Bellingham mayor issues executive order in effort to boost downtown business
Declaring that “Bellingham is open for business,” Mayor Kim Lund issued a four-point executive order Monday to boost commerce in downtown, where vacant storefronts are worrying visitors and merchants alike.
Lund laid out several immediate steps, including the creation of a new position within the Mayor’s Office who will be a “concierge-style resource” for businesses, developers and investors in their interactions with city officials. She promised to streamline permitting and tenant improvements, establish a business roundtable, and asked the City Council to enact a seven-year business tax exemption for new ventures in the downtown pedestrian core — defined as the space within State Street, Champion Street, Bay Street and Chestnut Street.
“To be a prosperous community now and in the future, we need more job opportunities supporting the people who make Bellingham home. To create those jobs, we need a different business environment, one that reduces hurdles to entrepreneurship and economic development. With this executive order, I am affirming our commitment to create pathways for economic activity, not barriers,” Lund said in a statement.
Monday’s executive order is Lund’s third since taking office in January 2024. Her previous initiatives addressed the housing shortage and the fentanyl crisis.
“Our goal is to get to yes,” Lund said. “For the entrepreneurs and investors who choose to put their confidence in Bellingham, we’re here to help. The City Center is the right place to focus economic drivers and accelerate investments in our local economy. There’s vast potential to grow a strong waterfront economy and a diverse commercial core.”
In addition to the downtown core, Lund’s order focuses on partnerships with business organizations, Whatcom County government, the Port of Bellingham and the city’s three colleges and universities.
A first step toward reviving downtown included a study of vacant storefronts in the downtown core that sought to learn how the city can create business-friendly spaces and bring shoppers downtown in a post-pandemic retail economy.
“The city is committed to being an active, enthusiastic and accessible partner to local businesses and entrepreneurs. (The executive order) also commits us to moving forward strategic actions alongside the Port, Whatcom County, our Downtown Partnership and our local institutions for higher education, and it invites all of us to advance economic vitality together,” Lund said Monday night in an address to the City Council.
This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 10:44 AM.
