BELLINGHAM — The city and the Port of Bellingham appear to be moving closer together on a layout plan for streets to serve the redevelopment of 220 acres on the central waterfront.
The street layout plan is one of the issues that must be resolved by June 10, which is the port and city’s self-imposed deadline for completion of a redevelopment proposal that can be fine-tuned into a master plan by the end of the year.
The master plan will change waterfront zoning from its existing heavy industrial designation to a mixed-use area that could accommodate homes, stores and offices as well as light industry. It also will set limits on the level of development allowed on the property, most of which was acquired by the port in 2005 after Georgia-Pacific Corp. phased out its operations here.
At a Wednesday morning update for port commissioners, consultants displayed a street layout proposal meant to address some concerns of city engineers about the cost of an earlier plan that port officials favored.
The new plan still includes a layout that calls for routing streets toward the bay by angling them off existing rights-ofway to create an east-west alignment, instead of simply extending existing streets straight toward the water as city officials have suggested. But the plan shifts the path of the main northsouth street slightly to the west, where the elevation is lower. That will cut cost by reducing the grade level needed to connect the north-south street to existing downtown streets, consultant Steve Schlenker said.
Under this plan, the new north-south street, labeled “Old Mill Street” on consultants’ maps, eventually would be linked to Commercial Street. Schlenker said parking could be built under the streets. In the first phase of development, Old Mill Street would be angled to the northeast as it nears Whatcom Waterway, to connect with Roeder Avenue at a right angle.
Tom Rosenberg, engineer and assistant director of Bellingham Public Works, said the angled design has a significant advantage: New streets would cross the existing railroad tracks at right angles, making the needed bridges less expensive.
The plan outlined Wednesday also calls for the initial stages of commercial development to occur in and around Old Mill Street where it would intersect with the newly aligned east-west segment of Commercial Street, which would include a wide green corridor.
Arlan Collins, partner in the CollinsWoerman consulting firm that is leading the planning effort, said the development must be planned in stages, and the first stage should be at the edge of the existing downtown rather than nearer the bay. Demand will be greatest for development sites closest to the water, Collins said. If the port and city let those areas be developed first, he said, the real estate between the water and downtown may languish.
On another issue, Collins said planners are looking for ways to enable the redeveloped waterfront to set a new standard of environmentally friendly energy, water and sewer systems.
Among other things, he suggested systems that enable reuse of both storm water and socalled gray water, such as water that has been used to wash clothes, dishes or people. Water used for some things, such as toilet-flushing or lawn-watering, doesn’t have to be clean enough to drink.
“It’s amazing that our country has adopted a model where potable water is used for everything,” he said.
Installation of the most energy- efficient power and heating systems, including such things as solar panels and mini-generators on water lines, can cut power costs dramatically, he added.
While the initial cost of such systems might seem high, Collins suggested it would pay off because some potential developers and tenants would want to be part of a technologically advanced development that could get international attention.
“You get to use that as part of your branding,” Collins said. “They (environmental systems) will differentiate you when you go to compete. You’ll get a shot at investment you wouldn’t otherwise get.”