### Meeting Overview The Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission met in November 2024, with Mayor Kim Lund providing extensive updates on unauthorized encampment actions and announcing her second executive order focused on housing acceleration. The meeting also featured a detailed presentation from Public Works on transportation projects and concluded with a discussion on neighborhood engagement strategies. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Unauthorized Encampments:** Settlements of unhoused individuals on private property without permission, creating public safety and environmental concerns. **Executive Order:** A directive issued by the mayor to city departments requiring specific administrative actions without needing City Council approval. **Infill Toolkit:** State-mandated zoning changes allowing middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes) in single-family residential areas to increase housing density. **Middle Housing:** Housing types between single-family homes and large apartment buildings, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and cottage courtyard complexes. **Way Station:** A new respite center downtown providing hygiene facilities, case management, and medical services including medicated alternative treatments for unhoused individuals. **85th Percentile Speed:** Traditional method of setting speed limits based on the speed that 85% of drivers naturally choose, now being replaced by context-based approaches focusing on safety. **Community Streets Program:** Bellingham's revived neighborhood traffic safety program with $200,000 annual funding for smaller improvements like speed humps and traffic circles. **Transportation Improvement Program (TIP):** The city's six-year plan for transportation projects, updated annually with public input and state requirements. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kim Lund | Mayor of Bellingham | | Janice Keller | Deputy Mayor | | Joel Thunt | Interim Public Works Co-Director | | Riley | Public Works Team Member | | Jake Charlton | Happy Valley Neighborhood Representative | | Kerri Burnside | Silver Beach Neighborhood Representative | | Barbara Zielstra | Edgemoor Alternate Representative | ### Background Context Bellingham faces a housing crisis with only 280 housing units permitted in 2024—levels comparable to the 2008 recession when there was no affordability crisis. The city is simultaneously addressing unauthorized encampments while implementing housing solutions across the continuum. The Stuart Road (Walmart) encampment has existed for over a decade with an estimated 1,000-2,000 tons of solid waste on the 20-acre environmentally sensitive parcel. The Baker View encampment spans six parcels with five different owners, complicating coordinated response efforts. State transportation funding challenges limit local infrastructure improvements, with Washington's gas tax increases directed to specific projects rather than maintenance. ### What Happened — The Short Version Mayor Lund announced Phase 1 clearing and fencing actions at the Stuart Road encampment, coordinated with Tollwood apartment owners to address resident safety concerns. Most people had already relocated through advance coordination with service providers. She detailed ongoing efforts to compel Baker View encampment property owners to take coordinated action after three meetings and a community walkthrough. Her second executive order, announced for the next day, prioritizes housing permits downtown and in urban villages while calling for administrative actions including a tiny home village site and renter protections working group. Public Works presented updates on completed projects (Illinois corridor, Telegraph Road), ongoing work (James/Meter bridges), and upcoming improvements (James/Baker View roundabout, Harris Avenue multimodal). They're reviving the neighborhood traffic safety program as the "Community Streets Program" with $200,000 annual funding and developing new speed limit policies moving away from the 85th percentile standard. ### What to Watch Next - Release of the mayor's second executive order on housing acceleration - Phase 2 and 3 actions at Stuart Road encampment pending environmental assessment - Coordinated property owner actions at Baker View encampment - YWCA women and children shelter opening in February/March - Community Streets Program rollout in 2025 with new speed limit policy - Harris Avenue and James Street project community engagement sessions ---