HomeComp Plans Bellingham › Community Design Chapter
Bellingham · BEL-CP-2016 · Pages 56-72

Community Design Chapter

The Community Design Chapter shapes the physical form and character of Bellingham through policies on streetscapes, building and site design, urban village aesthetics, historic preservation, and public spaces. It promotes pedestrian-friendly environments, contextually appropriate infill, and the integration of arts and culture into public spaces. Though not a GMA-required element, the chapter plays a central role in maintaining neighborhood livability and supporting economic vitality through quality urban design.

Community Design Economy Social Environment Governance
Goals (8 total)
  • GOAL CD-1: Promote streetscapes that enhance the economic vitality and overall visual quality of the City, support the circulation network, and support pedestrian-scale streets and patterns of activity.
  • GOAL CD-2: Express the City's distinct community identity and sense of place through improvements to the appearance of new development, commercial centers, urban villages, transit corridors and streetscapes.
  • GOAL CD-3: Establish and reinforce district and neighborhood characteristics recognized both within the community and throughout the region.
  • GOAL CD-4: Provide a well-designed, pedestrian-friendly, and community-oriented environment.
  • GOAL CD-5: Ensure that the design and development of urban villages and transit corridors convey a positive image of the district they are located within.
  • GOAL CD-6: Encourage contextually-appropriate infill development projects and property renovations.
  • GOAL CD-7: Preserve historic and cultural resources.
  • GOAL CD-8: Interconnect parks and natural features by establishing an integrated network of trails, parks and open spaces.
Stronger Policy Language (21 policies)
  • Policy CD-21: Maintain a system of design review that applies more intense levels of review where the scope of the project has greater potential impacts to the community.
  • Policy CD-25: Apply CPTED principles in the review process for development proposals.
  • Policy CD-46: Require developers to provide and maintain publicly-accessible, privately-maintained open spaces that are proportionate to the scale and impact of the subject project in commercial zones.
Aspirational / Monitoring Language (29 policies)
  • Policy CD-8: Discourage future extension of linear auto-oriented commercial development along rights-of-way in areas already developed.
  • Policy CD-11: Encourage the incorporation of public art features with new development.
  • Policy CD-19: Foster placemaking by reinforcing key design themes in building facades, public spaces, streetscapes and other built elements within the visual public realm.
  • Policy CD-45: Provide incentives to create neighborhood parks, green spaces, and other public or private open spaces throughout the City, particularly within commercial areas, urban villages, and transit corridors.
  • Policy CD-51: Encourage the use of native plantings throughout the City.

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