About three years ago, then Bellingham Mayor Mark Asmundson told opponents of Fairhaven Highlands that if they wanted to stop the development that they should form a special taxing district and raise the money to buy the property.
Several residents took him up on the challenge and in 2006 proposed the Chuckanut Mountain Park District.
Unfortunately, the group has come up with a plan that goes well beyond the original idea of raising money for Fairhaven Highlands. They propose a park district that stretches over 60 square miles and has the potential to include many taxpayers with no geographical interest in another Fairhaven park.
The proposal has lost its way. Backers can’t say how much new taxes homeowners in the area would pay and what exactly the money would be used for. Given that, we recommend citizens and community leaders reject the plan.
NEW BUREUCRACY
There are many people in our community who favor spending money to preserve the Fairhaven Highlands property, an island of trees across the street from the Edgemoor neighborhood.
But the proposed park district won’t raise nearly enough money for that purchase. On the other hand, it will create another level of bureaucracy and more taxes for thousands of residents of southern Bellingham and rural areas south of the city.
That prospect has already raised concerns. Members of the Samish Neighborhood Asssociation, for example, are on record opposing the district. But supporters drew the boundaries of the district so that Samish residents would have to take part and pay taxes anyway.
The proposed district also stretches well into Skagit County. But the Skagit County Boundary Review Board eliminted that possibility when legal reasons and the lobbying of upset Skagit residents forced board members to deny the district’s establishment there. It’s possible district supporters may appeal that ruling through a lawsuit.
We support the protection of the wonderful recreational areas on and around Chuckanut Mountain. Where zoning is already appropriate, we are glad to have that area to use for hikes and other outdoors excursions. Thankfully, much of the area is already protected, including more than 2,600 acres in Larrabee State Park and a roadless area in state forests on nearby Blanchard Mountain set aside last year.
We are not sure how creating a new government, with the ability to tax up to 75 cents for each $1,000 of home value, is the right way to approach more protection. On the contrary, we believe that the protection of areas in the Chuckanuts are the responsibility of the Whatcom and Skagit county councils. Those councils must guarantee they never allow increased development in these hills. As our board has stated on many occasions, we believe new development should come within cities, such as at Fairhaven Highlands, and not on our rural, agricultural and forest lands outside of cities.
TAX QUESTIONS
We believe now is not a good time for creation of any new taxes or taxing authorities. The economy is tight and county residents are already rebelling by voting down needed school bonds. Despite some critical needs, schools are paying for a tax burden that, to many, already seems too high. Fire districts in the proposed park district area have come out opposed to the plan, concerned about competition for limited tax dollars.
Proponents say in their literature, and on their Web site at www.chuckanutmpd.org/, that they only support a new tax of some 25 cents per $1,000 of property value. Yet they know that once a park board is elected, that board could choose a much higher rate, and can increase it annually, as other governments do. Meanwhile, the same proponents admit that 25 cents per $1,000 of property value would only raise about $625,000 a year, well short of the $15 million or more price tag on Fairhaven Highlands. With limits on the amount governments can raise by issuing bonds, they would be short of the money needed.
The park district could be created by a littleknown law passed in Olympia. Opponents of the plan argue that the law was meant to help neighborhoods create taxing districts to support their local, existing parks, not to stretch well outside of cities and allow taxation of rural residents. Those opponents say they don’t feel they should be taxed because some Bellingham residents want to save Fairhaven Highlands. But the park district boundaries have been set up in a way that those residents would be easily outvoted by city residents should a new district come to a vote.
And that is where the process stands today. Proponents of the park are arguing in front of the Whatcom County Boundary Review Board for their plan. If it is accepted, the plan would likely come to a vote, though lawsuits are sure to be filed before that.
We hope and expect, based on what happened in Skagit County, that the proposal will be rejected. Then maybe organizers can refocus their efforts on their own neighborhoods and not a too big district and a potentially too expensive new government body.