Capital Facilities and Urban Services Chapter

Happy Valley, according to prior census data, is one of the largest, most densely populated and most economically challenged Neighborhoods in all of Bellingham. According to the City's website, it also has the highest percentage of multifamily housing, and we estimate %70 of our entire housing stock is devoted to rentals -- there's very little home ownership here -- which historically means that residents are disenfranchised as "stakeholders" or otherwise have no vested incentive to engage with long-term planning.

Happy Valley has a failing Level of Service for public parks and the most listed instances of missing multi-modal infrastructure noted in the City's Bike/Ped plans -- the entire neighborhood is an engineered automobile slum due to decades of neglect and constant pressure from predatory infill schemes. Furthermore, a long and incoherent history of selling, or "vacating," unimproved Right-of-Ways to developers means that several former public transportation corridors are now completely sealed off and are private property. This trend is ongoing and, in 2021, the City sold a ROW that had a connecting trail, marked on Park Department maps, so a developer could build access to his parking lot. (If you need a more potent example for how disastrous this policy of liquidating transportation easements is, please observe that all 17 acres of the Sehome Village Mall had every route vacated -- it is literally a fortress that repels all access by bicycle or walking, has literally ONE paved sidewalk entry, and should be taught in upper level Urban Planning seminars as an example for how to ensure that everyone has to drive even though, very literally, there are thousands of poor residents living within blocks of the sprawling retail and groceries anchor.)

The City's Parks Department has been aggressively dismissive of multiple requests for what are mostly minor trail upgrades -- they simply refuse to engage with us, despite some cases of urgency, and instead keep telling us to "comment" on deflectionary digital distractions like this dumb survey: The development proposal at 2706 Mill Avenue is an example of this whereby we cannot get Parks to engage with the planning process despite the very clear fact that the 15 townhomes, if built without consideration of multi-modal impacts, will forever forbid a trail connection linking our only major trail corridor (Connelly Creek Natural Area) to the City's largest Elementary School, its second largest Highschool (Sehome High) and the various students or sports teams that would want to use the route to get to Western Washington University.

There are zero sidewalks on this section of Mill Avenue, of course, and then zero sidewalks on the next arterial, Douglas Avenue, which bisects the $87 million Elementary School and the $110 million High School.

The project will sail through permitting nonetheless. Happy Valley is a sacrifice zone for crapulous urban planning and density schemes and nobody at all from the City of Bellingham will deign to respond to the very clear economic and social equity factors that indicate, pretty clearly by now, that bias and regulatory capture are fully alive and well for this under-served neighborhood.

The City just announced that the new scheme is to jettison all Neighborhood Plans -- toss them in a dumpster -- while simultaneously gutting zoning, parking, and density regulations to cater to the mythology of miracle affordability from salivating developers with no apparent awareness of how rapacious capitalism -- ie: "the Market" -- has already created a veal farm for rental profits out of this dysfunctional and struggling area of Bellingham.

That's too bad: I'd wager that a mere one million dollars of effort building trail connections here, as outlined comprehensively in the 'Green Infrastructure' chapter of the Happy Valley Neighborhood Plan, would utterly transform this neighborhood and provide some resiliency and long-term adaptation to assuage the trauma of (further) growth here.

The claim that we no longer need Neighborhood Plans is prima facie fraudulent. The existence of Greenways, the PMP, PRO Plans, etc., clearly hasn't meant anything for Happy Valley in the past and, conversely, it has ONLY been neighbors literally building or fighting for the infrastructure here, at least in the past five years, that has gotten any progress whatsoever.

All those magical cities of ecotopian bliss and connectivity that Bellingham claims to want to emulate? Bend, Oregon, or Boulder, Colorado?

They had a vision and stuck with it.

Bellingham just has chaos, winners, and, in Happy Valley's case, losers that get ignored.

Very concerned about the potential sky high increases for COB water-sewer-utilities customers all of whom are local residents. Given the response to the minimal increase in cost for mandatory yard & food waste composting, do you really think people can afford $300+ added to their monthly living expenses? On top of continuous rent increases, the jobs in our region don't provide the level of income to afford these ever increasing rates. People on fixed incomes will quickly become homeless in the face of a $300+ increase, a cost that could reach $600 a month--for utilities alone! Forget the price of eggs! Can we afford to drink water? Please consider how the expense of COB's water and sewer upgrades and the water treatment plant will impact household economics and threatens an increase in homelessness. There's no debate on the need for these infrastructure upgrades, but how can these costs be more equitably distributed? I am deeply troubled by this looming cost of living cost surge.

We need more sidewalks! I live on Alabama Hill near St Clair Park and it's unsafe to walk/bike as a family in my neighborhood; even just to visit the playground. There are blind corners, areas with zero shoulder, and vehicles that zoom by at 40+ mph. Please build sidewalk infrastructure in this neighborhood for the safety of our community!

Change Holly Street back to normal. This was an expensive mistake.
Prioritize safety for pedestrians —especially Seniors and Families.
It is dangerous for Seniors and Fsmilies to exit a car without the safety of the curb nearby.
It is more dangerous for pedestrians now, especially Seniors and Families to cross Holly - as there is no clear line of sight—-the cars are in the way.
Put the cars back by the curb in a normal position - so pedestrians can see when it’s safe to cross the street.
We need our Downtown to be welcoming and friendly - That should include Seniors and Families.

I appreciate the new focus on maintenance of facilities and I hope we see that throughout the infrastructure planning. Along with growth we need more gathering places. Larger cities have neighborhood centers and we could slowly build these third places, as private spaces become more expensive to use and access.

Overall, I’m pleased with the direction of the plan, though I think it’s fairly high level and lacking the kind of tactical details to know whether it’s feasible.

My main comment would be to completely ignore “4th generation resident” who sounds old, cranky, and out of touch. Diversity, inclusion, and environmental considerations should definitely be woven into the fabric of how this city develops.

Re: slide #13: OTHER FACILITIES AND SERVICE NEEDS: "Coordination regarding growth and service needs"; "Monitor demographic changes and coordinate ..." This would absolutely call for coordination with and support for Bellingham's senior center and related services, in addition to schools!

In general, consider how the City can support non-city owned and operated facilities that benefit Bellingham residents. There are ways to enhance facilities and resources without the COB "doing it all" as owner and operator. Going back to my earlier comment, the COB could help fund the senior center.

Immediately eliminate anything and everything that has to do with being inclusive and equitable!!! That right there will help with a lot of wasted money and unequal treatment!
While you say you are going to provide reliable utilities at the same time you are trying to limit the utilities you're going to provide.
You have lost touch with the Bellingham citizen that has lived in this city for more than 20 years! You don't take our opinions into account, you make decisions from people who want to change our community and not keep what made our community special.
You've made housing unaffordable for those who have lived here their whole lives by not allowing builders to build almost anywhere, the excessive fees you charge before you can even begin to build. When it costs $55,000 , $60,000, and often even over $65,000 in fees you can't have affordable homes.
The last thing you need is for staff to determine what the needs are, this gives them the ability to determine what ever they want versus what is actually needed and allows staff to say whatever their wildest dreams might be is what is needed. This will lead to wasted tax dollars again and stupid projects.
Stop with the equitable mumbo jumbo. Do what's best for the most citizens while spending the least amount of money possible. You need to start putting a high priority on your citizens and not as much on the environment!
stop wasting our tax dollars when you're building, don't make the buildings fancy, make them usable and long lasting. They don't need to win architectural awards, they need to be able functional and durable!
Only think about recycling and conservation if it actually works, most of what we"recycle" ends up in landfills already, be realistic on what you can and can't do!
Only allow for additional school facilities if the students exceed state required testing levels! What is the need to new school facilities when we no longer educate our students enough to pass basic testing standards. Our school system used to excel academically, now we are mediocre at best, even though we've built dozens on new schools and facilities.
Your cap fac plan will never be successful because you are hamstringing it equity and other unrealistic goals and objectives.
I used to be proud to live in Bellingham and call it home and enjoy the community with my friends and neighbors, now it is an embarrassment and your poor planning and bad laws have made it into a drug infested homeless encampment that I'm afraid to be a part of any longer.

Spend less of other people's money, please. Property taxes are out of control in this city.

I love the city of Bellingham. I was born here and after attending WWU and getting a job elsewhere, I worked hard to move back in my 20s. I'm now old and it is difficult to find a better city. I would just comment that we should work hard to not raise taxes. This makes the city a more expensive place to live which is one thing we are trying to control. Even if the city had not grown to bring in more revenue (via new property taxes) our housing values have climbed substantially which, in turn, raises property taxes. This likely does NOT mean that a family is earning more, however, so taxes usually become a heavier burden - especially for people on a fixed income. We should not spend all of this increased revenue on new projects, but should grow our rainy day fund so the city has financial ability to tackle large emergencies when they arise. Anything the city can do to control costs is appreciated.

Thank you for emphasizing the need for public facilities to emphasize resource and energy efficiency. I also appreciate the references to fiscal sustainability, and would like to see that any future urban growth/annexation plans keep this in mind as well.

Staff Note: Comments made early than this one were based on an older version of the chapter material released in November 2024.

Public buildings should absolutely be gathering and emergency response centers, and be models for land use that aligns with our values. Our City Hall is a great example of this type of public building. All parks, and public spaces (including right of ways and open space) should maximize providing native tree canopy where possible. Green infrastructure should be fully integrated. Our current infrastructure is causing waterbodies to be polluted (Padden, Lake Whatcom, Bellingham Bay) and this is going to be more challenging as we add density -- it is critical that we stop building grey infrastructure and piping runoff to our waterbodies. Underground utilities (sewers) are needing replacement and the city should pay attention to this unseen aging infrastructure and when possible use these investments to bury utility lines and build out green infrastructure.

Underground electrical and communication lines for new building and whenever roads are rebuilt: the recent three wind storms including the "bomb cyclone" have shown the vulnerability.

Add a sewer treatment plant to the north for Cordata and other expansion (shorter underground runs), and redundancy.

Portions of the Samish and Cordata neighborhoods currently zoned for residential development within the city limits may not be developed or developed only at low densities because two water reservoirs are needed for the last 30 years. They have been either left out of earlier comprehensive plans or have been designated for "developer funding only". No one developer will be paying for a regional scale facility in order to construct even a medium development of 100 homes. These facilities benefit existing homes within the whole system, especially with adequate fire flow volume. The eventual elimination of all septic systems obviously requires an extension of sewer transmission lines in the south of Bellingham. The city staff appears to have acknoleged that they have a significant part to play in coordinating construction and financing of projects that benefit not only new housing, but also existing homes and the enviornment. I support the staff recommendations in this section.

Water tanks plans for King Mountain and Samish Hill have been on the books for decades ! As stated in the current housing strategies proposed by the Planning Dept. construction of these facilities will open up opportunities within the existing city limits as well as the UGA Reserve areas. We need to get these built.
We can't afford not to at this point !

Please continue to invest in infrastructure so we can add land to the city SO that more single family homes can be built!

My friends and family do not want to live in apartment buildings. They want to buy a modest home on a little lot and pay their taxes and live and help create a beautiful vibrant city.

If we do not build more SFHs they will just buy land in the county which has a larger negative environmental impact AND means the city doesnt get their tax dollars.

Please continue to invest in infrastructure so we can add land to the city SO that more single family homes can be built!

My friends and family do not want to live in apartment buildings. They want to buy a modest home on a little lot and pay their taxes and live and help create a beautiful vibrant city.

If we do not build more SFHs they will just buy land in the county which has a larger negative environmental impact AND means the city doesnt get their tax dollars.

I am extremely concerned about aging sewer infrastructure, especially since the upgrade plan fell through, and there were pluses and minuses for the three applicants. This is something to address proactively, because the consequences of waiting for failure are horrible.