On a crisp Thursday afternoon in January, elected officials from across Whatcom County gathered at the Ferndale City Hall Annex for the sixth installment of a regional dialogue that would shape the future of growth management in one of Washington's fastest-growing counties. The meeting, convened by the County Executive, brought together mayors, council members, and planning staff from Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Lynden, Sumas, and Whatcom County to wrestle with fundamental questions about how and where their communities would accommodate tens of thousands of new residents over the next two decades.