Posted: January 23, 2007 08:17:04 PST
City of Bellingham officials are empowering neighborhoods to help shape their own destinies by encouraging neighborhood-based planning and providing funding for these efforts. Grants are available to conduct citizen-based neighborhood planning, and to get neighborhood associations off the ground in areas where none currently exist or have faltered.
"Bellingham is a city with an unusual sense of place and our neighborhoods are fundamental to that," said Bellingham Mayor Tim Douglas. "We hope to foster strong, democratic neighborhood organizations and offer them a vital role in shaping their future."
This emphasis is particularly evident in the task of updating neighborhood plans, which are the documents adopted by City Council, as part of the city Comprehensive Plan, that describe the character and function of each of the city's 23 neighborhoods and set forth goals and policies about how change and new development should occur there in the future.
Neighborhood plan updates
City officials have placed a priority on updating these plans, some of which were last updated in the early 1980s. Planning and Community Development Director Tim Stewart has asked neighborhood representatives to play a key role in this task by working neighbor-to-neighbor, prioritizing key areas of concern, and drafting proposals for changes to neighborhood plans and/or the land use codes affecting them.
This is a big task for even the most dedicated neighborhood leaders, so city officials have made resources available to help. And neighborhoods are rising to the occasion:
Under the Growth Management Act, cities may only make amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, or the Neighborhood Plans, once a year. Property owners may submit requests for changes to their zoning, and neighborhoods or citizens may request changes as well. In Bellingham, the Planning Director, the Planning Commission or the City Council may initiate proposed amendments from neighborhoods for formal review as part of this annual review process.
The Bellingham Planning Commission will kick off the 2007 Annual Review at a work session scheduled for Feb. 8. (Feb. 8 Planning Commission agenda)
2007 Annual Review
Of the seven proposals submitted by neighborhoods in December of 2006 to be part of the 2007 annual review, Stewart initiated five:
Fairhaven Neighborhood: Proposal to establish more restrictive height limits in the commercial and industrial areas and revise existing design review standards.
Guide Meridian Neighborhood: Proposal to delete outdated references to a nursery that used to be where Bellis Fair Mall now sits, and a reference to replacing a water line that has already been replaced.
Lettered Streets Neighborhood: Proposal to rezone two areas from multi-family to single-family, revise boundaries and development standards in certain areas, and to "grandfather" the multi-family uses so that they may be rebuilt if the rezone is approved.
South Hill Neighborhood: Proposal to revise the "Neighborhood Character" section of the plan to add a requirement that new building height and bulk limits be created to preserve character and protect views.
Samish Neighborhood: Proposal includes a complete update of the Samish Neighborhood Plan.
Initiating these proposals does not mean that the Planning & Community Development Department will endorse them, Stewart said. He said staff will review and provide recommendations to the Planning Commission regarding these proposals. The Planning Commission will hold public hearings and make a recommendation to the City Council, and the City Council will also conduct public hearings prior to making their final decisions.
In addition to the neighborhood proposals, nine site-specific neighborhood plan amendments or rezone requests were submitted by property owners to be part of the 2007 Annual Review.
For more information about neighborhood planning and resources available to support neighborhoods, visit www.cob.org/pcd and click on "Neighborhoods."
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Media Contact:
Nicole Oliver, Communications Coordinator
Planning & Community Development
360.676.6982
noliver@cob.org
