Noise from Bellingham’s waterfront is disturbing some people. What would a silent port mean?
As Bellingham considers changes to the city’s noise ordinance amid an increase in nighttime activity on the nearby waterfront, Port of Bellingham officials and workers in the marine trades are worried that the new rules could affect their jobs.
Port Director Rob Fix recently cautioned the City Council about “unintended consequences” from tougher enforcement because several businesses at the port operate around the clock.
“It’s not just going to affect ABC (Recycling),” Fix said at a Monday meeting of the council’s Committee of the Whole. “It will affect a number of businesses at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal. Every time we ship a cargo out, in my history at the port, which I’m going on 16 years, we have noise complaints, whether that was logs, whether that was grain. We are anticipating cars at some time in the future, (and) we will get noise complaints from that.”
All American Marine, Bellingham Cold Storage and as many as 25 others could be affected, Fix said.
“You have to understand that when ships come into harbor they want to be there for a minimum amount of time. They sit at the dock, they unload as quickly as they can, and then they leave to get the next cargo. If they can’t unload 24 hours a day, those ships may call someplace else.”
Recent complaints about noise from the docks are focused on ABC Recycling, which recently began shipping shredded metal from junked cars and household appliances to China, where it is melted into steel for new products.
Booming sounds of the scrap metal being loaded onto ships in the wee hours of the morning prompted city officials to consider revising its noise ordinance.
Sounds can be heard across the waterfront, which is flanked with homes. Noise is audible from the Columbia neighborhood to South Hill.
Many Bellingham residents, especially those in the South Hill neighborhood, have been calling 911 and complaining to city officials about the noise, which has lasted until 3 a.m. — although ABC recently said it would end operations at midnight.
City Council members were briefed on possible next steps at the committee meeting Monday.
“I know some people were concerned about industries in the community being impacted, but really this is about that ongoing noise that is consistent or frequent enough that (a police officer) responding would be able to hear it. I’m not too worried about that occasional industrial noise that might happen,” Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said.
Nevertheless, several workers in the marine trades spoke to the City Council during the open public comment period of its Monday night meeting.
Richard Foster of Bellingham said the noise rules threaten the port’s economic viability.
“Right now, it’s just getting started, the waterfront getting back up and going,” Foster told the council. “There’s a lot of jobs to come. If the noise ordinance goes through, it will discourage a lot of companies from trying to come and work in Bellingham. I just got into the union a year ago, and it’s a life-changing experience. The jobs are amazing. The more longshoremen you can get into your community, the better the community is going to be.”
According to a 2013 study by the economic consulting firm Martin Associates, businesses and industries at the Port of Bellingham directly or indirectly affected more than 8,700 jobs and generated nearly $900 million in commerce and tax revenue, including:
▪ $144.3 million of local purchases.
▪ $406.4 million in total direct, induced and indirect personal earnings.
▪ $38 million in state and local taxes, plus $11 million in federal taxes related to airport operations.
In 2016, the Center of Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University found that the port’s economic impact is felt broadly across Whatcom County, where it makes up roughly 7% of the workforce.
“The marine trades sector is composed of many small- and medium-sized companies with no dominant single employer. As a sector, it is comparable to many of the larger employers within the county,” according to the WWU report.
This story was originally published December 17, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
