Bellingham’s 116-acre land purchase will help connect existing paths, extend Bay to Baker Trail
Bellingham has agreed to buy 116 acres of land for Greenways trail connections and possibly to add a park on the city’s northeast side, Parks and Recreations Department officials said.
City Council members approved the purchase of four sites owned by the state Department of Natural Resources for $2.19 million on June 3.
Laine Potter, parks development manager, told The Bellingham Herald that the parcels will permit trail connections to Sunset Pond Park for residents of the Irongate and King Mountain neighborhoods and allow for the future extension of the Bay to Baker Trail.
“In addition to future trail connectivity, publicly accessible open space, and protection and restoration opportunity along a stream corridor, the upland area in the northeast portion of the site along Dewey Road provides a potential park site as residential growth occurs in the area,” Potter said in an email.
She said the land builds on other Greenways purchases along Squalicum Creek, including another 17.5-acres purchased at the corner of Hannegan Road and Sunset Drive in 2022.
Greenways levy funds paid for the project. It isn’t part of the city’s similar program to buy land using stormwater fees to prevent additional development in the Lake Whatcom watershed.
At the June 3 meeting, Councilman Michael Lilliquist said the land is pricey, but the deal was worth it.
“We are buying up riparian areas, where rivers and creeks run through our community. Why? They’re lousy places to do development, usually you can’t develop them. They’ve got things like wetlands in them, but they’re beautiful perfect places for public ownership for parks and for trials. So it’s a nice synergy there. We buy places we don;t want to develop so they stay green for the public,” Lilliquist said
City officials hope that the state will approve the sale by fall, with the deal closing by the end of the year, Potter said.
This story was originally published June 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
