### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Community and Economic Development Committee met on December 8, 2025, to review four tourism and economic development items, including approval of tourism promotion budgets, lodging tax allocations, and a housing services performance report. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Tourism Promotion Area (TPA):** A special district authorized by state law where qualifying businesses pay additional taxes specifically to fund destination marketing and tourism promotion activities. Collections from businesses within the city and unincorporated Whatcom County are pooled together for regional tourism marketing. **Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC):** A committee that reviews applications and makes recommendations for how lodging tax revenue should be spent on tourism promotion, events, facilities, and related activities that benefit the community and attract visitors. **Bellingham Fanzone:** A planned series of public events and activities in Bellingham to celebrate the 2026 World Cup, taking advantage of the tournament being hosted in nearby Seattle to attract visitors to the region. **Return on Ad Spend:** A marketing metric measuring how much economic activity is generated for every dollar spent on advertising. In this case, Visit Bellingham reported generating $784 in visitor spending for every dollar invested in marketing campaigns. **EDI Fund:** The Economic Development Investment Fund, funded by countywide rural sales tax revenue, which will now cover the city's contribution to regional economic development activities instead of using general fund money. **CAPER:** The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to document how federal housing and community development funds were used and what was accomplished. **Canadian Cross-Border Traffic:** Visitors traveling from Canada to the Bellingham area, which has been significantly reduced (down 22% according to projections) due to various factors, impacting local tourism and hospitality businesses. **HOME Investment Partnerships Program:** A federal program providing funding to help communities create affordable housing opportunities for low-income households through activities like home buyer assistance, rental housing development, and housing rehabilitation. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Jace Cotton | Committee Chair, Bellingham City Council | | Daniel Hammill | Committee Member, Third Ward Council | | Edwin "Skip" Williams | Committee Member, Fourth Ward Council | | Tara Sundin | Community and Economic Development Manager, City of Bellingham | | Dylan Deane-Boyle | President, Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism | | Samya Lutz | Housing and Services Program Manager, City of Bellingham | ### Background Context Bellingham's tourism industry is a significant economic driver, generating over $775 million in visitor spending and supporting more than 7,724 jobs in 2024. However, the sector faces challenges from reduced Canadian cross-border travel, which traditionally represents a major portion of visitors. The city uses multiple funding mechanisms - including tourism promotion area taxes, lodging taxes, and federal grants - to support both tourism marketing and affordable housing development. The Tourism Promotion Area was established in 2023, giving Visit Bellingham enhanced funding to conduct comprehensive digital marketing campaigns with measurable results. Meanwhile, lodging tax revenues support everything from major institutions like the Mount Baker Theatre to community events and now infrastructure projects like the waterfront skate park. The committee also oversees federal housing programs that have helped the city exceed its 10-year goal of creating or preserving 850 affordable housing units, with 753 units already completed at the two-thirds mark of the planning period. ### What Happened — The Short Version The committee approved three budget recommendations that will go to the full city council. First, they approved Visit Bellingham's $1.49 million tourism promotion budget for 2026, which funds marketing campaigns, visitor services, and sports development to attract tourists from outside the region. Second, they approved lodging tax budget changes including mid-year increases for 2025 (adding $40,000 for administration and $100,000 for World Cup activities) and the 2026 budget totaling $2.82 million. The 2026 budget includes funding for major institutions, tourism grants, and notably $450,000 toward a new waterfront skate park as a tourism-related facility. Third, they approved an amendment to an economic development partnership agreement where Whatcom County's rural sales tax fund will now cover Bellingham's share of regional economic development costs, freeing up city general fund money while maintaining the city's partnership role. Finally, staff presented the annual federal housing report showing accomplishments including helping seven first-time home buyers, repairing 26 homes, adding 60 shelter units, and spending $10 million on rental housing projects currently under construction. ### What to Watch Next • Full city council consideration of all three committee recommendations at the December 8 evening meeting • February 2026 council meeting when specific Bellingham Fanzone grant awards will be presented for approval • Continued monitoring of Canadian cross-border travel recovery and its impact on local tourism revenue