Neighbors alarmed by scope of infill housing project proposed near Lake Padden
Just northwest of Lake Padden Park in Bellingham’s Samish neighborhood is a 4.5-acre property on the corner of 40th Street and Wilkin Street.
With just one farm house on the land currently, it’s mostly a large field with surrounding greenery and a creek that runs through it. Most of the nearby residential homes are on larger lots, giving the neighborhood a semi-rural character.
But neighbors are concerned that the property is proposed to be developed into a 29-unit subdivision with a mix of townhomes and detached, single-family homes on lots ranging in size from about 3,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet. The existing farmhouse will be relocated to another site on the property.
“It kind of came as a shock to all of us in the neighborhood when we saw what was proposed for that area,” neighbor Harvey Schwartz told The Bellingham Herald. “Everyone expected a small development on the site ... but it just feels wrong to have a dense development at that particular spot.”
Dozens of neighbors signed a letter addressed to city and county leaders outlining their concerns, which are mainly to do with ensuring neighborhood character is maintained, preserving the surrounding environment and addressing safety issues as a result of increasing capacity.
Neighbors say they support infill housing projects, but with Lake Padden so close to the proposed project site, they fear negative ecological and recreational impacts.
“Over the past 50 years, our neighborhood has seen a lot of change,” the letter states. “It has grown from several farmhouses dating from 1910, surrounded by fields and trees, to multiple homes that still leave room for wildlife (deer, coyotes, hawks, owls, eagles, and bobcats, to name a few) and the vegetation that supports it. Growth is inevitable. But responsible growth should balance human activity with natural surroundings and wildlife.”
It’s a middle housing project that aligns with state and city goals to prioritize building home types at various price points and scales. This kind of housing ranges from small, single-family homes to larger-scale, multifamily buildings.
Middle housing forms, as outlined by the city, include:
- Townhouses
- Cottages
- Small lot single-family homes
- Courtyard housing
- Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
- Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes and sixplexes
In 2023 the Washington State Legislature passed legislation to help increase the availability of middle housing, as a way of addressing the state’s housing crisis.
Mayor Kim Lund signed an executive order in November 2024 that included actions supporting middle housing. In May 2025, the City Council adopted an interim ordinance to allow middle housing in all areas of Bellingham that are zoned predominantly for residential use, except on property in the Lake Whatcom Reservoir.
“Middle housing allowances exist because our community needs more housing in a larger range of price options — a need emphasized by recent changes in state law and in community input collected during our process to update our city’s growth management plan. Increasing housing opportunities is a priority of this administration,” city of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon told The Herald.
Lyon said the city does however understand that middle housing can “influence some of the dynamics in neighborhoods.”
“We have been and will continue working with the applicant on design considerations when we evaluate this project based on our established processes and relevant rules. We want our neighborhoods to continue to thrive while we support the housing needs of the community,” Lyon said.
Ali Taysi of Bellingham-based AVT Consulting, the company managing the development of the project, said he recently attended a meeting to hear feedback from concerned neighbors and help answer questions.
Taysi said some of the feedback received from neighbors has helped adjust the project design. He said he hopes other concerns are addressed through the project’s plan to preserve critical areas on site and add frontage improvements like sidewalks and street parking.
“This was the intent of middle housing — to densify our existing single-family neighborhoods,” Taysi told The Herald.
As someone who grew up in Bellingham and has seen the city double in size in his lifetime, Taysi said he understands and respects the concerns residents have about growth. Still, he said, this is one way to provide much-needed housing in the city.
“A lot of people are hyperfocused on their own backyard, their own neighborhood,” Taysi said. “But the entire city is going to be responsible for absorbing this change. It’s not going to be over there, but not here. I know that’s hard for people to hear.”
The Samish neighborhood hasn’t seen as much infill development as other neighborhoods across Bellingham. As of May 2026, it has 71 middle housing units, only about 2% of all the units in the neighborhood, according to the city of Bellingham. By comparison, the neighborhood with the most middle housing units is the Roosevelt, with 1,259 units. That’s more than twice the amount of any other neighborhood in the city.
This project is currently in the pre-application stage and a design has not yet been finalized. More opportunities for public comment will be available as the proposal moves forward.
The developer plans to apply for land-use permits soon and begin infrastructure development by the summer of 2027. Homes would likely be built and brought to market by the spring or summer of 2028.
