Development plan could rob this park of some of its Bellingham Bay vista
Bellingham’s smallest park boasts one of the city’s biggest vistas — a sweeping view of the waterfront and Bellingham Bay from Fairhaven to the Lummi Peninsula.
But that view from Broadway Overlook Park is threatened by a proposed development on Roeder Avenue, at the foot of a bluff below the tiny park at the south end of Broadway, according to nearby residents who attended an online meeting hosted by the developer as required under city codes.
“It just seems unconscionable that such a great view is going to be taken away,” said Gary Beban of Bellingham, who is helping to organize a campaign seeking design changes that would limit the proposed building’s height.
“This is a crime against the city,” Beban told The Bellingham Herald.
Bellingham residents have a 30-day window to express their opinion on the project during a public comment period that starts Friday, March 25, said Steven Sundin of the city’s Planning and Community Development Department.
Broadway Overlook Park consists only of a single bench, a lawn large enough for a few picnickers, and a dozen parking spaces.
It’s the only place where the public can enjoy a waterfront view that’s otherwise blocked by apartment buildings on West Holly Street or homes on Eldridge Avenue.
Some 50 feet below the Broadway Overlook is a warehouse at 1411 Roeder Ave. that AVT Consulting of Bellingham wants to remodel into a mixed-use building with commercial space on the first floor and eight apartments on each of the second and third floors.
Ali Taysi of AVT Consulting, which is handling the permit and design process, told The Herald in an email that AVT has prepared “additional view analysis” that will be included in a formal notice to the public.
“We also feel it is important to note that the viewscape from the park is approximately 150 degrees wide, and the building will alter, but not obscure, approximately 24% of that viewscape (37 degrees),” Taysi said.
“The proposed building will mostly impact views that are already blocked by buildings, including views of the I&J waterway, the Coast Guard building and the Bornstein Seafoods facility, but will have very limited impact on views of the bay itself, Sehome and South Hill, Fairhaven, Lummi Island and the San Juan Islands,” he said.
Beban said that architectural elements along the building’s roofline called “prows” raise its height past 41 feet and will obscure the park’s southeast view toward Sehome Hill and Fairhaven.
Remove those prows and the building reaches only 35 feet and preserves the park’s iconic vista, he said.
“That really is the issue,” Sundin told The Herald.
Allowable building height in that area is 65 feet, he said.
Because the project meets the requirements of city code, it doesn’t require a public hearing before the City Council, Sundin said.
It’s possible that the Planning Commission could call for a public hearing, and the Hearing Examiner would consider any appeal, Sundin said.
Meanwhile, comments on the Broadway Overlook Park project can be sent to Steven Sundin, Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department, 210 Lottie St., Bellingham, WA 98225 or ssundin@cob.org.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
