# City Council Grapples With Landmark Tree Ordinance Extension The Bellingham City Council wrestled with extending their interim landmark tree ordinance for another six months during their February 24, 2025 regular meeting, while a passionate crowd of residents offered competing visions for how the city should balance tree preservation with housing development needs. ## Meeting Overview The evening's centerpiece was a public hearing on extending the city's interim development regulations for landmark trees — a temporary ordinance first adopted in May 2024 after concerns about large trees being cut down in anticipation of stricter rules. Seven council members were present for the 1 hour and 59-minute meeting, presided over by Council President Hollie Huthman. The session drew substantial public testimony on the tree ordinance, which has become a lightning rod for broader tensions between environmental protection and housing affordability in the rapidly growing city. What made this meeting notable was the level of detail in public testimony — residents arrived with specific technical suggestions, data analysis, and pointed critiques of how similar ordinances have failed in other cities. The council ultimately approved the six-month extension with amendments, but not before revealing sharp philosophical differences about the role of regulation in achieving community goals. ## The Landmark Tree Preservation Debate Director Blake Lyon opened the evening by outlining revisions made to the ordinance in response to council feedback from February 10th. The changes included clarifying language about tree failure, fee structures, and provisions allowing the Landmark Tree Committee to remove trees from the inventory. Lyon emphasized that the extension would provide time to monitor state legislative developments, particularly bills related to urban forestry and wildland-urban interface requirements. The public testimony that followed revealed a community deeply engaged with the technical details of tree preservation policy. Adam Belanger led off by referencing an Investigate West article critical of Seattle's 2023 tree ordinance, warning that "things became unworkable when there tended to be the conflict between development and protection of trees." He acknowledged Bellingham's tree canopy had actually improved during his lifetime but cautioned against anything that would make housing development more challenging. Michael Fear of the Whatcom Million Trees Project delivered the evening's most comprehensive critique, outlining six specific improvements needed in the ordinance. "The potential housing impact of the landmark tree ordinance is very small," Fear argued, citing data showing only "a few hundred landmark trees on private land, not 150,000 like some have publicly said." He detailed suggestions for transparency improvements, accuracy measures to prevent arborists from underreporting tree sizes, and better documentation of site planning alternatives. Several speakers echoed themes from Fear's presentation. Jim Smith, a landscape contractor with decades of experience, focused specifically on the problem of arborists underreporting tree diameters to help developers avoid landmark designations. "Arborists who have repeatedly underreported DBH measurements should have their business license revoked for up to three years," Smith argued. "No rational arborist would risk repeat underreporting." Robin Thomas from the Seahome neighborhood provided ground-level perspective on how the ordinance plays out in practice. "Virtually all the trees that we lost between 2018 and now were not in building footprints, and the loss of those trees did not appear to me to result in more housing," she observed. Thomas criticized new language in the ordinance that seemed to create trade-offs between local tree preservation and hypothetical benefits elsewhere, calling it "broad and unclear." The testimony from Perry Eskridge of the Building Industry Association offered a developer's perspective, emphasizing practical problems the interim ordinance was creating in the real estate market. "We've actually been seeing situations where properties that were sold thinking some people could do one thing on a property actually were put up for sale again because it was not possible," Eskridge reported. He urged the council to move quickly to a permanent ordinance to provide clarity for buyers and developers. ## Council Debate and Amendment After closing public testimony, the council engaged in detailed discussion about transparency and implementation. Councilmember Michael Lilliquist asked about making tree designation information more accessible to the public. Director Lyon confirmed staff could create public-facing materials to track which trees had been nominated and designated, though he noted they were still working through technical details. Councilmember Lisa Anderson pushed for more comprehensive tracking, including trees removed through development decisions. Mayor Kim Lund noted this would involve multiple departments and promised the issue would be addressed in the next day's after-action review. The most significant debate came when Anderson proposed amending the ordinance's purpose statement. She criticized language about "balancing the need to protect urban trees with the climate benefits of increasing density in urban areas" as too vague and potentially creating shortcuts around proper site planning. "I think this is kind of vague and creates a shortcut that someone can just say, well, can't do it," Anderson argued. Anderson's amendment would replace that language with text stating the ordinance "leads to better development designs that balance the need to protect mature urban trees with other community goals as increased urban density occurs." Councilmember Lilliquist supported the change, noting it recognized multiple community values rather than creating a simple trade-off between trees and density. The discussion revealed different comfort levels with amending an interim ordinance. Councilmember Skip Williams argued for leaving substantial changes to the permanent version rather than "trying to deal with it at the last minute" without "due process." But Director Lyon supported the amendment, saying it achieved similar intent to other changes already made. After some parliamentary confusion about whether to strike the original language or add a new section, Anderson amended her motion to add the new language as a separate subsection while keeping the original. Both amendments passed unanimously, and the full ordinance extension passed 7-0. ## Infrastructure and Environmental Projects Earlier in committee meetings, the council approved several major infrastructure initiatives. The Public Works and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Councilmember Hannah Stone, recommended accepting an $1.84 million Washington State Department of Transportation grant for the Squalicum Creek Estuary Restoration Project. The project addresses three fish passage barriers at the creek's mouth, which currently hinder access to more than 40 miles of upstream habitat. Joel Pfundt, Interim Public Works Co-Director, and Analiese Burns, Habitat & Restoration Manager, explained the project would span multiple years and require a 20% local match totaling $460,000, funded through a combination of Department of Ecology grants and contributions from the Port of Bellingham and city. The barriers include culverts owned by the city and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, plus a Port of Bellingham bridge — all identified as highest priority in regional fish restoration plans. The committee also approved a three-year, $335,000 contract with Discount Fence for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity fencing services. Although only one bid was received, staff noted the city had worked successfully with this contractor in the past and the arrangement would provide efficiency for smaller projects while reserving the right to bid larger projects separately. ## Fiber Network Plan Adoption and Broadband Workgroup Controversy The council completed adoption of its 10-Year Fiber Network Comprehensive Plan, culminating a multi-year study of the city's fiber infrastructure needs. The plan focuses on improving redundancy and reliability for city operations, including public safety and emergency response, rather than providing direct service to residents. However, this led to one of the evening's more contentious debates when Councilmember Lilliquist moved to reconvene the city's former Broadband Advisory Workgroup to address digital equity and affordability issues that hadn't been resolved by the fiber plan. Lilliquist argued the previous workgroup had focused on municipal fiber infrastructure rather than the original goal of addressing community complaints about broadband access and affordability. "Many members of our community have complaints about affordability and equitability and access to high quality broadband," Lilliquist said. "Sometimes they have broadband, but it's really not high quality. It's below the old federal standards and it's which is well below the current federal standards." Councilmember Anderson supported reconvening the group, noting that community members who had invested significant time in the issue wanted to explore options beyond municipal fiber service. "Some of the conversations I've had, they believe there are ways to bridge the gap of digital equity without it necessarily having to be a high cost performance," she said. But other council members expressed reservations about the scope and efficiency of reconvening the workgroup. Councilmember Stone argued for getting a report from city IT and library staff on existing digital equity efforts before determining next steps. Councilmember Williams noted uncertainty about whether reconvening would be as simple as it sounded. The motion failed 2-4, with Stone, Williams, Huthman, and Hammill opposed and Cotton abstaining. Staff noted the original workgroup had officially dissolved upon completion of its final report, and only four of seven original members had expressed strong interest in reconvening. ## Housing and Homelessness Updates The council received updates on several housing initiatives during afternoon committee sessions. Whatcom County staff presented their process for updating the county's Five-Year Homeless Housing Plan, which guides regional strategies for reducing homelessness. The plan requires revision every five years, with the updated version targeted for county council adoption in November 2025. In a separate presentation, Planning Director Lyon and Development Services Manager Kurt Nabbefeld outlined middle housing opportunities as directed by Mayor Lund's Executive Order 2024-02. The presentation covered the city's "infill toolkit" approach to expanding housing options ahead of state mandates, with a draft ordinance expected for the March 24 council meeting. ## Legislative and Economic Development Business Council members involved in the city's lobbying team reported on state legislative activities. Councilmember Stone testified in support of bills harmonizing real estate excise tax uses and extending affordable housing funding authority. The city also supported legislation allowing "libation zones" that could benefit Bellingham during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Community and Economic Development Committee approved Lodging Tax Advisory Committee recommendations for a $100,000 grant to Artist Home for a music festival and $50,000 to the Bellingham Bells for a softball tournament, both expected in spring 2026. Council President Huthman recused herself from this item due to potential business conflicts. ## Contract Approvals and Routine Business During executive session, the council ratified a collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 114 representing Prospect Communications Center dispatchers. The two-year contract includes 4% and 3% cost-of-living adjustments, new longevity premiums, increased life insurance coverage, and improved vacation accrual for early-career dispatchers. The council also authorized the mayor to retain outside counsel for pending litigation and approved all items on the consent agenda, including various grant acceptances, interlocal agreements, and utility easements. ## Closing & What's Ahead The meeting concluded with final passage of an ordinance updating municipal waste management practices to align with state legislation and the city's Climate Action Plan. The landmark tree ordinance extension provides six months for staff to develop a permanent version through the Type 6 legislative process while monitoring relevant state legislation. The council expressed interest in getting comment trackers to systematically address the detailed feedback received on the tree ordinance, and staff committed to reporting back on digital equity efforts before any future broadband workgroup discussions. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for March 10, with committee presentations expected on Port of Bellingham economic development partnerships and continued work on the comprehensive plan update. The evening reflected a council and community grappling with fundamental questions about balancing competing values — environmental protection and housing development, local control and state requirements, citizen engagement and administrative efficiency. With Bellingham continuing to grow rapidly, these tensions seem likely to intensify rather than resolve in coming months.