Committee of the Whole

The Bellingham City Council's Committee of the Whole received critical updates on two major policy fronts during its March 24 session. First, contracted lobbyists Luke Esser and Nick Federici provided an update on the 2025 state legislative session, outlining significant transportation revenue proposals and public safety funding options that could affect the city. The House is proposing a $1 billion transportation revenue package including a nine-cent gas tax increase, while the Senate offers both no-new-revenue and new-revenue alternatives. The majority of the meeting focused on a comprehensive presentation of public engagement findings for proposed rental fee ordinances. Staff presented results from a 546-person survey and three focus groups facilitated by the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center. The findings revealed near-universal support for fee transparency (97-99% across all groups) but significant division on fee limits and prohibitions, with tenants strongly supporting restrictions while landlords, particularly large ones, opposing them. Council members engaged in substantive discussion about the rental fee findings, with particular focus on the role of property management companies as a "third party" driving fee proliferation. The session concluded with Council Member Lilliquist successfully requesting staff research on building height minimums as a potential housing policy tool. #