“Just So You Are Aware”
Information of Interest to Our
Neighborhoods
Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory
Commission
Room To Grow? Planners Provide Update on Residential Land
Supply
In
our continuing effort to preserve and enhance the quality of life in
As
part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan update process, increased density has
already been recommended for various
“urban centers” as well as within the existing UGA. Vega explained that we can
either plan for more density in our neighborhoods and urban growth areas inside
The
City Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on which areas should be
contained within the 5-year UGA review area in mid to late August. For the
schedule and further background information on the Urban Growth Area review
process, see the City’s website at http://www.cob.org/pcd/planning/growth/growth.htm#urban
on the Planning Department’s webpage
City Council
Comprehensive Plan Work Sessions:
The
issues of urban growth areas, increased density inside
And
the City Council held their first Comprehensive Plan work session on Tuesday,
August 9th. They made great
progress, completing review of the Introduction section and most of the
Framework Goals and Policies chapter, and they made few changes to the
document. We encourage you to attend these up coming work sessions scheduled
for
The Nitty
Gritty: Public Works in the
Neighborhoods
Birchwood and
We are
progressing with the restoration of Lower Squalicum Creek project which will
use integrated stream bank protection features to restore salmon habitat and
provide protection for the eroding banks.
The work will include the creation of a small channel, the installation
of four engineered logjams and one ”crib wall” fashioned from logs and root
wads (using natural solution to do our work).
Downtown/CBD: We’ll be overlaying the alleys off of
Another
project benefiting these neighborhoods is the construction of the Kearney Road
Reservoir. We need additional water
storage to provide fire protection and more uniform pressure in the
Cordata-Bakerview areas. A 2.48 million
gallon reservoir will replace a smaller tank in the service area.
Fairhaven/Edgmoore/South Watch the progress of this
project putting in curbs, gutters and sidewalks on
In
Samish:
South Hill: The construction of the new water pump
station will provide fire flow protection for W.W.U.’s student housing. We will eventually remove the tower and the
site will be landscaped. We are also
putting in about 1,300 feet of new water main, sanitary sewer main and
structural pavement overlay on
Lettered
Streets/Old Town Neighbors Talk Design Standards
Participants
in a process to recommend land use changes in
In
response to this feedback, the City has modified the schedule to allow for an
in-depth conversation on design.
v
3rd Neighborhood Meeting,
v
4th Neighborhood Meeting,
The
purpose of the series of meetings is to gain as much feedback as possible from
neighborhood residents before making recommendations to City Council for
changes to the current zoning and regulations.
Contact Tara Sundin, 676-6982 or tsundin@cob.org
When You Have a
Medical Emergency—What to Expect from our First Responders
We have
developed a new protocol for handling emergency calls to 911. This is what you can expect:
When a
medical emergency call is placed to 911, a dispatcher trained in eliciting and
assessing the medical information will determine whether it is a life
threatening emergency. If it is a life
threatening emergency, we will dispatch the closest fire engine and paramedic
staffed ambulance. If the situation is
a non-life threatening emergency, the closest fire engine crew, who are all
certified Emergency Medical Technicians, will respond on an ambulance assigned
to their station, without involving a paramedic unit. All patients will
continue to receive a prompt response and, if necessary will be taken to the
hospital by an ambulance that is capable of meeting their medical needs.
In the
past, we always sent both a fire engine and a paramedic staffed ambulance. Our new system is a better use of our staff
resources enabling us to continue to meet our citizens’ emergency medical needs
with highly qualified and competent staff.
Contact Roger Christensen, Medical Services Officer,676-6831 or email
Roger D Christensen/@cob.org.
Whatcom Medic 1 Planning
Process--Recommendations
The
services we receive from Whatcom Medic 1 in
The resulting
plan recommends continuing the city/county unified paramedic system, with some
changes. It also recommends more secure
funding to ensure that city and county residents continue to receive reliable
paramedic service for at least the next six years.
Neighbors Come
Together for Crime Prevention
We had been encouraging you to attend the activities for the
National Night Out Against Crime. Your
attendance at the kick off (the Crime Prevention Fair on Saturday July 30)
started the ball rolling. Exhibits from
police, community and business and the Border Patrol Chopper, a.k.a.
helicopter, provided just the right mix of fun and information to help families
and neighborhoods with crime prevention issues.
On the Night Out, August 2, Block Watch Captains and other
good neighbors hosted over 40 neighborhood socials throughout
Although this is
an annual event, feel free to contact Mark Young any time to help you with
neighborhood crime prevention issues.
676-6924 or email Mark E Young@cob.org.
State Auditor Gives
New Meaning to “Clean Green” – “($$$)”
The
Washington State Auditor’s Office recently completed the annual audit of the
City of
At the end. the Auditor gave the City a “clean”
opinion on its financial statements, making it the fifth year in a row with no
audit findings.
And Our Employees
Earned Us Distinguished Budget Award
For a
second year in a row the City has received the highest form of
recognition in governmental budgeting from the Government Finance Officer’s
Association.
To
receive the Distinguished Budget Award,
the City must publish a budget document that serves the criteria of a policy
document, an operations guide, a financial plan, and a communication device.
We
were told by GFOA, "The document is outstanding as a Communications
Device. The text is meaningful and
direct, written in a way that is useful to an interested reader. The entire document is very professional from
its message to the way it is conveyed and organized. A very nice job!"
Our Town: Oral Histories of Bellingham
If you
haven’t had an opportunity to see the locally produced film,
“Centennial Stories: 100 Years On
You may know some
of those interviewed for “Centennial Stories”.
They are George Davenport, Betty Russell, former Port Commissioner Tut
Asmundson, Lummi Elder Pauline Hillaire, former WWU instructor and artist Jane
Hovde, and
Producers are Black Dog Productions and the Center for
Pacific Northwest Studies, in cooperation with
Remodeling? Check Your Permit Status on Line
Our
This
feature allows permit applicants to follow the status of their permits as they
move through the permit application and review process: application acceptance,
plan review, ready-to-issue, issued, amendments reviewed and issued,
inspections, final and occupancy certification. Information is updated daily.
Permit
review status checking is just one of several recent additions to city services
available on the website, Other recent additions to our on-line services
include registration for city recreation programs, electronic notification of
city-issued requests for proposals and other purchasing documents, and public
disclosure requests forms.