One of our Neighborhood’s most significant meetings, to be led by Ben and Dee
Andrews and featuring fellow Board member Bill Smith plus angel/developer Ted
Mischaikov, will be Tuesday’s (March 10) 7 p.m. session at Birchwood
Presbyterian Church, 400 Meadowbrook Ct.
Ben, Dee, Bill and others are doing a remarkable job of making the
Cordata Community Gardens a reality in developing all aspects of the project
including those of City Hall, Master Gardener Program Coordinator Jill Cotton
and Mischaikov who has donated land north and east of the intersection of
Cordata Parkway and Tremont Ave. Opening date of the garden is tentatively set
for May 1 with a mid-April work party scheduled. Thus far, 33 gardeners have signed up and
paid their $35 fees. It’s difficult to
believe the project started off in such relatively low gear in mid-September,
then gathered remarkable momentum by way of the hard work of so many--particularly
Ben and Dee. Come hear your neighbors give
us the latest developments of a project getting City-wide attention. To whet your curiosity, you likely will hear
references to such gardening terminology as the lasagna method of layer
mulching, the Flying Colors Program and Googling for Square-Foot
Gardening.
A wide-ranging meeting involving a large variety of people characterized a
recent design planning workshop held in connection with the development of open
acreage north of Cordata Parkway and Tremont Ave. The meeting, called by developer Ted
Mischaikov, was attended by 45 people including City Planner Kathy Bell, former
Planning Commissioner Doug Starcher, three architects, two executives from
Whatcom Transit Authority and four members of the Guide Meridian/Cordata
Neighborhood Association. Bell explained
some of the constraints on where to build on the property purchased by
Mischaikov from D.R. Horton. In search
of community input, Mischaikov showed slides of various designs for single,
duplex and multiple housing units. Among
the many subjects discussed were: wetlands and the handling of storm water,
building constraints, Kline and Kelly Rd. rights of way, location of age
groups, dwelling heights, and trees to be planted. A second meeting is anticipated.
West Cordata Green, a long-planned 344-home project, likely will break ground in a couple
of months. Officials at Ronald T. Jepson
and Associates have applied for building permits for construction on 64 acres
of a 125-acre tract located north and south of June Rd. Much of the property is adjacent to Whatcom
Community College. A June Rd. extension
and improvements including a bike lane and a sidewalk are scheduled but can’t
be made until Aldrich Rd. is widened. Perhaps
reflecting economic conditions, the initial construction will be of but 11
homes. The project was first approved
for housing permits by Whatcom County in 1990 with the land annexed into City
limits in June, 2008.
Another likely success story involves getting the speed limit on Eliza Rd. reduced
from 35 to 25 miles-per-hour. It all
started with board member Nick Mele who wrote a letter to City Hall, then
brought the subject up at a the February meeting featuring Mayor Dan Pike. At the meeting was First Ward Councilman Jack
Weiss who, following the dictum that timing is everything, started the ball
rolling to correct the situation. Stay
tuned.
Deadline Dash….A public hearing, now set for March, has
been scheduled by the Whatcom Transportation Authority to consider fare and
pass increases plus the elimination of transfer slips. One of the other proposals would allow people
75 and older to ride free; the current limit is 80 and older….Washington’s
Death With Dignity Law went into effect March 5 and with it a choice for health
care providers and pharmacies to op out.
Answers to questions are being fielded by Compassion & Choices of
Washington www.candcofwa.org or
877/222-2816 and The Whatcom County Medical Society www.whatcom-medical.org or
676-7630….Anyone driving into Bellingham from the north on I-5 during the first
two weekends of March should anticipate delays.
The bridge approach foundation near the Northwest Ave. exit is being
replaced thus necessitating weekend closures from 10 p.m. Fridays to 5:30 a.m.
Mondays….Bellingham Police have come up with a Block Watch Coordinator to
replace Tara Fleetwood who left nearly a year ago. She’s Katrin Dearborn who takes on the job as
part of her Crime Prevention Officer position May 16….Many thanks to Terry
Parks, manager of our new Community Food Co-Op.
Hearing that the Cordata Community Garden will soon require some heavy
lifting in putting up an eight-foot fence, Terry offered significant help: “I
know what you are attempting to do, and I volunteer myself and my entire staff
to do the work for you.” What a guy!....Relevancy
is an interesting word, one our association dealt with recently at a Parks Board
Meeting. Focal point of the gathering
was a map around which clustered Public Works, Bikes & Trails and Parks personnel
in addition to GM/Cers. The map was
Cordata-less with the City of Bellingham stopping just short of I-5, an
interesting piece of confusion in view of our having submitted five bike and
walking trails gaps with gaps being the subject of discussion. “Not to worry,” was the suggestion from on
high. “Because there are still so few
trails, the gaps are not relevant.” We
have subsequently marked up a City map that includes Cordata gaps to remind
Public Works to prepare an updated map that will include the 65-mile north end
trail system. And so it goes.
More next
time,
Bob Sanders
with thanks to Master Gardener Bill Smith
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