Rewind: Parking-free apartments; downtown tasting room closes; tiny homes update
From a Fourth of July tragedy on Bellingham Bay to a milestone for a tiny home village, last week brought a mix of hard news and community stories. Here’s a digest of top stories from The Bellingham Herald for the week of July 6-12, 2026.
Here are key takeaways:
- A 54-unit studio apartment building is proposed for Bellingham with no on-site vehicle parking, planned for Byron Avenue at 35th Street in the Samish Way Urban Village. The design aligns with Washington Senate Bill 5184 and a Bellingham City Council interim ordinance eliminating minimum parking requirements.
- A 49-year-old Bellingham man, Kristopher DeBoer, died after a boat capsized in Bellingham Bay on the Fourth of July. First responders received a report around 6 p.m. Saturday, and DeBoer was pronounced dead by emergency medical services after being recovered from the water.
- Anahi Rose Mendoza, 19, a Squalicum High School graduate and incoming Bellingham Technical College student, was fatally struck by a suspected drunk driver on Highway 20 in Sedro-Woolley while selling fireworks with her family on July 4. The suspect, who police say has 17 felony convictions in Washington, was booked on suspicion of vehicular homicide, DUI and driving with a suspended license.
- Welcome Road Winery, a downtown Bellingham coffee shop and tasting room, will close permanently on July 18 as its lease expires. Co-owners Leigh McMillan and Kristen Dorrity started the business in 2022 at the former Black Drop Coffeehouse location, and their Seattle location is expected to remain open.
- One year after opening, Bellingham’s North Haven Tiny Home Village has achieved about a 70 percent rehousing rate for moving residents into permanent housing. The 47-home village in the Birchwood Neighborhood offers 8-by-12-foot units for formerly homeless individuals along with shared facilities and connections to treatment, employment and housing resources.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.