### Meeting Overview Bellingham's Committee of the Whole met jointly with Whatcom County and other municipal elected officials on January 23, 2025, to coordinate 2025 Comprehensive Plan updates under the Growth Management Act. The discussion focused on population allocations, urban growth area management, and long-range regional planning strategies. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Growth Management Act (GMA):** Washington state law requiring cities and counties to plan for growth within designated urban areas while protecting rural lands and natural resources. **Urban Growth Area (UGA):** Land designated around cities where urban development is expected to occur over the next 20 years, requiring urban-level infrastructure and services. **Urban Growth Reserve:** Areas identified for potential future urban growth beyond the 20-year planning horizon, typically 40-50 years out. **Population Allocation:** The distribution of projected population growth among different jurisdictions within a county for comprehensive planning purposes. **Annexation:** The process by which a city expands its boundaries to include adjacent unincorporated areas, typically from urban growth areas. **Environmental Impact Statement (EIS):** A document required under state law that analyzes the potential environmental impacts of proposed comprehensive plan changes. **Land Swap:** The process of removing some areas from urban growth areas while adding others, typically requiring state legislative approval or meeting specific criteria. **Agricultural Lands:** Areas designated for farming that receive special protection under the Growth Management Act from urban development pressures. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Mayor Kim Lund | Bellingham Mayor | | Council Members | Hannah Stone, Michael Lilliquist, Gene Knutson, Lisa Anderson, Dan Hammill, Jace Cotton | | Mark Personius | Whatcom County Planning Director | | Scott Koons | Ferndale City Manager | | Mayor Hanson | Ferndale Mayor | | Council Member Donovan | Ferndale City Council | | Mayor Stuart | Blaine Mayor | ### Background Context The Growth Management Act requires Washington counties and cities to update their comprehensive plans every eight years. This 2025 update cycle comes at a time when Whatcom County faces unprecedented housing shortages and affordability challenges. State projections show Bellingham needing to accommodate over 30,000 new residents by 2044, requiring careful coordination between jurisdictions on where and how this growth will occur. The meeting addresses fundamental tensions in growth management: cities need adequate land for development but face infrastructure costs for expansion, while the county must balance urban growth with protection of agricultural lands and rural character. Recent flooding and environmental constraints have also made some previously designated growth areas unsuitable for development. ### What Happened — The Short Version Officials agreed to move forward with preliminary population growth numbers to allow planning work to continue, with Bellingham planning for approximately 30,310 new residents. The county indicated it would reduce rural residential allocations from 10,000 to 9,000 units but wouldn't make major shifts away from single-family development in unincorporated areas. Extensive discussion centered on managing urban growth areas more strategically, with cities requesting better coordination with the county on zoning in UGAs to ensure future development meets urban density goals rather than suburban sprawl. Several jurisdictions want to swap unsuitable UGA lands (flood-prone, watershed areas) for more developable locations. The group expressed interest in long-range planning beyond the 20-year horizon and discussed the need for legislative changes to make UGA modifications easier. They scheduled a follow-up meeting for February 20th to continue these discussions. ### What to Watch Next - County Council meetings in early February where city growth scenarios will be presented - Release of the Environmental Impact Statement analyzing various growth options - Legislative advocacy efforts to ease UGA land swap requirements - Development of a 40-year growth strategy by county planning staff - February 20th follow-up meeting between city and county officials ---

**Q:** How many new people is Bellingham planning to accommodate by 2044? **A:** 30,310 new residents, according to planning staff projections discussed at the meeting. **Q:** What is an Urban Growth Area (UGA)? **A:** Land designated around cities where urban development is expected to occur over the next 20 years, requiring urban-level infrastructure. **Q:** What major change did the county make to rural residential allocations? **A:** Reduced planned rural residential units from 10,000 to 9,000 over the 20-year period. **Q:** Why do cities want better coordination on UGA zoning? **A:** To prevent suburban sprawl that makes areas difficult to annex and doesn't meet urban density goals for housing. **Q:** What is the main infrastructure challenge for urban expansion? **A:** Cities lack money for water, sewer, and road infrastructure needed to serve new urban areas. **Q:** When is the next city and county officials meeting scheduled? **A:** February 20, 2025, with location to be determined between Ferndale and Lynden. **Q:** What is a UGA land swap? **A:** The process of removing unsuitable areas from urban growth boundaries while adding more appropriate areas for development. **Q:** Why is current UGA management problematic? **A:** Areas sit undeveloped for decades or get built at low suburban densities that are expensive to serve and hard to annex. **Q:** What role does the Environmental Impact Statement play? **A:** It analyzes potential environmental impacts of different growth scenarios and UGA modifications being considered. **Q:** What is an Urban Growth Reserve? **A:** Areas identified for potential urban growth beyond the 20-year planning horizon, typically for 40-50 year planning. **Q:** Why can't some existing UGA areas be developed? **A:** They're in flood plains, watersheds, or have other environmental constraints that make development impractical. **Q:** Who pays for infrastructure when new areas are annexed? **A:** Cities generally require developers to pay for extending water, sewer, and other infrastructure to new areas. **Q:** What is the Growth Management Act periodic update cycle? **A:** Comprehensive plans must be updated every eight years to address new growth projections and changing conditions. **Q:** What housing challenge was emphasized at the meeting? **A:** The region is significantly behind in housing production and needs conscious planning to catch up with demand. **Q:** Why do cities want to remove some current UGA areas? **A:** Some areas are in watersheds, flood zones, or other locations where development is impractical or too expensive. **Q:** What legislative change is being sought for UGA modifications? **A:** Easier procedures for UGA land swaps, particularly for areas affected by new flood maps or environmental constraints. **Q:** How long has this coordination meeting series been running? **A:** This was the sixth meeting in an occasional series convened by the County Executive for growth management coordination. **Q:** What is the concern about touching UGAs between cities? **A:** When city growth areas grow together, they may need to become joint planning units with coordinated development. **Q:** What role do impact fees play in growth management? **A:** Cities use impact fees to fund infrastructure expansion needed to serve new development in urban areas. **Q:** Why is agricultural land protection relevant to this discussion? **A:** Expanding UGAs onto agricultural lands requires special justification and procedures under state law. ---