Bellingham Plan Chapters

I believe that the aquatic center should be expanded to benefit whatcom county. With over 100k people in whatcom county- a small aquatic center isn’t fitting the public’s needs. Lap lanes are given priority to swim teams leaving very few for the many adults who would also like to swim. The lap lanes provide the community a place to exercise year round that help those with injuries and mobility issues recover, help with mental health, and build community. But currently there is not a facility large enough to meet the need. People find the lack of space and time to swim laps frustrating and it deters from the benefits of swimming.

Not to mention that our community is filled with lakes and bodies of water and it helps keep people safe who are swimming in them in the summer who need a public pool to learn to swim and to keep their fitness up.

I know we are concerned about tourist dollars in the civic expansion but let’s think about Bellinghamsters first. We deserve a place for everyone to swim.

If you are going to allow ingrowth such as fourplexes, then the city needs to have a special effort on making sure that noise ordinances and neighborhood covenants are honored. Most people that purchased in a neighborhood did sell, sell for the quiet and peacefulness. While we need to expand housing opportunities, we need to make sure that the character of neighborhoods are not ruined.

We don’t “world class parks”, for these would be too expensive in light of other priorities. Quality parks with safe walking, biking and playgrounds are sufficient. Sports fields in our parks take up too much room.

I fully support dense and affordable housing. It’s really needed. Additionally, a thought towards public transit as the city grows would be great

I understand a deep need to for housing all across the city and income levels. I would like to see the city aid The Bellingham Housing Authority find land and build more senior and disabled housing. The higher Bellingham's population grows the more older adults of low income will need housing that can let them feel independent.

If we plan on having more apartments/houses without parking spaces, then we are assuming more people will take mass transit, bike, walk, etc. That would mean streets would need to be redesigned so that there are bike lanes, bus lanes, etc. But if we redesign the streets, we are reducing parking on the streets. We are then reducing parking on the private property of the housing units as well. It seems un-realistic that simply doing this will reduce car ownership.

Why can't we keep parking on private property where it belongs, reduce parking on public streets and use that to improve mass transportation, and then see if that will eventually reduce car usage. Or build additional parking garages. I just believe this ideal of less car ownership isn't going to work out well when done.

I love all of this, so good. Make the city bikeable and walkable. Add housing downtown!

Clean up the human mess downtown (and learn to differentiate between homelessness and drug addition), quit making it impossible to drive anywhere because traffic is backed-up due to dis-used bicycle lanes, get rid of every single one of the current city council members, and learn to budget your money and quit raising property taxes and then complaining that rents are too high. In other words, pull your heads out.

I approve of the balanced approach to growth that includes infill within the City, capital improvement investments for infrastructure such as water tanks, transit-oriented development, complete neighborhoods, and the addition of Bellingham’s Urban Growth Area Reserves for new communities. Each element proposed in the Draft Growth Strategy is equally important for a resilient future.

Thank you!

I find it odd that there is no way to comment within the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Chapter.

Regarding “More Housing Choices”: The price for single-family, detached homes is unaffordable for most of our community, but the demand continues to be high for traditional family homes. Ensuring a mix of housing allows the community to provide for many housing types with a variety of prices is great idea.

Allowing small scale business within residential areas (similar to the Silver beach Grocery & Restaurants) doesn’t guarantee that they will be financially feasible, but at least someone can give it a try. Infrastructure. A pub on every corner, no driving.

Regarding “One City Approach”: I am pleased that the City is prepared to plan across neighborhood boundaries to benefit the entire community. Although the 23 neighborhood plans have provided aspirational goals for each area of the city, they have promulgated a confusing number of zoning and land use regulations unique to each small area of the community. This has resulted in over 100 zoning and land use categories that must be tracked. Further, the neighborhood plans have frequently been the home of pre-requisite conditions for building that are not coordinated with the rest of the city, are not routinely updated and sometimes conflict with adjoining neighborhoods. Emphasizing a plan that coordinates the entire city is the way to go.

Let's just cut down every last tree and pave over everything! QUANTITY OVER QUALITY!

Correcting email for previous submission in case it bounced back- if unclear or didn’t submit, I am against this resolution because of the impact this growth will have on what on Whatcom families. The statewide 4plex law already allows for enough expansion, adding more apartments will only increase transplants, rent and costs and further deteriorate quality of life for Whatcom families like my friend Ron I met when I moved here, who had slowly been pushed from Bellingham to Ferndale and now Linden because of rising costs.

We have hundreds of billions in infrastructure in the City of Bellingham both public & private. Sewer plant, water plant, storm water, piping, roads, sidewalks, gas , phone, internet & gas lines plus fire stations plus many others. The City of Bellingham dictates you can build in the city. You cannot cut a tree or get a permit for a building without paying hundreds of thousands in fees to build a structure & it takes a year to get a permit. What a joke of a government the City of Bellingham has become. Just lip service with all talk about affordable housing. Land use chapter

Quality of life of current residents needs to be a factor in growth plans. Why work so hard to accommodate new residents? We don’t have good enough transit to justify urban villages with no parking. New buildings coming in are too expensive to help on the affordable side of the scale. Jaw-dropping rents at places like that Kerf on Samish. Plus more traffic congestion - all stressful for those of us who’ve been paying our (rapidly increasing) taxes and trying to live our lives.

I wholeheartedly support the proposed changes to the City of Bellingham's Comprehensive Plan. I believe it is important to provide an increase in available housing across the City. Higher density that targets the "missing middle" can mean more houses across all income levels. I also support more flexibility in zoning that would result in more opportunities for smaller restaurant and retail storefronts in neighborhoods. I am also pleased to see the addition of a chapter addressing the need to plan for the increasing evidence of climate change

I approve of the balanced approach to growth that includes infill within the City, capital improvement investments for infrastructure such as water tanks, transit-oriented development, complete neighborhoods, and the addition of Bellingham’s Urban Growth Area Reserves for new communities. Each element proposed in the Draft Growth Strategy is equally important for a resilient future.

I approve of the balanced approach to growth that includes infill within the City, capital improvement investments for infrastructure such as water tanks, transit-oriented development, complete neighborhoods, and the addition of Bellingham’s Urban Growth Area Reserves for new communities. Each element proposed in the Draft Growth Strategy is equally important for a resilient future.

Thank you!