Bellingham considers new location for 2 tiny home villages to house the homeless
A new site is possible for a pair of tiny home villages that provide temporary housing for homeless people, Bellingham officials said.
Both Swift Haven and Unity Village house approximately 50 people in about 10- by 12-foot dwellings with common food, laundry and other services.
But the villages, which are operated by Homes NOW! under a temporary permit, must move soon, city officials said.
Unity Village near the Post Point wastewater treatment plant is in the way of an expansion project, and Swift Haven, at the Geri Fields ball park, is on land bought with state funds specifically designated for recreation, City Council President Michael Lilliquist said at a council meeting this week.
Some 12 acres of land that the city bought last winter to expand Cordata Park could solve that dilemma, he said.
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“The state is looking the other way on that because they understand the urgent need for affordable housing. But we need a new place for those tiny home villages. This could be the new place,” Lilliquist said.
Part of the site is protected by wetlands and some will be developed into a trail that Cordata neighborhood residents can use to get to Meridian Street, officials said in February.
Another part of the site fronts Meridian Street, in a busy commercial corridor.
“Closer to Meridian, the long-term hope for that (land) is for affordable housing. The short-term hope is to put tiny home village there,” Lilliquist said.
But that site was bought with Greenways tax money earmarked for parks and trails, so the city is shifting money around to repay the Greenways fund using money set aside for housing.
City Council members unanimously approved the accounting measure Monday.
This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
