Vol. 4, #41

The multiplicity of challenges facing Bellingham City Hall will be addressed by Mayor Dan Pike when he makes his second appearance before our association.  Quite naturally, his Tuesday, February 10 talk will be followed by what is certain to be a lively Q&A session whose emphasis will be on what our membership feels is the City Hall’s benign neglect toward the North end.  Don’t miss this highly important meeting to begin at 7 p.m. at the Birchwood Presbyterian Church, 400 Meadowbrook Ct.  See you there and bring a neighbor.  The mayor, an excellent communicator, is a firm believer in transparency in government. 

Work on our Community Garden continues to blossom in terms of preparation thanks to the leadership of Dee and Ben Andrews, now members of your board of directors.  So impressive  are plans for the garden, now anticipated to accommodate as many as 50 plots, that we will forgo our annual picnic at Whatcom Community College and, instead, celebrate a June 6 grand opening of the gardens at the end of Cordata Parkway.  One of the major reasons for the project’s significant interest by Cordatans is that so many of us, gardeners prior to downsized living, now have an opportunity to resume participation in that highly rewarding activity.  Dee and Ben and, hopefully, developer Ted Mischaikov (he’s our garden “angel”) will provide us with further information and answer your questions at the March 10 general meeting.

Just when you thought Chuckanut Ridge had gone away as a great Hamster divider, it roared back last month at a contentious City Council Meeting.  On the spot was Mayor Dan Pike who, in his defense, had been preceded by two decades of the Chuckanut Ridge Follies—none of which occurred on his watch until the CC meeting.  Having beaten the same dead horse to smithereens two years ago, the Chuckanut Ridgesters went at it again by way of a City Council seemingly primed to do its bidding in spite of the lack of a realistic value of the land.  Surprise, surprise.  When the dustup was concluded, three new Councilmen (Jack Weiss, Stan Snapp, and Barry Buchanan, joined by At Large Councilwoman Louise Bjornson) had brought some sanity to the jive-filled situation by seizing control of the Council.  Their leadership, among other things, offers hope that the North end need for parks and trails and other amenities will be met although the City’s management is enormously impacted by the economy.  As an example of the seriousness of the City’s challenges, an anticipated budget shortfall three months ago of $2 million has grown to $9 million.  It was hardly the time for the City to consider buying Chuckanut Ridge whose owner puts its value at $26--roughly twice that of the last county estimate and four times more than what these difficult economic times suggest would be equitable.  The City Council realignment strongly suggests the mayor’s promise of transparency will prevail.  His honor, embarrassed by the sneaky inclusion by City Hall staffers of Chuckanut Ridge as an agenda item, may very well address the issue at our February 10 meeting.      

Cordata’s significance went up a couple of notches with recent publication in the Herald of new five-year growth statistics indicating we’re the fastest-growing of Bellingham’s 23 neighborhoods.   As is often the case, there are stories behind the stories with attitudinized reflection, admittedly, a factor.  While single-family homes in Cordata grew at a 175% rate from 2003-2008 (136 to 374)--more than double that (83%) of multiple-homes--the stunning fact is that multifamily residences increased from 1,383 to 2,522.  In other words, more than 77% of Cordata residential units are categorized as multifamily.  This, among other things, is proof that Bellingham is finding a way to grow and the direction is up yet selectively so.   The City’s goal is to have two-thirds of all residences multifamily by 2022.   Not to put too fine a point on matters but that 77% Cordata figure is well beyond two-thirds and such current “high” numbered communities as Renton (44.3%), Federal Way (40.1%) and Yakima (30.7%).   Another rather dramatic way of looking at it is the realization that Federal Way, an impressive blight on any landscape, has nearly half the percentage of multiple-family homes as Cordata.  Interestingly, Bellingham’s 2008 multiple-family figure of 17,800 is 50.6% while the single family figure, 16,541, represents 47%.  The rest are mobile and assisted living homes.  Single family residences account for 40,426 of Bellingham’s population while 31,720 reside in multi-family homes.  With the swiftly burgeoning Cordata population (now estimated at 5,800) comes additional votes, always an attention-getter among politicians.  Our challenge is the decided need for us to have an even greater sense of responsibility and the need to build greater clout.  It all comes down to harnessing that clout.

Deadline Dash….At the risk of making this newsletter something approaching an all Mayor Pike issue, it’s quite likely his appearance at the February general meeting will inspire questions about the speed limit on Eliza Street between Bakerview and Kellogg Rds.  The Association and individual members of it have been trying for some time to reduce the limit from 35 to 25 miles per hour.  It is our contention that there is no need for the higher speed limit on a stretch of several hundred feet of road that includes part of a bus route with two stops on it.  A major consideration: The continuing rapid development of Bakerview Square promises increased traffic hazards augmented by so many of the cars on the short stretch of road belonging  to young people studying at Whatcom Community College.  A letter, signed by your board of directors and detailing the problem, has been sent Mayor Pike….Corvallis, Oregon has replaced Bellingham as the #1 Pacific Northwest green energy buyer.  Somewhat disappointed but determined to re-gain Hamster dominance is Nick Hartwick, Green Building Program Mgr. of Sustainable Connections.  Hartwick will speak at our May 12 general meeting….The WTA’s Cordata Station (there are 75 parking spaces) has opened to rave reviews.  It was more than two years ago that Delphia Merta of Cascade Meadows called for our assistance when a temporary bus station was created overnight on Westerly Rd.   Since then, we have worked in a firm but polite manner with the WTA.  Those efforts have paid off and the Feb. 1 dedication included your Neighborhood Association being honored for its work….Your new GM/CNA officers, elected unanimously at the February 4 board meeting, are: Co-Presidents Beverly Jacobs and Adrienne Lederer; Vice President (PR & Speakers) Bob Sanders; Secretary Judy Van Woudenberg; and Treasurer Julie Guy….At presstime, a particularly significant committee under the leadership of Co-President Adrienne Lederer was about to meet for  a second time.  Created with an eye on City budgetary shortfalls, the committee is discussing such subjects as Parks, Trails, Bikes & Pedestrians and Sidewalks.  These subjects will be discussed at future GM/CNA meetings.  Committee members include: Julie Guy, Jim Zander, Linda Langey, Caroline Yaude, Nick Mele, Ralph Wenning and Bob Sanders….Cable capable Cordatans are urged to watch the February 17 meeting of the Bellingham Planning Commission.  The advance word is that subjects greatly affecting the North side will be introduced.  Plans of the moment call for live delivery of the session on BTV10.  Check the channel’s web page for further info. 

Comments

[Michael Chiavario]

Two things are saddening to me about the Chuckanut Ridge article. First is that as Bellingham neighborhoods we have been successfully divided and conquered into feeling pitted against each other for a limited pot of funds(THAT POT MUCH SMALLER THAN IT WOULD BE if the Greenways Legacy proposal that was developed largely by southsiders had not been hijacked by the divide and conquer tactics of the previous mayor and some members of the Greeenways '06 committee). the second sad thing is the dismissive and condescending attitude of the articles author. I am guessing that the author is honest and well meaning, but misinformed about the facts of the Chuckanut Ridge story. As I see it, we are all of us,from every neighborhood, on the same sinking ship and it is shortsighted developers aided by rules tilted in their favor who are making the holes in the hull bigger. Bellingham is a microcosm of the exponential destruction of Earth's critical forests. If this destruction is not reversed, our fates are sealed globally. Here in the Northwest, the death of Puget Sound will herald the next big step to our regions contribution to the world biosphere collapse.
I haven't worked for the last five years to save Chuckanut Ridge in order to the increase the size of my personal playground. Everyone in the city may appreciate the work that I did to help prevent the destruction of part of Whatcom Falls Park and to help establish the only park and open space in the core of the York Neighborhood. I pushed for a Greenways package last time around that would have given Cordata more money for preserving open space and park land than it got in the levy's final form.
We have more success in our local neighborhoods' goals when we support each other. Our goals are not mutually exclusive and we are not each others' enemies.

[Anon]

I find it disappointing that the GM/C neighborhood newsletter would attack fellow citizens from another neighborhood. Your comments about the "Chuckanut Ridgesters" is distasteful to say the least.

Why would you allow others to divide and conquer us?