News - Local News

POSTED: Monday, Jun. 15, 2009

Bellingham considers letting developers pay to increase project density

BELLINGHAM - City Council members are being asked to approve a plan that would allow developers to pay for more density on housing projects, but the system appears to be far from a perfect solution.

On Monday, June 15, council members will consider a proposal that planning staff say is the first step in helping strengthen the city's program to protect Lake Whatcom water quality, the drinking water source of more than 91,000 Whatcom County residents, including the entire city.

Officials have been working to encourage developers to partake in programs that let them purchase the right to build from a property owner in the Lake Whatcom watershed and exchange it for allowing more housing units on projects in urban growth areas, where the city intends to annex land for future growth.

But the extra development rights don't have much or any value to developers, according to the city's report on the current transfer program, so they'd have to get a lot of building rights for the purchase of one valuable watershed development right, for example.

Current economic conditions are hurting the program even further, and it could be a decade before the situation changes, the report states.

In the interim, city staff members are recommending letting developers pay the city for more density on projects. The money would then go into a specific account that would let the government buy up watershed property. They've already purchased about 1,450 acres and own 700 development rights, according to a recent report.

But local developer Ralph Black said the program still might not be that attractive for builders. That's because the underlying density of property isn't the density they can build on, due to various restrictions, like wetlands, critical areas laws and parks mitigation. A property that might look like it could hold 100 housing units without those limitations might be able to take only 30 units after those mandates are considered.

Paying the city for more density, therefore, would be pointless if it was already impossible to add more housing on the property.

City officials say in council documents that though the program might not take off immediately, it's still an appropriate time to create the program's structure and work on more measures that will help protect water quality.

Black said there needs to be more "frank discussion" between officials and developers on where the density-receiving areas are located. One such area happens to be in the recently annexed King Mountain area, where Black owns property.

Black also pointed out that people looking to purchase housing are still interested in larger, less dense single-family lots. That's even more the case now that there is less pressure to provide more housing, because of the recession, he said.

"People are stepping back and it's more of a quality of life issue," Black said, adding that quality of life could be more open space and trails a homebuyer wants. And that, of course, means even less density.