County, cities begins planning for future growth

JARED PABEN

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By December, planners should have an estimate for how large Whatcom County's population could be in 20 years, and three options for where that new population should live, according to a draft plan.

The work Whatcom County is beginning will decide where and how densely cities will grow and how many people will be allowed to move into rural lands. In the past, planning like this - in a county where fast growth threatens open spaces, natural resources and neighborhood character - has been mired in political fighting and legal challenges.

"The most important reason to pay attention and get involved (now) is that under the Growth Management Act, if they don't, then they're precluded from complaining later," said Doug Peters, a planner who works for the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and covers planning in four counties, including Whatcom.

The Growth Management Coordinating Council, made up of elected leaders from Whatcom County and each city, meets monthly. The meetings are open to the public. The next meeting will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Whatcom Educational Credit Union, 5659 Barrett Road in Ferndale.
A council has been formed with representatives from Whatcom County and all its cities to help county government in deciding where future growth is going to go. The council, which meets monthly, will help the county review and revise its urban growth areas and update its comprehensive plan. The council is voluntary and it's not created by law or any intergovernmental agreements. Following are the members of the council, called the Growth Management Coordinating Council: -- Pete Kremen, county executive. -- Sam Crawford, County Council member. -- Seth Fleetwood, County Council member. -- Dan Pike, mayor of Bellingham. -- Barbara Ryan, Bellingham City Council member. -- Bonnie Onyon, mayor of Blaine. -- Andy Rowlson, Everson City Council member. -- Gary Jensen, mayor of Ferndale. -- Jack Louws, mayor of Lynden. -- Scott Bodven, Nooksack City Council member. -- Bob Bromley, mayor of Sumas. Note: Planning directors from each city, the county, tribes, Port of Bellingham and Whatcom Council of Governments meet regularly to provide the council recommendations. David Stalheim, director of Whatcom County planning department, acts as the coordinating staff for the council.

Whatcom County has signed a contract to pay consultants ICF Jones & Stokes up to $150,000 to help county and city leaders kickstart a multi-year effort to update the county's comprehensive plan. The company has developed a draft public involvement plan that lays out how the county will include residents, landowners, nonprofits and government agencies through the end of 2008.

The consultants will help create the following:

A visioning process where people comment on their idea for the county's future.
Projections for what the population will be in the future (in Whatcom County, most growth comes from people moving here).
Projections for what the future employment growth will be.
Three options for where new populations and businesses should go and at what densities.
A method of calculating the amount of land available in cities, unincorporated urban growth areas and rural areas for development.
A method of calculating future demand for land.
A method of monitoring available land as development occurs over the next 20 years.

Under state law, the county must update its comprehensive plan by 2011. Under that law, it must also review and, if necessary, change its urban growth areas to accommodate expected growth over the next two decades.

A state growth board found that Whatcom County's effort to review its urban growth areas last year and earlier this year didn't follow state law, and it ordered the county to do the review properly by June 30, 2009.

Under state law, the county must work with the cities in deciding their futures. David Stalheim, director of the county's planning department, helped create a new 11-member committee, called the Growth Management Coordinating Council, to help them work together. The council includes elected leaders from Whatcom County and each of the cities.

Stalheim recently told the council it would cost about $60,000 in planning in 2009 to meet the urban growth area review deadline, and leaders have discussed sharing the costs. Bellingham and Whatcom County would each pay $24,000, and the remaining $12,000 would be split by the other six cities based on their populations.

Peters said it's not uncommon for counties to establish coordinating councils to ensure governments are on the same page with planning. One of the most difficult tasks in planning is reviewing and changing urban growth areas. That's because it involves cooperation between cities and counties, which may have different politics and ideas for growth, Peters said.

In planning Bellingham's future, city leaders in past years wanted more outward expansion than county leaders would accept. They failed to negotiate a middle ground, and the county approved its plan to add just 286 acres north of Bellingham into the city's urban growth area. That decision was challenged by landowners, and the case still hasn't been decided by a state growth board.