News - Local News

POSTED: Monday, Jun. 29, 2009

Bellingham council moves toward final waterfront effort

JBELLINGHAM - City Council appeared poised late Monday, June 29, to vote 5-2 in favor of approving spending $332,500 on final-phase waterfront studies to complete the planning process for 220 waterfront acres by early next year.

That money, already a part of the city's 2009 budget, would be matched by the Port of Bellingham as the planning process moves into its final phase.

The money includes $50,000 as the city share of a study of potential reuses of 11 old brick buildings on the central waterfront that formerly housed Georgia-Pacific Corp.'s pulp and paper operations. The Port of Bellingham, the owner of the waterfront property, will contribute the same amount.

During an afternoon committee discussion, five council members appeared ready to move ahead, but Barbara Ryan and Jack Weiss urged delay on this and other studies in the package. Besides the examination of the suitability of the old buildings for new uses, the $332,500 would pay for completion of a master plan, development regulations, and environmental impact statement for public review and eventual vote by both the City Council and Port of Bellingham commissioners early next year.

Ryan and Weiss wanted to delay any vote on the full package until the completion of the study to determine whether there is any hope of saving some of the brick structures in the path of new streets planned to link the bay to downtown.

Mayor Dan Pike opposed any such delay. He argued that the council already agreed to the street configuration on a 4-2 vote, with Ryan and Weiss dissenting, in April after many months of public discussion. Port officials would likely see a new delay as a breach of faith on the city's part, Pike said.

Council member Gene Knutson said the city needed to follow through on a commitment to the port that was made even before the port assumed ownership of G-P's waterfront property in early 2005.

"The port would not have moved forward with that purchase if we were not a working partner," Knutson said. "We signed on. ... If we stop now or even delay it now, I think it sends the wrong message."

Knutson also noted that before final decisions on waterfront planning issues face the council and port commission in 2010, voters will have a chance to weigh in. Two of the three port commission seats are up for election, and both incumbents face challengers.

Les Reardanz, an assistant city attorney who is also the city's waterfront project manager, said there would still be time to alter the street routes if the building study provides persuasive reasons to do so. But he too urged the council to press ahead by providing the money needed to finish the planning process.

"The public does want to see this move forward," Reardanz said. "People are very excited about this project. ... We need to push forward if we're going to do this in a timely manner."