Here’s when Bellingham will share its master plan for Hundred Acre Wood
Bellingham residents will have their first look next week at a “master plan” for the Hundred Acre Wood, a forested park on the city’s south side that was saved from a major housing development.
A public hearing on a draft version of the planning document is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, the city said at its website.
Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said the plan reflects “extensive community collaboration, compromise and progress,” in a statement posted at the city’s website.
“There are strong sentiments in the community for ensuring that we protect and restore the unique values of this property,” Fleetwood said.
Those passionate feelings prompted voters in 2013 to create a special taxing district that repaid the city of Bellingham for an $8.2 million purchase of the land, preventing a proposed housing development on an 82-acre site, which was also known as Chuckanut Ridge.
For a time, it was known as the Chuckanut Community Forest.
But a survey in April showed that 95% of respondents favored the name Hundred Acre Wood, which is how neighborhood residents had referred to it for years.
Hundred Acre Wood has been a south-side neighborhood hiking and biking spot for decades, with well-worn homemade trails.
Its south end links to Arroyo Park and the extensive city, county and state trail system through the Chuckanut mountains.
Bikes and leashed dogs will be allowed under the proposed master plan.
New trail signs are planned, along with dog waste stations.
Some trails will be improved, and others will be allowed to return to nature.
The plan calls for restoring critical wetlands in the park, the city said.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 4:10 PM.
