This was a special regional coordination meeting hosted by Bellingham to discuss growth management planning ahead of the 2025 comprehensive plan updates required under Washington's Growth Management Act. The meeting brought together elected officials from Whatcom County and its cities to address three major planning challenges: coordinating urban growth area (UGA) development through "pre-zoning" policies, ensuring adequate industrial land supply for economic growth, and exploring potential new city incorporations. The most significant discussion centered on pre-zoning policies that would coordinate between cities and the county to establish future zoning for UGAs before annexation occurs. This emerged from concerns by Ferndale and Bellingham that rural development patterns in their UGAs are creating barriers to future urban-density development. The conversation revealed broad conceptual support for pre-zoning mechanisms, though no formal commitments were made. The industrial land discussion highlighted a critical gap in economic development planning. Executive Satpal Sidhu advocated for designating 2,500 new acres of industrial land countywide, arguing that the region lacks "shovel-ready" sites to attract major employers. Several jurisdictions reported constraints including Cherry Point's limited development potential, infrastructure barriers like inadequate road access, and the need for substantial wetland mitigation. The incorporation discussion focused primarily on Birch Bay's ongoing incorporation study, with some exploration of potential new cities in Columbia Valley, Point Roberts, or the Custer area. However, there was tension between creating new urban areas versus concentrating growth in existing cities and UGAs.
City and County Elected Officials Growth Management Coordination Meeting
Executive Summary
Key Decisions & Actions
No formal votes were taken as this was an informal coordination meeting. However, several policy directions emerged: **Pre-Zoning Policy Support:** Broad conceptual agreement among jurisdictions to pursue countywide planning policies that would formalize pre-zoning processes, allowing the county to adopt city-appropriate zoning for UGAs that would take effect upon annexation. **Abutting UGA Coordination:** Support for Bellingham and Ferndale to develop formalized cooperative planning processes for adjacent UGA areas, particularly around their shared border at Slater Road. **Industrial Land Study:** Agreement that the Port of Bellingham's upcoming industrial land study (expected May-June 2025) should inform future comprehensive plan decisions about industrial zoning and economic development priorities. **Incorporation Studies:** Continued support for Birch Bay incorporation study update using county funding, with recognition that incorporation decisions must be community-driven.
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**Port Industrial Study:** The Port of Bellingham's industrial land and economic development study is expected in May-June 2025 and will inform comprehensive plan industrial land designations. **Comprehensive Plan Process:** All jurisdictions are working toward 2025 comprehensive plan updates with state deadline requirements. Pre-zoning and UGA coordination policies would be incorporated into these updates if adopted. **Birch Bay Incorporation:** The county-funded update to the Birch Bay incorporation feasibility study is ongoing, with results expected to inform potential incorporation timeline. **Future Coordination Meetings:** No additional meetings were scheduled, but there was discussion of possible April meeting after county draft EIS is available. **Legislative Session:** State legislature is considering HB 1840 allowing middle housing in lamird designations, which could affect rural development capacity.
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