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The Department of Ecology has posted an interactive map to assist Whatcom County with determining legally available domestic water availability. The map displays areas where instream flows are not being [...]
Over two years ago, I chronicled the ups and downs of the struggle in the Puget and Samish neighborhoods to resist the implantation of a terribly out-of-scale, privately-owned student dormitory [...]
In October, the Washington Supreme Court entered a decision in Whatcom County v. Hirst, (Hirst) a Growth Management Act (GMA) case. In the opinion, the court states that counties have [...]
Update Sun afternoon, Nov 13: We have added a link below Dick’s article to a 4 page pdf by the Responsible Development organization that provides an action plan on the issue [...]
On October 24, our City Council voted 5 to 2 (with Terry Bornemann and Gene Knutson opposed) to accept Policy H-18 of the Comprehensive Plan. Policy H-18 is a mere 47-word statement playing [...]
Anne Mackie guest writes about the Monday, Oct 17, Bellingham City Council meeting. She is a community leader who lives in the York neighborhood. What does it look like when a [...]
The city published a Notice of Application and Optional DNS* Process on October 5, 2016 with a comment period of only two weeks for a logging operation of a substantial nature on [...]
Guest writer Anne Mackie lives in the York Neibhborhood and is a community leader on residential planning processes. She has organized the Sep 14 community forum. Oddly, the month of August [...]
Anne Mackie guest writes. Anne has lived in the York neighborhood for many years and is a community leader on issues of neighborhood planning. Saturday Night Live’s Roseanne Roseanna [...]
After the “Shout Down” by Council President Pinky Vargas on August 8, Anne Mackie and Dick Conoboy received the following email from Council Member April Barker, author of the [...]
The developer and city have surrendered in their effort to allow building new homes in the Critical Area that protects the Great Blue Heron colony on Bellingham’s waterfront.
2 comments, most recent 3 weeks agoShall we protect - or shall we forever change - the nature of established residential neighborhoods?
8 comments, most recent 4 weeks agoIt is too early to determine the effects of a new code on accessory dwelling units aimed at improving housing affordability. Experience elsewhere says they will not.
2 comments, most recent 2 months agoUpdated May 21. How each of us can help protect the Great Blue Herons nesting trees from city proposed approval of development in the buffer trees.
4 comments, most recent 2 months agoBellingham’s Only Great Blue Heron colony Faces Human Threats - Again. Who Wants to Help?
6 comments, most recent 3 months agoVarious activities on Samish Hill suggest the future for a large area of land zoned single-family.
4 comments, most recent 4 months agoBellingham Public Schools staff Greg Baker and Ron Cowan display contempt for public involvement, the environment, and public disclosure with the bus barn issue on Whatcom Creek.
15 comments, most recent 6 months agoRe-imagining Bellingham’s Waterfront
14 comments, most recent 6 months agoJason Hickel asks “Can we have perpetual growth AND a healthy ecology?”
3 comments, most recent 5 months agoLight pollution and special events seem to be the new normal at the Twin Sisters Brewery
5 comments, most recent 9 months agoA critical analysis of the Whatcom Regional Transportation Study. A study that falls under the category of lies, damned lies, and statistics for sure.
1 comment, most recent 10 months agoMessaging by anecdotes, not facts, is becoming the watchword of creating ordinances in Bellingham
8 comments, most recent 1 year agoAn investigation of how the the DADU will destroy our Sacred Single-family neighborhoods.
22 comments, most recent 1 year agoBeware of the companies that will place that cute ADU in your backyard and turn you into a debtor overnight.
3 comments, most recent 1 year agoUpdate: comment extended to May15 for requesting public shorelines hearing, EIS, and public hearing - else city poised to approve townhouses by Derek Stebner be build virtually in Padden Creek.
5 comments, most recent 1 year agoUpdated: Our Whatcom County Council is considering an ordinance tomorrow that will gut the provisions of state legislation that opened back up rural water wells for home owners and farmers.
9 comments, most recent 1 year agoA good explanation of the amount of water in the Nooksack River on a seasonal basis - and the demands that people and salmon make on that flow. Eric is the expert.
6 comments, most recent 1 year agoSupposedly fighting for cheaper housing options in Happy Valley, Wendy Scherrer accepts an award from Whatcom Realtors.
17 comments, most recent 1 year agoWashington state Governor Jay Inslee signed bipartisan legislation today that resolves the rural water permits for homeowner uses.
6 comments, most recent 1 year agoWherein your humble writer considers the argument over Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADU’s) which the City is proposing to permit in single family neighborhoods.
38 comments, most recent 1 year agoDick Conoboy has written for over 10 years about Bellingham city hall not enforcing its own laws and the slow destruction of single family neighborhoods. The award is well earned.
3 comments, most recent 1 year agoIrrigation, the use of huge field sprinklers, is the big user of unpermitted water in our county. Not family households. Eric presents a solution.
10 comments, most recent 1 year agoThe city is beginning a process of densification to rezone/up-zone all single family neighborhoods. Pay attention.
5 comments, most recent 1 year agoWill Bellingham Neighborhoods wake up in time? Or will we experience the same failure of upzoning reform as our friends in Ballard?
7 comments, most recent 1 year agoResidents of several neighborhoods are organizing to preserve Bellingham’s livability and affordability.
1 comment, most recent 1 year agoA study on how home water usage management can target those using the most water. This may be a step towards a solution of our perceived county water supply and usage challenges.
7 comments, most recent 1 year agoRural Whatcom County farmers use a lot of water for irrigating their fields. How much is used? Eric Hirst tells us what is known and not known.
10 comments, most recent 2 years agoA continuation of the conversation about neighborhood character and infill proposals.
19 comments, most recent 2 years agoRental inspections have been taking place in Happy Valley. Results similar to York and Sehome Neighborhoods
84% of the respondents to the 2017 Bellingham Residential Survey are homeowners. What?
2 comments, most recent 4 months agoThe state supreme court ‘Hirst Decision’ has a lot of false information swirling in our county. Eric Hirst takes on seven myths and tries to clarify the issues.
5 comments, most recent 2 years agoOur rural Whatcom County residents are being denied the right to have water for new homes, and this in a county that has no idea how much water it has, but has a lot.
22 comments, most recent 2 years agoThe newest members of the commission do not come from the development industry.
5 comments, most recent 2 years agoPublic banks are the answer to low cost financing and divestment from the private banking casino.
4 comments, most recent 2 years agoWhatcom County has plenty of water in winter, when people need it least. But in summer, when demand for water is at its peak, it is often in short supply.
2 comments, most recent 2 years agoEric Hirst writes an overview of seasonal water use in Whatcom County - and supports his views with a well researched report that he also wrote.
7 comments, most recent 2 years agoA counter to Hirst’s position. An insightful overview of the current situation with Whatcom County’s exempt water wells and the unfair building moratorium the council has put on rural property owners.
3 comments, most recent 2 years agoThe hearing examiner sent Seattle’s planners back to the drawing board on its ADU environmental impact study.
3 comments, most recent 2 years agoToday the city council unanimously approved an amendment to the Planning Commission ordinance to avoid group bias by limiting (to three) appointments of those with ties to development.
2 comments, most recent 2 years agoEric Hirst responds to Elisabeth Britt’s article about the legal and physical issues of our rural Whatcom County water wells for homes, farms and businesses.
3 comments, most recent 2 years agoThe Lummi Island ferry is a very old and decrepit vessel. The state ferry system wants to give us a newer one in great condition. Whatcom County says no. Tip tells the tale.
6 comments, most recent 3 years agoTim Paxton guest writes about the defects in planning for the Options High School.
5 comments, most recent 3 years agoThe planned concrete walkway from Boulevard Park to the Cornwall landfill, using millions in Greenway funds, has been abandoned by Bellingham. We again thank the Lummi.
11 comments, most recent 3 years agoBellingham School officials expect a slam dunk by Hearing Examiner and city council on street vacation and conditional use permit. By Patrick McKee.
2 comments, most recent 3 years agoThe Sunnyland residents have just learned they have only today to comment on a huge impacting building project in their neighborhood.
11 comments, most recent 3 years agoUber has started a new type of public taxi service in many cities, including Bellingham. It is controversial.
3 comments, most recent 3 years agoTani Sutley writes on the continuing issue of houses in residential zones that are used essentially as hotels and disrupt quiet neighborhoods.
Beware walking RR tracks on the Fairhaven waterfront in the event of unexpected encounter with a high speed train
2 comments, most recent 3 years agoYoung Chiara spent 3 nights hanging from the anchor chain of Shell Oil’s Arctic Challenger as a protest to arctic oil drilling.
The port’s latest bone-headed deal calls for the good citizens of Whatcom County to consider the options…unless we’re enjoying our Groundhog Day.
3 comments, most recent 4 years agoPort of Bellingham today sold out our public waterfront to a foreign shell company formed 6 days ago. Sold it cheap and with a screwy arrangement.
32 comments, most recent 4 years agoAdd your thoughts and remembrances. Robyn du Pre` was a stalwart and true environmental advocate for Bellingham and Whatcom County. She died this week.
9 comments, most recent 4 years agoJudith Green of the Sunnyland Neighborhood guest writes this brief summary of what went wrong with the planning last week.
1 comment, most recent 4 years agoThe public needs to support city council and request that a waterfront habitat assessment include terrestrial species and habitat connectivity.
The old empty Reid Boiler Works industrial building in Fairhaven burned to the ground Saturday night.
Do we actually need to say that we, as citizens, want accurate information from government officials?
1 comment, most recent 5 years agoA Port of Bellingham internal memo tries, but fails, to justify changes in cost estimates for alternative marina sites.
5 comments, most recent 5 years agoLocal activist calls on Bellingham City Council to table the unpopular waterfront plans and engage in meaningful public process
2 comments, most recent 5 years agoThe Political Junkie has posted a 3 minute video showing Bellingham City Council members explaining their idiocy for all of us to watch.
2 comments, most recent 5 years agoBellingham City Council and Port of Bellingham finalize the waterfront plan. In his weekly Gristle, Tim Johnson blasts the corrupt public process.
4 comments, most recent 5 years agoBeach reconstruction is done at Boulevard Park on the Bellingham waterfront. Paths along shore are again open - and it looks good.
6 comments, most recent 5 years agoThe city staff considers the overwater walkway a done deal before official approval or resolution of treaty right conflicts
4 comments, most recent 5 years agoThe city and port have not addressed wildlife impacts from waterfront development and this should be done before a waterfront plan is enacted.
The proposed development ought not proceed without a more extensive geological assessment and a thorough evaluation of the impacts on the Lincoln Creek watershed.
Ambling University Development has substantially underestimated the role of the car in the lives of its eventual student renters and their visitors.
2 comments, most recent 6 years agoThe traffic analysis for the University Ridge dormitory development in the Puget Neighborhood lacks realistic data and leads to incorrect conclusions that the city must address.
2 comments, most recent 6 years agoRiley Sweeney examines Sen. Ericksen’s legislative methods
A variance request without merit is the centerpiece of a development proposal to construct a complex of four dormitory-style buildings among single family homes in the Puget Neighborhood
Some very important issues with respect to the University Ridge private dormitory project in the Puget Neighborhood will not be considered in the approval process.
10 comments, most recent 6 years agoAmbling University Development has proposed building private, off-campus dormitory buildings in the Puget Neighborhood. Their revised proposal was submitted on 29 April.
The City Planning Department has included a technical document in the waterfront proposal without disclosing important impacts.
1 comment, most recent 6 years agoWendy Harris writes about the proposed $8 million concrete bridge along the Bellingham waterfront - using Greenways funds to build.
3 comments, most recent 6 years agoSeveral complaints to the city seem to have occasioned a postponement of a height variance hearing until a complete development proposal is submitted.
1 comment, most recent 6 years agoA variance request pending before the City could create a loophole for developers seeking to avoid compliance with development standards.
5 comments, most recent 6 years agoThere is a private sector development proposal to house approximately 600 students in the Puget Neighborhood on 11 acres to the east of Nevada St.
5 comments, most recent 6 years agoAn “Updated Preferred Alternative” reduces the number of waterfront jobs and expands the boundary of the waterfront district.
Graphics projected on building each night in effort to bring attention to threatened building
3 comments, most recent 7 years agoWhere a planning staff desire for view corridors in the Fairhaven plan yields a view corridor that does nothing for views.
1 comment, most recent 7 years agoBellingham Port Commissioner Scott Walker motioned for the port to ask Executive Director Charlie Sheldon to resign.
5 comments, most recent 7 years agoRiley interviews Clayton Petree about his view of Downtown Bellingham
6 comments, most recent 8 years agoTime is running out for public comment on the Port’s proposal to use toxic waste as a cap at waterfront re-development site.
5 comments, most recent 8 years agoGuest writer Doug Karlberg follows up with report from Tuesday’s Port Commission meeting
7 comments, most recent 8 years agoWhy the price of moorage matters to all Whatcom County. A guest article by Doug Karlberg.
5 comments, most recent 8 years agoWendy Harris writes about a multi million dollar planned city of Bellingham project.
9 comments, most recent 8 years agoMaybe NOAA knows the truth about our waterfront. Our Port of Bellingham pretends it is not toxic. But it is criminally toxic.
2 comments, most recent 9 years ago
I’ve been to Los Angeles many times. I even remember the Red and Yellow electric street cars that served the city from after World War II until their demise in 1961. You
Seems like the offices of Frank Chmelik, the attorney for the Port of Bellingham, are becoming our defacto Port offices. Instead of conferences and meetings at the Port, the really important o
2 comments, most recent 9 years agoDan Pike’s guest editorial in Sunday’s Herald is a direct result of an article on NwCitizen earlier this week. Indeed, on Wednesday, after the article had only been up for a couple hours, I go
3 comments, most recent 10 years agoWe local taxpayers have contributed $20 million of our own tax dollars to AIG’s executives. Remember? A couple years ago the Port bought an insurance policy from AIG to cover possible over co
3 comments, most recent 10 years agoComing to our Fairhaven waterfront - this magnificent floating drydock. The above aerial photo is of the Fairhaven Shipyard with the new drydock placed as a computer image at the end of the long dock
1 comment, most recent 10 years ago
