POSTED: Friday, Nov. 27, 2009

Bellingham to buy 3.85 acres in watershed to prevent development

BELLINGHAM - City leaders approved buying 3.85 acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed, preventing construction of two additional houses near the city's drinking-water supply.

The City Council on Monday, Nov. 23, voted 7-0 to purchase the land, which is near Strawberry Point (between Sudden Valley and Geneva). The city will spend $255,000 from the watershed acquisition fund to buy the land from Roger Bourm of Bellingham.

Money for the purchase comes from charges on water bills.

The property is vacant, but two houses could be built on it, said Patty Fernandez, real property manager at Bellingham Public Works. The city will preserve the land, which has trees on it, from development, she said.

The purchase will close by Dec. 15.

With the purchase, the city will own a total of 1,313 acres in the watershed, Fernandez said. Counting land that's protected through conservation easements or restrictive covenants, both of which prevent development, the city has protected a total of 1,477 acres. That's about 4.8 percent of all land within the watershed.