--- # Charting Bellingham's Future: A Deep Dive Into Housing, Growth, and Governance The Bellingham City Council convened for their Committee of the Whole meeting on January 27, 2025, with all seven members present — Council Member Hannah Stone participating remotely. What unfolded was an afternoon of substantive discussion that touched on some of the most fundamental questions facing the city: How will Bellingham grow over the next twenty years? How should the council organize itself to tackle a looming budget crisis? And what role should elected officials play in representing the community? ## The Bellingham Plan: A Once-in-a-Decade Vision The centerpiece of the meeting was a comprehensive update on the Bellingham Plan, the city's once-a-decade comprehensive plan revision. Chris Behee, Long Range Division Manager from Planning and Community Development, walked the council through 18 months of intensive community engagement that has shaped a vision for Bellingham's next twenty years. The numbers are striking. Since launching in mid-2023, the planning process has generated remarkable community participation: 14 open house events drawing nearly 1,000 participants, three different surveys collecting almost 9,000 total responses, and nearly 10,000 visits to the city's online engagement platform. The city made particular efforts to reach typically underheard voices, collaborating with Vamos for a Spanish-speaking event at Shuksan Middle School and conducting outreach to college students at Western Washington University. "It was rare to have an event where we didn't see several of you at the events," Behee told the council, acknowledging their active participation in community conversations throughout the process. The emerging plan groups its 11 chapters — eight existing and three new — around four central themes: "more housing choice," "sustainable growth," "climate resilience," and "Bellingham for all." Three entirely new chapters address climate action, community well-being, and civic practices, reflecting both state mandates and community priorities. But it's the growth projections that carry the highest stakes. Bellingham's preliminary proposal anticipates accommodating 30,310 new residents by 2045 — requiring 18,390 new housing units and supporting 19,384 new jobs. Council Member Dan Hammill pressed for clarification: this represents net in-migration, he confirmed, essentially new people moving to the community as the local birth rate is projected to turn negative. "That's correct," Behee responded. "You can look at that as basically in-migration." ### Urban Villages and Transportation Corridors The discussion revealed ongoing tension between accommodating growth within existing city boundaries versus expanding into new areas. Council Member Gene Knutson highlighted a significant opportunity: Bellingham's seven urban villages currently comprise just 4% of the city's land supply but have historically absorbed about a third of new growth. "There just seems to be an opportunity to maybe rethink that a little bit," Knutson said, specifically pointing to the northern Cordata area. "We've made infrastructure investments out there with the park. We've got a lot of folks that are moving out there. There's a bit of a food desert, but there's some opportunities there for that to be changed." Council Member Lisa Anderson championed transportation corridors as crucial growth arteries, envisioning a future where areas like James Street evolve from one-story buildings to higher-density development. "At some point, that area, the land is going to be valuable enough that those one-story buildings will come down, and there will be buildings that go up," she predicted. Anderson also made her familiar plea for thoughtful development along Whatcom Creek west of I-5. "Now is the time to really look at that zoning so that we implement for future development the right setbacks," she urged. "We've talked about beautiful plazas that could be along that creek with a setback, to be able to have that intermingling of public and retail and housing and make it a jewel of a location." ### The Arts Question The meeting addressed concerns raised by several community emails about arts and culture representation in the comprehensive plan. Behee explained that arts and culture goals and policies will be housed primarily in the new community well-being chapter, with "a specific goal and then a set of policies below that that deal specifically with encouragement and celebration of arts and culture within Bellingham." Council Member Anderson sought clarification on the content of the new chapters. The community well-being chapter, Behee explained, will emphasize "education and economic opportunity for everyone in the community" while acknowledging city support for essential human services. It will address resources for families with children, people with disabilities, those struggling with substance abuse, homelessness prevention, violence reduction, and arts and culture celebration. ## Committee Restructuring: From Climate to Finance The council tackled significant housekeeping business, beginning with a restructuring of their standing committees. The proposal eliminated the Climate Action Committee, distributing climate work across other committees and the Committee of the Whole, while establishing a new Finance and Budget Committee. Council Member Anderson, who had chaired the Climate Action Committee, embraced the change. "I just love numbers," she declared. "Actually I've avoided various committees on finance because I deal so much with that in my previous and day job, but I would be happy to chair the finance." The transition reflects the administration's sense of urgency about the city's budget challenges. City Manager Shane Minkin was direct: "I think we have a crisis and that will be the primary work before us together in this new standing committee structure." Council Member Michael Lilliquist, who had previously chaired finance committees, saw opportunity for broader conversations about municipal priorities. "It's not about like getting into the department level line item, but it is a broader discussion about municipal priorities and spending," he explained. The vote was unanimous, with Anderson becoming the new finance chair, joined by Hammill and Lilliquist. Mayor Kim Lund emphasized that climate work isn't disappearing. "This work is not going away. It's going to be infused in other standing committees and elevated through the committee of the whole." ## Board Assignments: A System in Need of Review Perhaps the most complex discussion involved the council's assignments to various boards, commissions, and task forces. The conversation revealed a system that has grown organically over the years without clear criteria for what organizations deserve council representation. "There's some question as to how some of these assignments ended up on this list in the first place, and not many people, even the people in the organizations themselves, really remember how that happened," Council President Hollie Huthman observed. The council had a research matrix showing which assignments are mandatory versus optional, but the discussion revealed the challenge of balancing community relationships with council members' time and the principle of consistent criteria. Lilliquist provided historical context: "Most of these things at the time were mutual requests and a response to a request. So Sustainable Connections was interested in a connection. It was created. I remember when I talked to the head of the Chamber of Commerce, interested in a connection. So we created one." Council Member Hannah Stone advocated for a more formal approach. "I feel like that list then could be never, never ending," she said, expressing concern about informal agreements and accountability. "I would like some clarity when it is a formal assignment that we are going to appoint a council member to fulfill." The council ultimately made limited changes: Stone took on the Downtown Bellingham Partnership and Sustainable Connections assignments, while the Airport Advisory Committee and Port Marina Advisory Committee positions were left vacant. The council will work with the administration to develop clearer guidelines for future assignments. ## Rent Stabilization: A Legislative Push In old and new business, Lilliquist brought forward a letter supporting rent stabilization efforts in Olympia — a continuation of previous council advocacy on the issue. The letter, carefully crafted to support the concept without locking the city into specific legislative details, generated discussion about the council's role in state advocacy. "54% of our community being renters and how difficult it is to survive in this economy," Anderson emphasized. "I just think rent stabilization is critical to the health and safety of members of our community to be able to survive and not become homeless." Council Member Williams supported the approach: "There's nothing wrong from my view of reaffirming our previous position on supporting this and how it's worded in a letter." The administration was more cautious, with the mayor noting concerns about ensuring rent stabilization doesn't create "chilling effects on new construction." However, the council voted 7-0 to send the letter. ## Lobbying Coordination: Speed Versus Deliberation The discussion touched on a fundamental tension in municipal government: the need for quick response to legislative opportunities versus the deliberative nature of council processes. "One of the things that's always been a problem is that Olympia moves fast and the council moves slow," Lilliquist explained. "We meet every other week, and so we've had to figure out ways around the fact that the city council moves slow, but legislation works fast." The administration has established a weekly lobbying group including Stone, Hammill, and Huthman, meeting Fridays at 2 p.m. But questions remain about how to better coordinate council involvement in state advocacy. "I think that's exactly why looking at a formal some formal guidelines for that," Huthman said, "because yes, the council moves so slow that the administration is going to have the advantage in being able to represent the city." The council directed staff to research policies other cities might have for handling this challenge. ## Looking Ahead: A City in Transition As the meeting concluded, it was clear that Bellingham stands at a critical juncture. The comprehensive plan process has revealed a community grappling with how to accommodate significant growth while preserving livability and affordability. The council's organizational changes reflect both fiscal pressures and evolving priorities. The planning timeline shows major decisions ahead: Planning Commission discussions will run from February through May, with a public hearing and recommendation expected in July and August. The council's final decisions on the plan would follow in the fall. "We're in the home stretch, but we do still have a fair amount of conversation coming up this year," Behee noted. The meeting ended with the council moving into executive session at 3:50 p.m. to discuss property acquisition, labor negotiations, and potential litigation — the less visible but equally important business of municipal governance. As Bellingham contemplates adding 30,000 new residents over the next two decades, the conversations that began in this Committee of the Whole meeting will shape not just where people live and work, but how the city governs itself and maintains its character amid rapid change. The challenge ahead is translating 18 months of community input into concrete policies that can navigate the competing pressures of growth, affordability, climate action, and fiscal sustainability.