanut Mountain Park District could preserve land in southern Whatcom County and northern Skagit County for recreation, open space, habitat and ecological quality.

It also could buy land from private property owners, one way organizers hope to limit development.

Residents on both sides of the county line have launched a park district effort, with Fairhaven Highlands and Blanchard Mountain as priority projects.

They need to collect signatures from 15 percent of the estimated registered 20,000 voters in its proposed boundaries to put the measure on a ballot in November 2007.

The district would cover about 65 square miles, with Sehome Arboretum at its north end, stretching east to the Lake Whatcom watershed, south along the Interstate 5 corridor as far as Samish Island, and including Blanchard Mountain and Bow Edison, said Frank Eventoff, spokesman for the Skagit County side.

The district would have no regulatory authority over privately owned property.

"The Chuckanut Mountains are a very unique mountain range..where the Cascades meet the sea," Eventoff said, using the campaign's catch phrase. "There's no other place where this happens in Washington."

Under state law, the district could collect up to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, but organizers think the amount is too high for voters, Eventoff said.

Instead, they are campaigning to collect 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $62.50 per year for the owner of a property assessed at $250,000.

Organizers believe they could collect about $750,000 a year, according to their estimates of total property value in the proposed district.

STARTING FROM GREENWAYS

The park district campaign spun off an effort by some Bellingham residents to dedicate millions of greenway tax dollars to the acquisition of the Fairhaven Highlands property, formerly known as Chuckanut Ridge and affectionately dubbed the 100-Acre Wood.

Greenbriar Northwest Associates plans to build 739 housing units on the 85-acre property near the south end of the city.

"Early last year, we were disenchanted with the way a lot of the material was going," said Bob Gibb, the park district campaign's Whatcom County spokesman. "Suddenly we realized the problem wasn't an isolated piece of property. It's the whole Chuckanut range."

Gibb and others wanted a mechanism that would block overdevelopment and overuse of the land.

But almost two years ago, the estimated sale price of the Fairhaven Highlands property alone was more than $20 million, a price that would be upward of $30 million now if the property were on the market, said Bob Tull, attorney for the developer.

"If they had a viable district..and came up with a purchase price that was attractive, the owners would decide whether they want to look at that or not," Tull said.

Besides thinking the property is grossly overpriced, Gibb said the object of the park district wouldn't be to throw all its money at purchasing it.

And the $750,000 a year they estimate they will make on property taxes could be seed money for matching funds and grants, said Gibb and Eventoff.

"We're not in a position to purchase that (Fairhaven Highlands property)," Eventoff said. "We'll be the counterpoint to the aggressive developer and find solutions...Our interest is: `we are the voice of the community and give the public a place at the table.'"

OTHER PRIORITIES

In Skagit County, Blanchard Mountain is a priority project. Use of the forest there has been the subject of debate between recreationists, conservationists and state logging interests.

The state Department of Natural Resources estimates logging on the mountain will generate about $1 million a year for the next 10 years, a portion of which is earmarked for the Burlington-Edison School District.

A 10-member collaborative group is working out plans for future uses of the land, but Bill Wallace, DNR's Northwest region manager, said the state intends to continue logging on some level.

"We're willing to find a balance there. We can still have multiple uses and still have some land in a recreational core," he said.

Other spending priorities include money for wildfire planning, trail work and maintenance at state parks.

Gibb hopes a park district will help preserve natural areas, which he believes are being destroyed by development.

"If people are willing to tax themselves for the benefit of our environment, there is such great hope for our country," he said. "We don't want to look like Vancouver or Issaquah. We're just letting it happen by apathy, one of the greatest enemies of our whole culture."