City of Bellingham buys 30-plus acres near Lake Whatcom, plans to demolish house
As part of its effort to protect the Lake Whatcom watershed from further development, Bellingham is buying a little more than 30 acres near the shoreline, including a home overlooking the waterfront and two wooded sites owned by a company that makes utility poles.
City Council members unanimously voted Monday to buy the three sites totaling 30.69 acres for $1.023 million. Council President Hannah Stone was absent.
Two of the sites are owned by the Oeser Co. of Bellingham, which makes and treats wood utility poles and is now part of Bell Pole, the city’s Public Works Department told The Bellingham Herald.
Both Oeser sites — a 10-acre and a 20-acre parcel — are near the east end of Academy Street, and parts are dense forest, Public Works Department spokeswoman Stefanie Cilinceon said in an email.
“(One) property has a five-acre, thickly forested area on the northeast portion. There is a small ephemeral stream located on the property that flows south toward Lake Whatcom,” Cilinceon said.
A third site is an 1,824-square-foot home owned by Alan and Neva Van Hook that sits on 0.69 acres just a few hundred feet from the shore of Lake Whatcom. The home will be demolished.
“The Van Hook property is adjacent to more than 100 acres of city-owned protected property, including Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. The condition of the structure does not make it worth the significant cost and complicated logistics that would be required to move it. Being a split-level with slab-on-grade foundation adds significant cost and complication in moving it,” Cilinceon said.
Closing date for the two Oeser sites is June 18, and the Van Hook sale is expected to close July 17, she said.
Such land purchases are part of the city’s Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program, which has funded the purchase of 3,680 acres since 2001 through a surcharge on residential utility bills. Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for about 100,000 people in Bellingham and surrounding areas.
