Bellingham City Council

**Meeting ID:** BEL-CON-2025-11-17 # Housing Policy Takes Center Stage at Marathon Bellingham Council Meeting The Bellingham City Council transformed their chambers into a workshop on housing reform during a nearly four-hour meeting that saw more public testimony on housing issues than most councils hear in a year. Five consecutive public hearings on November 17th addressed everything from utility easements to co-living regulations, marking what Council Member Hannah Stone called "a historic night for housing policy." The meeting began at 7 PM with Council President Hollie Huthman presiding over all seven council members in attendance. After acknowledging the traditional territory of the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish and Semiahmoo peoples and providing Spanish interpretation access, the council dove into an agenda that would ultimately stretch until 11:23 PM. ## Two Quick Easement Relinquishments The evening began with two routine utility matters that passed with minimal discussion. The first involved a partial relinquishment of a public utility easement on vacated Douglas Street to facilitate development at 925 10th Street. Assistant Public Works Director Mike Wilson explained that the city vacated the Douglas street right-of-way in 1966, retaining a 30-foot utility easement, and now would relinquish 20 feet of that easement to enable development while gaining back 10 feet of right-of-way. Council Member Anderson pressed for assurance that sidewalk improvements would be required. "This area doesn't have a lot of sidewalks," she noted. Director Blake Lyon confirmed that the development proposal includes full frontage improvements with sidewalks on both 10th Street and Douglas. Alex McLean, a regular at council meetings, testified that he had initially thought this was about a different Douglas Avenue right-of-way. He urged the council to "tie these things to development that is going to happen, and wait to do the relinquishment until the end" rather than clearing trees or removing trails prematurely. The resolution passed 7-0. The second easement matter involved relinquishing a water main easement at 404 Baker Street from 1931. Wilson noted this was unusual because "this is not in a public right of way. This is on a parcel" and only affected the portion crossing Interstate 5. Council Member Stone questioned why the city wouldn't relinquish all such easements on both sides of the highway, but Wilson explained it was driven by the specific property owner's development plans. This also passed 7-0 with no public testimony. ## The Middle Housing Extension Debate The third hearing brought the first substantial debate of the evening. The council considered extending interim zoning regulations for infill housing development for another six months while permanent regulations are developed. Chris Cope from Planning and Community Development explained that recent state legislation had adjusted requirements, necessitating updates to keep Bellingham compliant with House Bill 1110. The proposed amendments would allow eight dwelling units to count toward the six-unit maximum (ADUs were previously exempt), consolidate development standards, and provide administrative review for projects with six or fewer units rather than the current four-unit threshold. Council Member Lilliquist asked what additional work remained for the next six months. Planning Director Lyon explained they needed to harmonize these regulations with upcoming zoning overhaul work, noting "we've got the conversion from residential single, residential multi into those residential low medium highs. We want all of those to kind of work together." Public testimony revealed deep divisions about the direction of housing policy. Brian Gas, a frequent speaker, expressed frustration with what he called "middle housing debacle," arguing that planners had misled neighborhoods by claiming they wouldn't be affected while "6000 units are being dropped into the neighborhoods from middle housing." He criticized the city for destroying homeownership opportunities while not producing anything truly affordable. But other speakers pushed for more aggressive action. Brian Russell, wearing his advocacy hat, urged council to "investigate" traditional zoning barriers like minimum lot sizes, floor area ratios, and lot coverage limits, calling them tools "designed to make housing more expensive" dating to 1916 segregation efforts. Scott Pelton, manager of the Whatcom Housing Alliance, delivered perhaps the evening's most personal testimony, sharing that housing affordability had become a personal crisis: "For me and my family, this is no longer an abstract policy question. It is conceivable that in the future we may be forced to consider whether our family can afford to live here." The debate took an unexpected turn when Council Member Cotton moved to amend the regulations to expand density bonuses from properties within a quarter-mile of transit to half-mile. "I have a two-year term, so like a year is like half my political lifespan, right?" Cotton said, explaining his urgency to make bigger changes faster. Council Member Anderson expressed concern that expanding the transit bonus area might eliminate affordability incentives over too much of the city. But Council Member Stone supported the change, arguing that practical opportunities for increased density would be limited anyway: "The reality is, is the impact here to increase the density from 4 to 6. Isn't going to be practical in a lot of places within the city." After considerable back-and-forth about mapping and walking distances versus "as the crow flies" measurements, the amendment passed 7-0. The full ordinance then passed 7-0 for first and second reading. ## The Family Definition Finally Falls The fourth hearing addressed what several council members called long-overdue changes: eliminating Bellingham's restrictive "family" definition that limited unrelated people living together to three individuals, and establishing regulations for co-living housing. Planning staff Sydney Persecut and Sarah Olman explained that Senate Bill 5235 from 2021 and House Bill 1998 from 2025 required these changes. The city had already stopped enforcing the family definition, acknowledging widespread "naturally occurring co-living" throughout Bellingham. The ordinance would define co-living housing as developments with at least 24 sleeping units sharing kitchen facilities, with each four co-living units equivalent to one dwelling unit for density calculations. Importantly, it would replace all references to "family" with "household," finally allowing unlimited unrelated adults to live together. Several speakers celebrated the change. Alex McLean drew on Jewish history, relating the story of Abraham having to beg permission from a council to buy burial land for his wife: "I don't like councils arbitrarily applying subjective design standards to these sorts of things... I would prefer if we just stopped making people beg for the right to build housing." Dan Blumker, who lives with four roommates in Birchwood, provided a practical perspective: "It is admittedly what is likely to be built here is going to be as living large co-living is going to be a little different. It is probably going to be as anything new, a little more expensive than my current rent, which is $672.50 a month affordable to someone working part-time on minimum wage." But Perry Eskridge, representing building industry groups, offered the evening's most emotional testimony. He had "been waiting 25 years for this moment," recounting being asked to enforce the family definition "primarily in same-sex households" and having neighbors steal mail to prove unrelated people were living together. "Council and staff have continuously for over 25 years defended this horrible definition," he said, crediting Mayor Lund's housing executive order with finally making change possible. Council Member Lilliquist raised concerns about creating competition between co-living and middle housing options, noting that property owners might find large co-living houses simpler to build than complex middle housing. Planning staff acknowledged this dynamic but argued it provided beneficial options. The discussion got detailed when Council Member Cotton moved to strike parking requirements from the ordinance, arguing they would conflict with state law taking effect in 2027 that prohibits parking requirements for units under 1,200 square feet. Council Member Anderson opposed this, wanting comprehensive parking analysis: "I have too many questions and I would like to move this on and have it approved tonight but if this passes then I won't be supporting this." The parking amendment passed 5-2, with Anderson and Lilliquist opposed. The full ordinance then passed 7-0. ## Design Review Gets Streamlined The final hearing addressed interim design review standards required by multiple state bills. Planning staff Lindsay Kirschner and Sarah Olman explained they were consolidating design requirements scattered across "as many as 12 different spots" in city code into clear, objective standards. Director Lyon emphasized the urgency: "if we don't do this by the end of this calendar year then we lose kind of the ability to have design standards or design guidelines until we put something effectively in place." The new system would use a menu approach where applicants could choose from multiple options to meet requirements, removing subjective language like "shall meet the general character." Adam Bellinger supported the changes but raised broader concerns about permitting timelines, noting "it takes about 18 to 36 months to get a multifamily project through planning and development process in the city of Bellingham" while "the Empire State Building went from approval to completion, ahead of schedule, an under budget, and 14 months." Brian Gas urged focusing on areas like urban villages where infrastructure already exists: "putting in the urban, or the, you know, the, you know, the urban growth there is, you know, do that, the, what do you call it, the, um, village, the urban villages, right? That's a great place to start putting those things because those people, they can, you know, there's a bus line, there is a supermarket." Perry Eskridge, speaking for industry groups, emphasized the importance of developer choice in meeting standards, sharing a cautionary tale about a project delayed five weeks over window shapes, adding $95,000 in costs because staff preferred "circular windows" as "reminiscent of bubbles reflecting the water" instead of the planned rectangular ones. Several speakers opposed adding design requirements to housing types that previously didn't have them. Brian Russell argued this violated state law requiring ADUs to have no more requirements than primary residences. Slater Meyer, who lives in a townhouse near Barkley Village, worried the new requirements would mean "less housing will be built, not more." Despite these concerns, the ordinance passed 7-0 for first and second reading. ## Committee Work and Executive Decisions The evening included substantial committee work conducted earlier in the day. The Committee of the Whole approved first and second reading of ADU regulations and took first steps toward adopting the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, with Council Member Lilliquist successfully amending housing policies to avoid income segregation. Multiple committees addressed infrastructure and emergency services needs, approving interlocal agreements for emergency medical services on Galbraith Mountain and paramedic training, along with funding for Post Point wastewater planning and manufactured gas plant cleanup. In a lengthy executive session, council authorized outside legal counsel for litigation, approved two Lake Whatcom watershed land acquisitions totaling $290,000, authorized a lease for police department space, and approved settlement of an air quality violation. ## Consent and Final Business The consent agenda passed seven routine items including meeting minutes and financial authorizations. Final consideration extended interim parking regulations for six months and adopted the 2026 tax levy, with a minor title correction. ## Public Comment: The Community Speaks Eight residents provided general public comment, though their specific remarks weren't detailed in the available records. Video recordings of these comments are available on the city's website for those interested in the full community input. ## A Night of Historic Change As Council President Huthman gaveled the meeting to a close at 11:23 PM, she presided over what may be remembered as a watershed moment in Bellingham housing policy. The evening saw the elimination of discriminatory family definitions that had stood for decades, new pathways for affordable co-living housing, extensions of middle housing opportunities, and streamlined development processes. The marathon session revealed both the complexity of housing reform and the passion it generates in the community. From Perry Eskridge's 25-year wait to see family definitions eliminated, to Scott Pelton's personal fears about housing affordability, to Brian Gas's concerns about neighborhood character, the evening captured the human stakes behind housing policy. With multiple interim ordinances now extended for continued work, and the 2025 Comprehensive Plan moving toward final adoption, Bellingham appears positioned for significant changes in how housing gets built and who gets to live where. Whether these changes will deliver on promises of greater affordability and opportunity remains to be seen, but November 17th marked the night when decades of incremental reform accelerated into comprehensive transformation. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for December 8th, when several of these interim measures may return for third and final reading, cementing their place in Bellingham's evolving approach to housing and development.