Whatcom County Water Use: When and Why
Eric Hirst contributes this brief overview of a complex water situation. These views are supported by the attached well researched report by Hirst. During the winter, it’s hard to [...]
Planning
A Water Shortage Problem, NOT a Water Shortage
On December 6, the Whatcom County Council voted 5 to 2 (Brenner and Mann voted no) to lift the temporary moratorium that was passed on November 9, 2016. The new interim ordinance that replaces it [...]
Hearing Examiner Halts Seattle’s ADU Ordinance
In a decision that may have an impact on the planned update of Bellingham’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance in 2017, Sue Tanner, the hearing examiner in Seattle, remanded to [...]
Amendment to Planning Commission Ordinance Passes Unanimously
A month ago I wrote that there were changes in the offing with the composition of the Planning Commission to avoid possible group bias. [My original article can be found [...]
Interim Ordinance on Rural Water Wells is Essential
Eric Hirst guest writes. We appreciate his expert perspective on this important local issue. Elisabeth Britt, in a NW Citizen article on Nov 25, argues that Whatcom County made a mistake [...]
County Rural Residents Can Check On Water
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 [...]
Anatomy of a Development Part XIII - It’s Baaaaaack!
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 [...]
Water Well Drilling Moratorium is Bad Idea
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 [...]
Changes May Be In Store For The City Planning Commission
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 [...]
The “Smoking Gun” to Provide Amnesty for Illegal Housing Units
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 [...]