ENA Newsletter - September, 2004

This Fall is an important time for our neighborhood. City Government is in the midst of several decisions that may alter our quality of life. It is critical that our neighborhood become involved.

We are pleased with the number of people who attended our First General Meeting and are turning out to work on the Committees. With the importance of the issues facing us shouldn’t you get involved? Read through the Committee Reports below and pick one where you can contribute.

You will be instrumental in protecting and improving your neighborhood. And you’ll have the added benefit of working with your neighbors and building a strong community.  Join us!

Susan Tercek , President

September ENA Board Meeting - Everyone is welcome to attend! 

Wednesday, September 22

7- 9 PM

Fireplace Room,  Fairhaven Public Library.  

All are welcome. Please note, this is a scheduling change due to a conflict with the Growth Forum Meetings (see below). The meeting agenda is posted on the Edgemoor Neighborhood website.

Growth Forum Meetings

September 21, 23 and October 5

6 - 9 PM

Bellingham High School 

The City and County have been sponsoring a program on growth in our area and how they hope to “manage it” over the next 10 years. There are 3 more meetings, each with a different format, scheduled as part of this program. These meeting will offer you a chance to voice your concerns as well as offer ideas.  For more information visit www.cob.org or http://www.studiocascade.com/bhm_index.html

City Council Approves Removal of Zoning and Development Rules From Neighborhood Plans 

Monday night, September 13, the City  Council, voted by a 4-3 margin to begin removing all zoning and development rules for all 23 city neighborhoods into a single ordinance. Many neighborhood activists fear this change will undermine the power of the citizens to effect how their neighborhood is developed. The Planning Director, Jorge Vega, an attorney argued that this change will provide clarity, predictability and efficiency for the building industry. This makes the update of our neighborhood plan all the more important because the plan has not been revised since1988.

ENA Committee Reports

Six committees have been formed. The meetings have been well attended and have been marked by lively discussions. We encourage all members of the association to join a committee that interests you and help guide the future of our neighborhood. Meeting locations and times will be posted on the Edgemoor Neighborhood website on the Committees page.

Bylaws Committee

The goal of this group is to write a new set of bylaws for the ENA. Currently the ENA is operating under a set of interim bylaws. Discussions at this meeting focused on the following issues:  Who should be a member?  How will dues will be assessed?  How will decisions will be made? These are significant discussions that will greatly impact how our association functions. If you have opinions that you want included in this process please contact chair, Michael Menard.

Land Use Committee

The first goal of the group is to rewrite the Edgemoor Neighborhood Plan. The group will study the existing plan and begin to assess ideas for needed changes. In view of the City Council’s recent decision to incorporate portions of the neighborhood plans directly into the municipal ordinances, it is imperative that all residents understand the implications and identify any needed changes. A second reason to get involved with revising the neighborhood plans is that they are a key input into the annual budgeting process for the city. Brad Rose is chairperson for this committee.

Read the Land Use Committee Report.

Neighborhood Safety Committee

This group’s initial goal is to focus on actions to improve the safety of the neighborhood children as they travel to school and to the park. Families with children in the Fairhaven Middle School will particularly benefit by joining this committee and pitching in to make it a success. The Committee is also working with the city to make information available on how to start a Block Watch Program. This topic will be the feature at one of our upcoming monthly meetings. Contact Donna Grasdock or Austin Papritz to offer your ideas or get involved.

View Committee

Sheri Ward the founder of Citizen View spoke at the well attended, first meeting. She provided background on view issues in Bellingham and information on solutions developed by other communities. The committee decided to start their work by researching these communities. The chairperson is Paul Stephenson.

Communications Committee

The Communications committee met to discuss how to best communicate with our neighbors and disburse information by the most effective method.  At this time we will be monitoring and updating the ENA website, sending a monthly newsletter through the internet and in some cases by home delivery, posting ENA meeting signs, contacting newspapers with meeting information and filling the six information boxes posted throughout the neighborhood with membership forms and other relevant information. Our hope is to involve and make welcome as many members of the Edgemoor Neighborhood as possible and make access to important neighborhood issues and information relatively easy.  We have lots of tasks to accomplish and would welcome anyone who would like to join our committee.  Chair, Kathy Kaiser.

Membership Committee

The mission of this committee is to encourage residents of the Edgemoor neighborhood to become members and actively participate in the ENA.

Membership Chair, Sandie Koplowitz

Report on the First Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Meeting  

Over 100 residents attended the Edgemoor Neighborhood Association Meeting On Wednesday, August 18, at Lairmont Manor. Barbara Ryan, Bellingham City Council Member, and Chris Morgan, Bellingham Planning Commission Member, provided an overview of processes and issues related to the neighborhoods. Organizational matters and ways to get involved were discussed and committees were formed. Thank you to our speakers, all the interested residents who attended and most of all to all those individuals who helped get this organization up and running. Read the Minutes

Edgemoor Neighborhood Forum Online Now

The Association of Bellingham Neighborhoods provides an online forum for us to communicate over the Internet. Try it out today! Go to the Edgemoor Neighborhood Forum at www.aobn.org. Scroll down the page until you see the link for Edgemoor Neighborhood, sign up and post messages on the forum. 

Yorky's is new home of Fairhaven Post Office

The Fairhaven Post Office is now located at Yorky's Market, 1501 12th Street. The Fairhaven Post Office boxes, which were housed temporarily at the Main Post Office downtown, were moved to Yorky's on August 3rd and are now available for mail pick-up. Post Office hours are Monday-Friday, 10 AM - 4 PM and Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM.

Your Input is Welcome!

We hope this first electronic newsletter has been of interest to you. The Edgemoor Neighborhood website is still under development and we could use help with graphics, website design and content development. Please contact Sandie Koplowitz if you can help. Edgemoor Residents are invited to submit articles and information about Edgemoor Neighborhood, such as photos and historical information. Send an email containing the information to news at edgemoorneighborhood dot com.