## Meeting Overview The November 2024 Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission meeting convened with Mayor Kim Lund providing extensive updates on the city's ongoing response to unauthorized encampments, followed by a comprehensive transportation infrastructure presentation from Public Works. The gathering, held after an intensive day of preparation for the mayor's upcoming executive order on housing, brought together neighborhood representatives to discuss both immediate public safety challenges and long-term infrastructure investments across Bellingham. The meeting highlighted the complex intersection of homelessness response, housing policy, and neighborhood engagement, with Mayor Lund acknowledging that fewer than a dozen hands went up when she asked a recent 100-person community meeting who felt well-informed about encampment activities through local media coverage. ## Encampment Response and Public Safety Actions Mayor Lund delivered a detailed briefing on the city's coordinated response to two significant unauthorized encampments that have drawn community concern and media attention. The Stewart Road encampment, commonly referred to as the "Walmart encampment," has been the focus of phase one clearing and fencing activities undertaken in coordination with Tollwood apartment property owners. "These actions are just we're calling it phase one," Mayor Lund explained, describing the complexity of the 20-acre parcel that contains an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 tons of solid waste, high-functioning wetlands, landmark trees, and a fish-bearing creek. The environmental remediation challenges are substantial: "It has no access, with a road. We have to build a road. We have to build a bridge that meets fish and wildlife standards." The Taiwanese property owners of the primary parcel remain out of communication with the city, creating ongoing challenges for comprehensive action. However, the timing of phase one activities was coordinated with the opening of new shelter resources, including the Way Station respite center downtown and the expanded Lighthouse Mission. The Baker View encampment has emerged as the more visible and immediate community concern, spanning six parcels with five different property owners. "It is the number one concern that we hear about in the mayor's office right now," Lund stated. The encampment's visibility and impacts on surrounding businesses - Fred Meyer, Jack in the Box, nearby hotels, and a daycare center - have prompted three coordinated meetings with property owners. The mayor emphasized the critical tipping point that encampments can reach: "There is a critical tipping point with encampments where it goes from a group of individuals who are seeking respite and do not have other housing alternatives... to a point where it reaches a number where the police can no longer safely respond, and organized criminal activity knows where that tipping point is." The city has identified serious safety concerns at the Baker View location, including suspected human sex trafficking and potential cartel activity, prompting urgent calls for coordinated property owner action. ## Housing Executive Order Preview Mayor Lund provided a preview of her second executive order, scheduled for release the following day, focused on accelerating housing development across the continuum. The order establishes a hierarchy for development permitting in Bellingham, prioritizing downtown and old town developments, low-income multifamily projects, middle housing, and urban village multifamily developments over the current first-in methodology. "Up until 2 days ago we had only had, like 280 some units of housing permitted this year in the city, and that is a level that was on par with what we saw after the 2008 housing bubble burst and the recession that followed," Lund explained, noting that current permit numbers represent one-third of what was permitted two years ago. The executive order includes several key components: - Administrative actions to identify sites for a new tiny home village and catalytic downtown development - Continued investment in renter protections and creation of a working group for renters to advise city policy - Quarterly work sessions with staff and council to explore practical actions aligning with comprehensive plan goals - Ordinances addressing parking reforms, citywide adoption of the infill toolkit, and streamlined design review for middle housing The infill toolkit expansion responds to state mandates ending single-family residential zoning restrictions. "Any residential single family lot that's owned today could support multifamily forms," Lund explained, describing potential forms including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and cottage courtyard complexes. ## Transportation Infrastructure Updates Interim Public Works Co-Director Joel Thunt and colleague Riley delivered a comprehensive presentation on completed, ongoing, and upcoming transportation projects throughout the city. Thunt emphasized the multi-dimensional approach to project selection, moving beyond simple point-scoring systems to consider strategic planning documents, safety priorities, preservation needs, funding opportunities, and community feedback. The presentation highlighted the critical relationship between vehicle speed and crash severity, particularly for vulnerable users. "It's just amazing how the difference in being involved in a collision at 25 miles an hour. The outcomes are so much different than they are at even 35," Thunt noted, explaining how this understanding has transformed engineering practices. Recent completed projects include the Illinois Street improvements connecting the Parkview safe routes to school project, creating "almost continuous sidewalks and almost continuous bike facility" from Lynn Street in Columbia neighborhood to Woburn. The Telegraph Road multimodal improvements added bike lanes, continuous sidewalks, and traffic signals connecting James to Beamer. Current projects include replacement of the James and Meter Street bridges on Whatcom Creek, with the temporary James bridge remaining until year-end and permanent completion expected by mid-2025. Two pilot projects - Holly Street and Eldridge Avenue bike lanes - are wrapping up, with the Holly Street pilot requiring alterations but permanent bike lane retention. Upcoming projects include the James Street and Baker View intersection roundabout, replacing a problematic signal installed years ago by Whatcom County before annexation. The James Street multi-use path will connect King Mountain down to Telegraph Road, linking with new Telegraph Road improvements and a trail connection to Sunset Pond. The Harris Avenue multimodal project, extending from 14th to 24th Street, will add protected bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides, connecting Happy Valley and Fairhaven neighborhoods. Six downtown traffic signals will receive accessibility upgrades, adding audible components for visually impaired pedestrians. ## Policy Initiatives for 2025 Thunt outlined several programmatic initiatives launching in 2025, beginning with a comprehensive speed limit policy evaluation. The city has hired consultants to move beyond the traditional 85th percentile methodology, which historically set speed limits based on how fast reasonable drivers traveled on rural Minnesota roads decades ago. "There's been a big advancement in that in the last few years... focusing more on context of what's going on around the street," Thunt explained. The new policy will evaluate all arterial speeds and consider setting residential street speed limits at 20 miles per hour, with all changes requiring City Council adoption. The Community Streets program represents the return of the neighborhood traffic safety program that went dormant in 2008, now with $200,000 annual funding for smaller projects like speed humps, chicanes, and traffic circles. The program emphasizes equity by proactively reaching out to communities rather than waiting for complaints. "Part of the approach that we're going to be taking is to... divide the city up into kind of 4 quadrants, and within those quadrants we would outreach to that community more proactively," Thunt described. The Transportation Commission will help prioritize projects from community input. ## State Infrastructure Challenges Discussion of state highway maintenance revealed significant challenges for local communities. Thunt explained that Washington State operates its highway system maintenance on the same nine cents it has maintained for thirty years, with recent gas tax increases going to specific legislative projects rather than general maintenance. "What has happened is that the State legislature... has pushed more and more of that maintenance off of off on local jurisdiction," Thunt noted. This creates situations where the state controls modifications to highways like Guide Meridian and Lakeway, requiring city approval for changes, but lacks resources for maintenance or improvements. The fish passage mandate and current state budget challenges have further constrained the state's ability to address local highway concerns, leaving dangerous intersections and deteriorating conditions with limited options for improvement. ## Neighborhood Engagement Successes The meeting concluded with a robust discussion of neighborhood association strategies for increasing participation and engagement. Several neighborhoods shared successful approaches that have yielded significant attendance increases. Coronado neighborhood reported exceptional success with recent events drawing 70-80 attendees at regular meetings and over 100 at summer events. "Hiring an ice cream truck... and advertising that on Facebook and on next door has really helped," shared their representative. Their bi-monthly newsletter achieves a 75% open rate through Mailchimp among nearly 500 subscribers in a 9,000-person neighborhood. The ice cream truck strategy, combined with food offerings like "pie and bingo night," demonstrates the power of combining practical business with community building. Local business partnerships providing prizes and refreshments have enhanced engagement while supporting the neighborhood economy. York neighborhood continues hand-delivering physical newsletters every three months, ensuring coverage of residents who have moved away from digital platforms. "When you're competing in the online space... getting something like that... everyone reads it," one representative noted. The neighborhood uses street coordinators to distribute newsletters and maintain community connections. Silver Beach has found success with hybrid meetings accommodating parents and others unable to attend in person, despite technological challenges. Inviting legislative representatives and other community leaders generates interest beyond typical neighborhood issues. Several neighborhoods reported challenges with reaching renters, as city-provided address lists include only property owners. This creates equity concerns about neighborhood association participation being limited to homeowners, with some neighborhoods paying private companies to reach all physical addresses. ## Administrative Updates and Holiday Wishes Deputy City Manager Janice Keller provided administrative updates, noting the mayor's office decision to cancel the December meeting holiday party due to staff transitions, instead planning a broader boards and commissions gathering in spring 2025. Small and simple grant expenses for 2024 must be submitted by year-end, with extensions available for unfinished projects. Neighborhood reimbursements also require submission before December 31st. The meeting concluded with holiday wishes and gratitude expressions. Barbara Zielstra from Edgemoor captured the sentiment: "I just wanted to say how very grateful I am to live in this amazing community... I feel much more connected to the larger community, and I very much appreciate everything you've done, Mayor Kim." Mayor Lund reflected on the collaborative first year in office: "It's been an amazing first year as mayor alongside all of you, and I'm looking forward to what comes from this." The mayor acknowledged the vital role neighborhood representatives play in civic engagement and community building throughout Bellingham. The November meeting demonstrated the interconnection between municipal policy decisions, infrastructure investments, and neighborhood-level organizing, highlighting how effective local governance requires coordination across all levels of community engagement.