Smart Growth Conference to discuss open space preservation

Pavey will be one of three speakers at the conference, which aims to bring together different people and ideas on land-use policy. The conference includes discussions on topics such as open space preservation in Whatcom County.

One solution to preserve open space is to create a successful program to transfer development rights, Pavey said. It works by transferring development rights from open space areas, such as farmland and forestland, to urban areas with higher density.

Developer Ralph Black said he agreed to be one of the "guinea pigs" of the transfer program in Whatcom County.

About four years ago, Black developed a small housing project in the Lake Whatcom watershed with plans to build additional lots during the second phase of construction. But instead of building those additional lots, Black took the development rights and transferred them to a housing development project called Stonecrest located on the corner of East Bakerview and Irongate roads.

The watershed lots slated for the second phase were left forested and untouched because the development was transferred to a higher density area, Black said.

But the process wasn't easy. Even with his transfer development rights, Black still had to seek approval from the Bellingham and Whatcom County councils, which held a series of meetings and public hearings.

It took about two years before Black won the approval to build Stonecrest.

Black said the transfer program would be more efficient if urban areas were already zoned to receive development rights, making the transfer more direct.

But neighborhoods in areas zoned to receive development rights could be resistant to added growth.

Most people want to preserve open spaces, but they don't want poorly planned growth in urban areas, said Jeremy Eckert, director of the Transfer of Development Rights Programs at Cascadia Land Conservancy.

One way to provide incentives for residents is to fund amenities, such as design streetscapes, in areas zoned for growth, Eckert said.

"We have an outstanding quality of life (in the Pacific Northwest) that extends well beyond our city limits," he said.

But that quality of life is at risk for development because there are not enough public funds to conserve those lands, Eckert said. The transfer program is one way to ensure lands outside of the city limits are protected.

"It's not a matter of if, but how we're going to grow," Eckert said. "We can sprawl out, or we can rethink growth."

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