Approximately 68 acres of forested land on Samish Hill (east of 40th St) are slated for timber harvesting with follow-up plans to replant the logged areas with new tree seedlings within 1-year of harvesting. This area is within the Samish Neighborhood that stretches from Consolidation Ave at the north end to Lake Padden at the south end, and is bounded east and west by the city limits and I-5 respectively. Most of Samish Neighborhood is zoned residential single, presumably the largest area of undeveloped residential property in the city.
So it is interesting that activities are currently taking place on forested parcels of land in the Samish neighborhood that lie within the Bellingham City Limits and the designated urban growth boundary. This proposed and approved logging area lies adjacent to (east of) the Wildwood Hills and Whitewater subdivisions. A Class III Forest Practices Application /Notification (1 below) was approved by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources on December 16, 2018. This approved application allows for the harvesting of 95% of the trees on a 68.3-acre parcel (essentially a “clear-cut”) with requisite reforestation of the logged areas with various tree species (fir, cedar, hemlock, etc.); reforestation planting is tentatively scheduled for March 2020.
Samish Heights, Inc., a private owner group, was involved in creation of the Whitewater subdivision and recently filed the above-mentioned application for a 10-Year Forest Management Plan. This classification and approval allows for various forest activities to take place but requires adherence to a 10-Year moratorium on conversion of this land to any use other than Commercial Forest Product Operations. Related work began in December 2018 with the building of a 2,000-foot long gravel-topped access road to facilitate this project. Once this logging access road is fully graveled, logging activities are expected to begin and continue for approximately four (4) weeks.
This current logging project follows a related Timber Thinning Project (same property owners & logging company) that took place in the Fall of 2017. The approximately 33 acres of timber that were harvested at that time were done so under the jurisdiction of a Class IV Forest Practices Application/Notification involving conversion from forestry to non-forestry use. The 110-acre parcel of land that was involved in 2017 includes the current 68.3-acre Class III project.
Importantly, as part of the recently approved application, the property owner (Samish Heights, Inc.) states:
”I am the legal owner of the above listed parcel(s) and by way of this statement; I am opting out of the requirements of a Class IV-General Forest Practice Application within an urban growth area. I assure the local government and the State of Washington, that by opting out, I intend NOT TO CONVERT TO A USE OTHER THAN COMMERCIAL PRODUCT OPERATIONS FOR A TEN YEAR PERIOD from the date of approval of the application or notification for the parcel(s) listed above; and I will manage the forest land in accordance with the accompanying forest management plan.”
These statements appear to indicate that the governing application (at least for the present or until any other application is submitted and approved) is indeed the Class III plan. As such, it places a moratorium on other land uses – essentially excluding the development of any residential home sites for the near term.
Per discussions with Washington State Department of Natural Resources staff, this Forest Practices Approval/Notification - Class III is the current governing document. If the property owner chooses to make a future change to the governance of this property, the owner can file a different Forest Practices Application/Notification which – upon approval - can then become the governing document. This dynamic process of governing classification and land-use deserves continued vigilance on the part of interested residents of the Samish neighborhood as well as other Bellingham residents.
Simply put, this particular area within the Bellingham Urban Growth Boundary appears as though it may continue to be primarily inhabited by a variety of 4-legged native forest animals for the foreseeable future. Future changes, however, could alter the make-up some of these last remaining forested tracts of unbuilt land on Samish Hill. Already there are preliminary actions by a different private developer with land at the north end of the Samish Neighborhood to formally request a final abandonment of the San Juan Boulevard connector between Yew St. and Samish Way (east-west) allowing for development of hundreds of lots while reconfiguring the path of Governor Rd. (north-south). Much more to come with respect to Samish Hill. Stay tuned.
Comments by Readers
Konrad Lau
Apr 05, 2019I don’t know what country this is taking place in, but I believe that in America the owner of the property owner gets to decide how best to use his land.
Of course, someone could always purchase the land and save the trees that are rapidly becoming a fire hazard located in the middle of residential areas.
If the place catches ablaze, who will be criticized then?
My issue is: Too many folks want to criticize land owners and do not offer a way to help pay the ever-increasing property taxes. A high percentage of these guys have “There is No Farmland Without Farmers” bumper stickers and continue to vote in Leftists who never contemplated a tax they didn’t like.
Tom Dohman
Apr 05, 2019My article was replete with lots of facts about the current logging operation (with references to past adjacent logging and future road considerations) and was meant to inform both the residents surrounding Samish Hill as well as the rest of our tax-paying citizens. Informed citizens can and should draw their own conclusions about what impact these activities may have on their quality of life or even their livelihoods.
It would be irresponsible not to draw attention to the aspect of roads and traffic management related to possible future site developments, as ingress and egress needs are addressed. Nearly all the citizens of Whatcom County share in the costs of road building and road maintenance, either directly or indirectly. Residents living in close proximity to these future developments will additionally feel the everyday impacts related to more vehicle traffic.
I welcome the input of readers into the discussion on this topic as informed citizens are more likely to engage with future city planning (site devlopment, infrastructure building and road layouts & connections) as those decisions that are made will affect us for decades to come.
Dick Conoboy
Apr 06, 2019Konrad,
Tom made no characterization about the advisability of any of the projects on Samish Hill/Crest. His was an informative piece, largely devoid of making any recommendations or complaints about current activities. You have drawn conclusions from his article that were not even remotely suggested. These projects will come up in the future and their effect, positive and negative will be debated. An informed citizenry is best prepared to then decide on specific actions.
Konrad Lau
Apr 07, 2019Rest assured, my commentary was based on a prevailing attitude seen all too often in a select few of “Let’s do what we want (with regards to any subject) and let the tax payer hang…because we feel its right or noble” or some other altruistic notion. The problem arises from the fact that usually the altruism is a sacrifice made by those not making the decision (i.e. the land owner).
So often I see commentary like this, supposedly “merely informational” that morphs into a radical agenda replete with pitchforks, torches and nooses. In virtually every case, someone or some institution is categorized as “evil” for not wanting to comply with the vocal minority’s opinion.
In every case, there are land use notifications posted prominently around properties under consideration for development, harvesting or other use. Their purpose is to mitigate citizens complaints they “…were never informed” by giving written notice of intent. Public hearings (many times multiple public hearings) invariably accompany the decision process.
My goal in participating in these dialogs is to try to get alternative views solutions in circulation (We always hear about folks wanting “conversation” don’t we?) rather than to glibly agree with prevailing sentiment while rushing to do something just because doing something…anything… is our first impulse.