City of Bellingham

MAYOR’S NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COMMISSION

“JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE”—Information of Interest

June 14, 2006

Inside this issue: 

v  Council passes Comprehensive Plan

v  An opportunity to serve—New Design Review Board

v  More Opportunities—Greenways Advisory Committee

v  Parks and Recreation—Public participation in Parks Planning

v  Depot Market Square Grand Opening – July 8!

v  Mount Baker Neighborhood Association—First meeting coming up

v  Updates:  Waterfront and Shoreline Master Program

v  Public Works Projects in the Neighborhoods –Summer Street Overlay Program

v  Help your neighborhood organize for National Night Out Against Crime

v  Crime Prevention Information Fair – July 29 –Boulevard Park

v  Mt Baker Neighborhood Association—first meeting June 21st

v  June BTV10 Inside Bellingham features firefighting, preschoolers and new rules for Lake Whatcom watercraft

v  “Off Campus WWU” helps Neighborhoods and Students become good neighbors

v  Students and neighbors learn together in Neighborhood Mediation Program

v  Protecting Lake Whatcom from Pollution

v  Veteran Neighborhood Activist Receives Life Time Achievement Award

Council passes Comprehensive Plan!

At the June 5 meeting, the City Council passed the City’s revised Comprehensive Plan.  The Growth Management Act requires us to update this plan periodically.  The City’s last Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1995. In 2002, City staff began working with officials and the community on the current update. 

 

Dozens of meetings including at least 14 public hearings and 30 Planning Commission and Council work sessions were held to determine how the plan should be updated and to address neighborhood interests and concerns. The Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission spent the better part of six months reviewing the final drafts and offering recommendations for changes.

                                      

The Comprehensive Plan is a statement of community vision, goals, and policies that direct the physical development of the City.  It provides the framework to guide the development of more specific zoning and development regulations. In other words, the Comprehensive Plan is the foundation for Development Regulations, but it is not the development code itself.

 

Under the general approaches outlined in the Comprehensive Plan, the Neighborhood plans provide more detail in identifying the vision, goals, and policies for a specific neighborhood.  The work of updating these neighborhood plans in an important subject of discussion at the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission. 

 

The Comprehensive Plan provides a stable framework for development while preserving community and neighborhood character.  It is flexible enough to allow for unique settings and circumstances as these arise over the years. Not a static document, it will be revisited from time to time to address community concerns.  

 

We express our appreciation to all those who participated in the Plan update process through time, ideas, and their community and neighborhood interests.  We thank our Planning and Community Development Department staff, especially Greg Aucutt, for their professional and productive work on this project

 

For more information, contact Greg Aucutt, Senior Planner at 676-6982 or gaucutt@cob.org.

An Opportunity to Serve:  City Seeks Applicants for New Design Review Board

The City of Bellingham seeks citizens, local architects, urban planners, landscape designers and other design professionals for a newly-forming downtown Design Review Board.   City officials say the Design Review Board will elevate the importance of quality design in our city center and ensure standards for quality design are used in new construction and remodeling projects downtown. 

 

Approved by City Council on June 5, this all-volunteer Board will be composed of five members; at least three members of the board must be architects, landscape architects, urban designers/planners, or from similar disciplines.  At least one member must be a representative of the community at large and not from one of the above-listed professions. 

 

For those interested in applying, visit the city’s website at www.cob.org or call Marilyn Vogel at the Planning & Community Development Department at 676-6982. You can also email Marilyn at mvogel@cob.org.  The due date for applications is Friday, June 30th. 

More Opportunities:  Greenways Advisory Committee

With our citizen’s approving the third Greenways tax Levy in May, our Greenways program will continue to thrive.  The measure is expected to raise just over $44 million for acquisition, development, improvement and maintenance of greenways, open spaces, parks and trails. To help carry on this important work, consider serving on the Greenways Advisory Committee. 

We will have three vacancies on the Greenways Advisory Committee in August. The role of the committee is to identify, develop, review, and recommend selection criteria, general project priorities and specific actions relating to the expenditure and allocation of Greenway Levy Funds. The Committee works in cooperation with the Parks and Recreation Department staff.  To apply, go to the City’s website for an application:

http://www.cob.org/mayor/boards_commissions/index.htm.  You can also talk to Leslie Bryson, Design and Development Manager, of our Parks and Recreation Department.  Leslie’s phone is 676-6985 or contact Leslie at lbryson@cob.org.

 

Parks and Recreation – Public participation in Parks planning

 

New Parks:  When our Parks and Recreation Department begins to plan for a new park, they follow a process of public input into what is called the park “Master Plan” process.  Recent projects that have followed this process are Roosevelt Park Improvement Project, Northridge Park, and Squalicum Creek Park.  Although the process may vary depending on the scope of the project, a typical community park master plan follows these steps:

 

v  First, we form a steering committee of Parks and Recreation staff, neighborhood representatives, and consultants specializing in parks design and development.

v  The Steering Committee discusses the project and process for developing the master plan

v  The staff then develops a PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION on the master plan for the park.  Such plan can include, depending on the size and nature of the park:

 

§  An overall site plan including location of facilities such as sports fields, restrooms, picnic areas and playgrounds.

§  Parking areas

§  Access areas

§  Trail links

 

v  Usually at least two public meetings are held for public review and comment at different points in the process:  early on to gather input, then later for response to the proposed design.  If many more changes are made, a third meeting may be held.  Neighborhood representatives, adjacent property owners, and the general public are specifically invited as well as notice to the press.

v  After the meetings, the steering committee and staff review the comments and prepare a final draft master plan.

v   The proposed Master Plan then goes to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for review and recommendation.

v  Final changes to the recommendation are then made and forwarded to City Council for approval.

 

Park Improvement Projects:  When there is a specific project to improve a neighborhood park or community park, the Parks and Recreation Department will usually do a preliminary design and then hold a neighborhood meeting, contacting the Neighborhood Association and Representatives as well as the property owners immediately adjacent to the Park.  This is the process for the current project to improve the playground at Broadway Neighborhood Park.

 

Your comments are always welcome on Parks and Recreation projects.  Contact Paul Leuthold, Parks and Recreation Director at 676 6985 or pleuthold@cob.org.

Depot Market Square Grand Opening—July 8

On Saturday, July 8, the work of many wonderful and dedicated community volunteers and City staff will be celebrated.  The City joined forces with the Depot Market Committee, a private group of citizens with the energy to help make this a great permanent home of the Bellingham Farmers' Market and the vision to include a town square as a central focal point for downtown and our emerging waterfront. 

 

Please join us in celebrating the fruits of their labor when we dedicate this new facility at NOON during the regular Saturday Farmers’ Market at the Square.  The Depot Market Committee will then host a celebration there at 7:30 p.m., with live music by the Atlantics.

 

Please consider this location for meetings, fairs, fundraisers, public theatre, sales and events of all kinds. The impact of this facility on the life and revitalization of downtown Bellingham will derive from the cumulative impact of all this lively community activity. And it will serve as a reminder of what we can achieve when we all work together.

 

For more information on the Grand Opening, contact Tara Sundin at the City of Bellingham: tsundin@cob.org. 

 

Waterfront :  Financial modeling underway

Port and City staff are busy fine-tuning financial models that will be used to estimate costs and revenues for redeveloping the downtown waterfront.  Once the models run financial projections associated with estimated infrastructure costs, including streets, utilities, parks and open space, then the design options can be further analyzed with the benefit of financial realities.  Staff estimates the financial models will be ready for presentation to the public sometime this fall. On Monday June 19, the Waterfront Advisory Group will discuss its evaluation of the different master plan site design concepts. The meeting will be in the evening, from 6-8 p.m., at the Harbor Center Conference Room, 1801 Roeder Avenue.

Shoreline Master Program 

On June 12, the City Council heard a status report on the City’s 2006 Shoreline Master Program (SMP).  The previous week’s scheduled Planning Commission public hearing was postponed to July 20 to allow time to finalize the development of a “New Whatcom” shoreline designation.

 

City staff, in coordination with Port of Bellingham and Department of Ecology (DOE) staff, is working on this new designation to better address the complex range of shoreline issues on this key waterfront redevelopment site.  DOE has also developed a new and improved element of shoreline planning called a Restoration Plan.  The Restoration Plan identifies shoreline habitat restoration projects in our community and specifies who, when and how those projects will be implemented and funded. The target date for local approval of the 2006 SMP is December 1, 2006.

 

Hardcopies of the draft SMP are available in the Planning Department at City Hall and on our website (www.cob.org/pcd/planning/environment). Please send your comments in writing to the department at 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, 98225, ATTN: SMP, or, via email:  smpupdate@cob.org.  To talk with Planning staff, call Steve Sundin at 676.6982.

Public Works Projects in the Neighborhoods –Summer Street Overlay Program

This is a busy year for our Public Works Department Street overlay programs, with much work being done in the Whatcom Falls Neighborhood.  We provide information to the Bellingham Herald to advise you of the timing of the work and any street disruptions.  This year we are overlaying the following streets:

 

Cornwall Park

v  Squalicum Parkway from Birchwood to Ellis

 

Guide Meridian/Cordata

v  Bellis Fair Parkway from Cordata to Meridian

 

Lettered Streets

v  Young Street from Girard to Halleck

 

Puget

v  Moore Street from Fraser to Meador

 

Roosevelt

v  Toledo Street from Alabama to the dead end

v  Queen Street from Kentucky to Carolina

v  Kentucky Street from Pacific to Woburn

v  St Clair Street from Alabama to Connecticut

 

Silver Beach

v  Northshore Drive from Silver Beach to the City limits

 

 

Sunnyland

v  Ellis Street from Sunset to Alabama

v  Hampton Place from East North Street to Ellis

 

Whatcom Falls

v  Lakeway Drive from Verona to Yew Street

v  Lakeway Drive from Yew to Kenoyer

v  West Clearbrook Drive from Lakeway to Modoc

v  Woodbridge Drive from Modoc to Kenoyer

v  Kenoyer Drive from Yale to Alvarado

v  Kenoyer Court from Kenoyer to end

v  Clearbrook Place from West Clearbrook to end

v  East Clearbrook Drive from Likely to Modoc

v  Woburn Street from Whatcom to Old Lakeway

v  Whatcom Street from Woburn to Dead end

 

York

v  Iron Street from Fraser to Meador

Help your neighborhood organize for National Night Out Against Crime, August 1st

Contact your neighborhood association or your Block Watch captain to find out how you and your family can help with National Night Out Against Crime on August 1.  Last year good neighbors hosted 40 plus neighborhood socials throughout Bellingham with over 1000 folks attending.  Over 10,000 communities throughout the country take part in this event, sponsored by local law enforcement and other community services.  Don’t know your neighborhood association representatives?  Go to our website for Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission:  http://www.cob.org/mayor/boards_commissions/neighborhood/mnac.htm and click on Roster.  You can also get information from the website of the Association of Bellingham Neighborhoods:  http://aobn.org

Crime Prevention Information Fair – July 29 –Boulevard Park

To kick off National Night Out Against Crime, the Bellingham Police Department and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office will host the 2nd annual Crime Prevention Information Fair on July 29th at beautiful Boulevard Park in Bellingham.  The fair features information and displays on crime prevention measures and strategies, for individuals, neighborhoods, and businesses.  To help with your planning, contact Officer Mark Young, Bellingham Police Department, 676-6924 or Deputy Chad Heinrich, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, 676-6650

Mount Baker Neighborhood Association—First meeting June 21

Please spread the word:  Mount Baker Neighborhood Association’s introductory meeting is Wednesday, June 21st, 7 p.m. at the small Pavilion at Boulevard Park.  This is an opportunity to help make history by being a founder of this new neighborhood association.  Mt Baker Neighborhood runs from the east side of I-5 north of Sunset Square to the Northeast city limits. Its southern boundary jogs down below Sunset to Illinois and Racine, then over to where the Railroad trail goes east from Woburn, South of Barkley Village.  Chandler Parkway, Squalicum High School, and Northridge Park are on its eastern side. There are new housing developments in the neighborhood, both north and south of Sunset Drive.  For information or to suggest interested residents, contact J. Kaye Faulkner at 647-0391.

June BTV10 “Inside Bellingham” features firefighting, preschoolers and new rules for Lake Whatcom watercraft

Get an inside look at fighting fires, preschool classes at Bloedel Donovan Park, new rules for Lake Whatcom watercraft and more on the June episode of Inside Bellingham.

 

Inside Bellingham airs on BTV10, the city’s government and educational access channel, several times each week.  Inside Bellingham also is available to view on the city’s website.  For BTV10 schedule information and access to on-line television programs, visit the city’s website at www.cob.org.

 

The June episode features:

 

v  Using high tech tools to save lives during building fires;

v  A day with the preschool class at Bloedel Donovan Park;

v  A big “thank you” to voters for approving the Greenways III levy;

v  New roles for boating on Lake Whatcom;

v  Tips for registering to do business in Bellingham;

v  And more!

 

Inside Bellingham, produced by the City of Bellingham, gives viewers an inside peek into city government programs, services, activities and people.

“Off-Campus WWU” helps students become good neighbors

The new interactive website, “Off-Campus WWU” is now up and running. The website prepares students for off-campus living, from nuts and bolts issues like reading a lease properly to respectful and rewarding interactions with neighbors.  The idea is to enhance their experience in Bellingham’s neighborhoods and reduce the problems sometimes associated with living independently for the first time – both for students and their neighbors.  Visit this terrific website at http://www.OffCampusWWU.com.

 

The Off Campus WWU was created through the efforts of the Campus Community Coalition, a collaborative task force of campus and community leaders who recognize that student alcohol misuse, specifically underage drinking, are shared problems requiring shared solutions.  The mission of the Coalition is to

 

v  promote working relationships and communication between the campus and community

v  enhance shared responsibility,

v  prevent and address problems related to student alcohol misuse, and,

v  contribute to the health and safety of the entire community.

 

The WWU Office of Prevention and Wellness Services provides leadership to and coordination of Coalition efforts. 

 

Many neighborhood associations participate along with rental owners, representatives of city government and law enforcement agencies.  The Coalition meets quarterly and offers a number of quality programs including a new Neighborhood Mediation Program through the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Program.

Students and neighbors learn together in Neighborhood Mediation Program

Over 100 Western Washington University students and non-student neighbors were recently trained in conflict management and mediation through the Neighborhood Mediation Program. This cadre of neighborhood conflict managers and mediators will use their new skills to address neighborhood conflicts, focusing on the York, Sehome and Happy Valley neighborhoods.  

 

The Neighborhood Mediation Program is one component of the Campus Community Coalition’s NEST (Neighborhoods Engaging with Students) Project.  NEST works to increase students’ involvement in their neighborhoods and to foster communication and cooperation between students and neighbors.

 

The Coalition also

v  Spearheads  “LateNight@WWU”, a series of late-night, alcohol-free events on campus.

v  Works with local law enforcement agencies to enhance the enforcement of underage drinking laws in the community.

 

For more information about the mediation program contact Moonwater, Executive Director, Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, 676-0122; director@whatcomdrc.org.  Lara Welker, Coordinator of the Campus Community Coalition, 650-6863; Lara.Welker@wwu.edu

 

Protecting Lake Whatcom from Pollution

Thinking about getting that boat ready for summer fun? If you ply the waters of Lake Whatcom, you will want to make sure you know about new regulations designed to protect our drinking water from pollution.  Boats powered by carbureted, two-stroke engines are no longer allowed on the lake. These are mostly older boats and jet skis.  For more information about these new rules, contact the Heather Higgins-Aanes of the city’s Public Works Department at 676 6806 or 676 6961.

Neighborhood Activist Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Tim Douglas may have been our Mayor for 12 years, but his heart and start has been in neighborhood activism. Before serving on the Bellingham City Council and as Mayor, he was a neighborhood activist working on neighborhood clean up in the Lettered Streets and historic preservation in the Columbia neighborhoods. Mayor Mark Asmundson awarded Tim the City’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Big Rock Garden in May. Congratulations, Tim!