Economic Development Chapter

I see increasing numbers of small businesses such as restaurants and gift shops closing. It may have been the minimum wages recently enacted or that they didn’t have a sound business plan. Or, could it be because of the increasing crime, homeless squatting and litter? I no longer go downtown. It isn’t safe.
As far as economic growth, small productive businesses are more likely to help with employment. Encourage their incubation with a few tax breaks.

I'm looking forward to hearing about what "creating a business friendly culture" looks like. I've heard this being said for years but haven't seen the city take action, nor have I heard any real plans for creating this "culture". Kim Lund recently signed an order relieving restrictions on residential development which is great, but we also need to be doing those things for small businesses in our city.

It's getting very difficult to operate a business within the city because of minimum wage mandates, parking availability, public safety, difficulties getting permits for TI's, noise ordinances etc. Small businesses are the heart of this economy, but they continually get shoved aside in the name of worker's rights, and more tax dollars. Why should small operators be paying $2 more per hour than the already highest in the nation minimum wage....to workers that receive tips? How about an exemption for having tipped workers? This would protect restaurateurs and bar/taproom operators from paying unnecessarily inflated wages to workers who are making more than the owners in tips, and leaving nothing for the business. Food and drink in Bellingham is becoming too expensive because of minimum wage and tip pressure.

I'd like to see safer and more functional, and more affordable parking areas downtown as well as in the Urban Village areas. Between the dangerous bike lane additions to our main motorist arterials, and lack of publicly provided parking, driving into downtown or UBA's is becoming a challenge and downright dangerous. As much as we all want people to ride their bikes, mother nature calls the shots around here 9 months of the year. We can't fight people driving their cars in in-climate weather and we should be way more thoughtful about where we're putting bike lanes. Get bikes off our main arterial roads.

Bellingham is the cultural and economic heart of Whatcom County. This should continue to be our goal. City leaders should actively seek to accommodate the majority of Whatcom County's population growth and also plan well for it. Building and maintaining a vibrant, resilient downtown will require achieving a critical mass of population made up of a diversity of people and businesses throughout the entire City. We need to embrace the future with proactive infrastructure planning and directed growth strategies for a variety of housing opportunities.

I favor expanding the UGAs to enable growth of all housing types, but UGA expansion will also allow the city to build small commercial in new residential areas.

As we expand, we need to add child care facilities, especially those accommodating very young children. I'm not sure if there is anything the city can do to encourage that, but the city should consider whether zoning laws can be amended to make it childcare a permitted use in more zones.

Do not rezone town centers as 79-unit multifamily residential areas if our intention is to support the integration of small-scale commercial in residential areas.