Whatcom County Council changes, approves controversial growth plan

Kremen's offers compromise on Lynden's growth plan

JARED PABEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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A controversial update of growth areas countywide that pitted the Whatcom County Council against the county's executive was approved shortly before midnight Tuesday, Nov. 24.

But before the council's 4-3 vote, several changes were made, including compromises on plans for growth in Lynden and Sumas.

While the plan still differed from what County Executive Pete Kremen proposed, his earlier threat to veto the council's plan appeared to be much less likely.

The major compromise came when the council abandoned its own plan for Lynden's future growth and instead agreed with Kremen's plan, which allows new urban growth on farmland northwest of town.

Kremen had said the council's proposal didn't respect the wishes of the small towns or the work of his planning staff. His proposal differed from the small towns' requests, but it was closer than what the council was proposing. And in the end, the city of Lynden's administration told the council that it, too, supported Kremen's plan.

The motion to compromise on Lynden came from council member Carl Weimer, who said it was the toughest compromise he was proposing. He previously said he thought it would be the biggest sticking point between the council and administration.

Specifically, the council voted 6-1 to allow Lynden to add urban growth area east of Double Ditch Road. Council member Bob Kelly voted against it, and Laurie Caskey-Schreiber was out of the council chambers during the vote.

"To some degree, we were punishing them for doing a good job," Weimer said, noting that the city has done well with water conservation and encouraging infill development within its current boundaries.

The city, he said, is hemmed in by farmland or flood lands and can't go outward except into those areas.

The decision was part of the county's project to update urban growth areas throughout the county to accommodate the next two decades of growth, including all seven cities, Columbia Valley, Birch Bay and Cherry Point.

A state growth board has ordered the county to finish the update by Dec. 1; if not, the board could ask the governor to impose sanctions on the county. Whatcom County is already two and a half years late doing the update.

The final council vote didn't come until 11:40 p.m., with council members Seth Fleetwood, Carl Weimer, Barbara Brenner and Laurie Caskey-Schreiber supporting the update. Sam Crawford, Ward Nelson and Bob Kelly voted against it.

The council also reversed its previous direction on Sumas, where it proposed removing all of the unincorporated urban growth area. Kremen supported adding urban growth area in south Sumas, and the council eventually agreed with him.

It's unclear if the council's changes will be enough to avoid a Kremen veto, which would cause the county to miss its deadline. Dewey Desler, director of the county's administrative services, briefed Kremen Wednesday on what the council approved.

Staff and Kremen need time to go through the changes to the plan before Kremen makes a decision on a veto, Desler said. Legally, Kremen has 10 business days to veto.

"It appears on the surface that the council had adopted much of what the executive recommended, which is great," Desler said.

Kremen couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

A veto would mean the county missing its deadline to update all urban growth areas. Kremen previously said he would talk to the governor before doing the veto to receive an assurance the county wouldn't be punished. The governor could withhold taxes from the county as punishment, although Kremen said that wouldn't be likely in this case because Whatcom County is making a good-faith effort to do its planning.

At least one small city, Ferndale, will likely oppose the council's decision. Civic leaders have previously said they oppose both the council and Kremen's plans for growth.

Kremen supports putting some areas around Ferndale into an "urban growth area reserve" status, which means urban growth isn't immediately allowed but the area could be converted into growth area when certain conditions are met.

"We feel it goes into urban reserve and it goes in purgatory," said Dennis Rhodes, planning director for Ferndale. The "city is faced with a devil's bargain."