Says people want lake, ridge saved

E-Mail

Text Size:

tool goes here

Once again, I believe The Bellingham Herald editorial board misleads its community, this time by conjoining the issues of Silver Beach and Chuckanut Ridge. It fails to meet the guidelines of Bellingham’s Comprehensive Plan, which states the city shall:

a) “Increase community understanding of the natural environment, promote low impact development, … (and) avoid adverse environmental impacts.” b) “Preserve the unique character of existing neighborhoods … and protect critical areas.” c) “Recognize the requirement for and benefits of the best available science in the management of critical areas.”

The majority of citizens throughout the city wish to preserve Lake Whatcom and Chuckanut Ridge. The facts: The lake is suffering, the ridge, a “keystone property,” is the linchpin preserving the natural and human ecologies of both its neighborhood and the rest of the city. No wonder people wish to preserve both.

In contrast, Fairhaven Heights, proposed by Horizon Bank, owner and developer, doubles the population in the south and impacts the natural ecology of the entire city. Traffic would become a nightmare.

What remains a “surprise” is The Herald’s drumbeat of divisiveness and innuendo. This divisiveness fractures our community, leaving the values that define us tarnished and forgotten.

Larry Freeman
Bellingham

Recent Stories