City of Bellingham Historic Preservation Commission

Staff presented two major items that will shape historic preservation efforts in Bellingham over the coming year. The first was a preliminary proposal to nominate the Happy Valley neighborhood for National Register listing as a historic district, driven by neighborhood association interest and upcoming state housing legislation changes. The second was an update on the comprehensive plan (Bellingham Plan) update process, specifically focusing on proposed historic preservation goals and policies that must be completed by year's end. The Happy Valley proposal represents a potentially innovative approach to historic preservation, with neighbors expressing interest in using district designation as a tool to study how infill development can coexist with historic character rather than simply opposing density increases. Staff will pursue a state grant to hire a consultant for feasibility assessment, with the grant application due May 30. The comprehensive plan update revealed significant changes ahead for design review processes due to House Bill 1293, which requires "clear and objective" design standards and limits design review to one public meeting. This legislation exempts locally designated historic landmarks and districts but not National Register districts, creating new challenges for the commission's current role as a Design Review Board subcommittee. The new comprehensive plan consolidates historic preservation policies under a single goal while maintaining connections across multiple chapters addressing climate, housing, and community well-being.

**Meeting Minutes Approval:** - Motion to approve May 14, 2024 meeting minutes - Vote: 2 ayes, 1 abstention (Ford) - Status: Approved **No formal votes were taken on the two presentations, which were informational only and designed to gather commission feedback for future planning processes.**

"One neighbor actually had a pretty cool concept of using it as a study, where they would actually kind of ingratiate, infill and and welcome infill into their neighborhood while having it being a historic district. So they're not trying to for lack of a better word like Nimby, it but actually show and and work with infill as it's coming online." **Anya Gudrath, on comprehensive plan importance:** "It's really important for setting the stage, for how we want the city to grow and develop over time." **David Christensen, on density vs. preservation conflict:** "But it's in conflict with how we increase density. So if you've got to preserve everything, how do you increase density? What they're kind of in conflict with one another?" **Kurt Aberfeld, on creative solutions:** "One of the things that we are considering is the some of the the middle Housing Bill requires us to allow up to 4 dwelling units on every residential lot... one thing that we're currently discussing is in in hopes of preserving some of our older and larger single family homes right now is to not count any of the conversions of those towards that density." **Emmy, on commission participation:** "If anyone is interested in in working with us in the neighborhood, just shoot me an email, and I can let you know as we move forward with it."

# Real Briefings — Historic Preservation Commission Returns After Eight Months The city of Bellingham's Historic Preservation Commission held its first meeting in eight months on February 25, 2025, marking a fresh start for the commission with new members and ambitious preservation projects on the horizon. Meeting in the Council Chambers, the five-member commission welcomed two new commissioners while receiving updates on both a potential new historic district and comprehensive planning changes that could reshape how preservation works in the city. ## Meeting Overview Commission Chair Mary Rossi was absent, leaving Vice Chair Lexie Costic to preside over the evening session. The commission welcomed new members Judy Ford and Leonard Yarberry to their first official meeting, though both had attended the May 2024 session before their appointments. David Christensen joined virtually by phone partway through the meeting. With Kolby LaBree completing the roster, the commission had a working quorum to address two significant staff presentations. The eight-month gap since the last meeting highlighted ongoing challenges with commission vacancies and scheduling, issues that would surface again during the evening's discussions. But the agenda promised substantive work ahead: a preliminary exploration of designating the Happy Valley neighborhood as a historic district, and crucial updates to the city's comprehensive plan that could fundamentally alter how historic preservation operates under new state legislation. ## Happy Valley Historic District Exploration City staff member Emmy opened the evening with an update on the Happy Valley Neighborhood Association's inquiry about pursuing National Register historic district designation. The neighborhood, which has never undergone a formal historic survey, reached out to the city after Emmy met with residents in December to explain the process and implications of National Register listing. "We do have a neighbor liaison Courtney Sawyer, from the Happy Valley neighborhood who has volunteered to kind of move this forward on behalf of the neighborhood," Emmy explained. The process would begin with applying for a Certified Local Government grant from the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, due May 30th, to hire a consultant for a feasibility study. The neighborhood's motivations proved particularly interesting. Commissioner Kolby LaBree asked about their driving factors, and Emmy revealed the timing was connected to impending state housing legislation changes coming online in 2026. However, she emphasized the neighborhood wasn't trying to halt development. "The neighborhood did make it clear, though, that they're not trying to, you know, halt anything in time. They're not trying to stop development. But one neighbor actually had a pretty cool concept of using it as a study, where they would actually kind of ingratiate, infill and and welcome infill into their neighborhood while having it being a historic district," Emmy said. This approach would be groundbreaking – using historic district designation not to freeze development but to study how infill and preservation can work together. As Emmy put it, rather than acting as NIMBYs, the neighborhood wants to "show and work with infill as it's coming online in a historic district." New commissioner Leonard Yarberry peppered Emmy with practical questions about the grant process, costs, and available consultants. Emmy confirmed the grants come from state funds and that the city has worked with qualified consultants on similar projects before, though it's been some time since the last historic district designation process. The regulatory implications are minimal since National Register districts carry no local regulatory authority in Bellingham. Instead, designation could open doors to tax credit projects and potential grant funding while providing an honorary recognition of the neighborhood's historic character. Emmy closed by seeking commission volunteers to help with the grant application process, which would involve walking the neighborhood, verifying construction dates, and training on architectural integrity assessment. No commissioners committed immediately, but the opportunity remained open for email follow-up. ## Comprehensive Plan Updates and State Legislation Impacts Planning Department staff member Anya Gudrath delivered the evening's second presentation on updates to the city's comprehensive plan – now being called "the Bellingham Plan" – with specific focus on historic preservation content. The presentation revealed how new state legislation is forcing fundamental changes to how design review and historic preservation operate locally. Gudrath explained that comprehensive plans are 20-year planning documents updated every 10 years under state Growth Management Act requirements. Bellingham's update is due by year's end, and it must incorporate recent state housing legislation that significantly impacts local preservation efforts. The plan consolidates historic and cultural resources policies under a single goal: "Preserve Bellingham's heritage, authenticity, and diverse identities through the preservation of historic buildings, sites, landscapes, and cultural resources." Seven specific policies support this goal, ranging from developing a citywide preservation strategy to recognizing industrial and maritime heritage while acknowledging indigenous community importance. But the most significant change comes from House Bill 1293, which Gudrath described as "a big one for us." This legislation requires cities to adopt only "clear and objective design standards" that cannot reduce density, height, bulk, or scale. Design review is limited to one public meeting, fundamentally altering how the Historic Preservation Commission currently operates as a subcommittee to the Design Review Board. The legislation does provide an important exemption: "landmarks or historic districts that have been established under a local preservation ordinance" are exempt from these restrictions. However, National Register districts – like the Happy Valley proposal – would not be exempt and would fall under the new clear and objective standards. Commissioner Costic immediately grasped the implications: "I see one of the biggest impacts being, you know, we do have our our subcommittee to the Design Review Board, and we are called in to review when properties are in the historic district or have may have an impact on existing properties. And it sounds like there's going to be a reduction in in those design review meetings to just one." She asked about potential incentives for applicants to participate in additional meetings beyond the required minimum. Gudrath acknowledged ongoing uncertainty about future procedures: "At this point we're just not sure yet what that role will be, how it'll look like procedurally, how our design standards will look in the future. We know they need to be clear and predictable and objective." The challenge of translating subjective design principles into objective standards wasn't lost on Costic, who noted past commission discussions about determining "some subjective versus objective" criteria in their review work. ## Balancing Preservation and Density Requirements Commissioner David Christensen, participating by phone, raised perhaps the most challenging question of the evening: how to balance historic preservation with state mandates for increased housing density. Recent legislation requires cities to allow four to six units on single-family lots as part of affordable housing initiatives. "The conflict of when neighborhoods become a historic neighborhood or historic districts, and the legislatures recent mandate to increase density from anywhere from 4 to 6 units per single family lot," Christensen said. "You know, if something is preserved. And there's a lot of homes like, for example, in what's being proposed. And all of a sudden you can't increase density. How do we do that?" Gudrath responded that staff doesn't see preservation and density as inherently conflicting: "I don't think we necessarily see those as in conflict. I think there's a lot of opportunity, of course, with the middle housing legislation for more infill, more units. That doesn't necessarily mean you know every single family house is going away." Emmy and Planning Department's Kurt Aberfeld offered more specific solutions. Emmy mentioned potential density bonuses for projects that preserve existing structures, while Aberfeld outlined a more detailed approach: "One thing that we're currently discussing is in hopes of preserving some of our older and larger single family homes right now is to not count any of the conversions of those towards that density." Under this approach, converting a large historic home into four units wouldn't count toward the required density allowance, potentially allowing additional units on the same lot. "Just like, Emmy said. Those density bonuses are not counting that density when you utilize an existing structure. Is one easy way that we could consider," Aberfeld explained. The discussion highlighted the complex balancing act facing cities as they try to accommodate both preservation goals and affordability mandates from the state legislature. ## Washington National Maritime Heritage Partnership In the meeting's final business, Emmy announced that Bellingham was accepted in January as a new partner in the Washington National Maritime Heritage Area. This partnership involves the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and government agencies and nonprofits along Washington's full coastline. The designation recognizes Bellingham's significant maritime heritage and opens potential funding and partnership opportunities for preservation projects related to the city's waterfront and maritime history. ## Commission Challenges and Future Meetings The meeting concluded with discussions about ongoing commission challenges. Multiple vacancies remain, though Emmy reported several new applications awaiting staff review. The eight-month gap since the last meeting reflects both staffing challenges and limited project volume – no special tax valuation applications or certificates of alteration have been submitted since May 2024. Emmy expressed hope for more regular meetings, suggesting "maybe once every other month, or something like that. Just have check ins," though she cautioned this remains "a little aspirational" given current workloads and application volume. ## Closing & What's Ahead The commission adjourned at 6:53 PM with several important deadlines looming. Commissioners were invited to provide additional comments on the comprehensive plan updates to Gudrath before the March 6th Planning Commission meeting, where the community design chapter containing historic preservation policies will be discussed. The Happy Valley historic district feasibility study grant application deadline of May 30th provides another concrete timeline for potential commission involvement. Whether commissioners step forward to help with that neighborhood assessment could determine whether Bellingham gains its next National Register historic district. Perhaps most significantly, the ongoing implementation of House Bill 1293 will require fundamental changes to how the commission operates in its design review capacity. The shift from subjective design evaluation to "clear and objective" standards represents one of the most significant changes to historic preservation practice in recent decades, and the commission will likely play a crucial role in developing those new standards for historic areas. The meeting marked not just the commission's return to regular business, but a pivotal moment as local preservation efforts adapt to new state mandates while pursuing expanded recognition of Bellingham's historic neighborhoods and maritime heritage.