by Bill Craven
How to protect the diverse and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods along Marine Drive from another industrial-scale polluter? That was the question at the August 8 meeting of the Whatcom County Planning Commission. The commission was engaged and thoughtful and reached a conclusion that surely surprised the business-as-usual crowd of the Port of Bellingham and the Working Waterfront Coalition.
The commission, after two previous meetings that did not resolve the question, voted unanimously to request county staff produce a resolution requesting the Whatcom County Council to impose a temporary moratorium on new heavy industrial permits until the new county comprehensive plan is finished by the end of 2025 (if the schedule does not slip, which it might). After the resolution is presented to the commission, it must vote on it, and then, if it passes, the resolution goes to the county council. The council has wrestled with this question as well with a diverse array of opinions expressed. If the public is fortunate, the council would do well to learn from the discussion of the planning commission.
A Smattering of Heavy Industrial Parcels
The existing county zoning code has had for decades a few heavy industrial parcels sweeping from the north end of Roeder and then uphill along Marine Drive where Bell Pole and Lumber and Heidelberg Cement are the most visible industries. The late, unlamented ABC Recycling metal shredder would have been on Marine Drive as well, but that project was pulled by the company following a firestorm of public opposition.
During the intervening decades, the Bellingham neighborhood of Birchwood and the county neighborhood of Alderwood sprouted a lot of housing, apartment complexes, schools, light industry, various small businesses, and other development that had to co-exist with a few industries. The two neighborhoods to this day are the most highly impacted in the county from the exposure to toxics and the unfortunate litany of other social problems that routinely accompany low-income, ethnically diverse, and economically challenged neighborhoods.
This area is also designated by Bellingham as an “urban growth area” which is where even more future housing, especially affordable housing, may be sited. To further complicate things, any future heavy industrial applicant just needs to file a permit (no need to start operations), and, under state law, would immediately become “vested.”
Dilemma for City and County
This means that most future changes in land use rules or zoning would not apply to it, and plans for new housing or other uses would have to take into account the possibility that this new industry is in place and producing whatever it is established to produce. The city and the county would have a dilemma in siting new housing under that circumstance.
More than 2,000 residents have signed a petition asking for the heavy industrial parcels to be rezoned as part of the ongoing comprehensive plan update. If that occurs, every precaution would be granted to the existing industries so that they can continue in business and even undertake improvements within their existing footprint.
But in the meantime the neighborhoods feel very vulnerable that some unknown industry may drop a permit application that would not only expose the neighborhoods to more pollution but would also make more difficult their hope for a future rezoning of these heavy industrial parcels.
Wrestled With Idea
That is where the idea of a moratorium came from. The county council, under the leadership of Todd Donovan, wrestled with the idea of a moratorium on new industrial development (not everywhere, just along Marine Drive) but did not reach a conclusion. It kicked the question to the Planning Commission, which quickly realized how complicated this question really is. Donovan, perhaps realizing that the moratorium idea did not have the necessary votes, then proposed to the commission that it add to the lists of “allowable” and “prohibited” heavy industries that could set up shop along Marine Drive. Two lists were presented to the commission and those lists were the initial basis of its conversation on August 8.
The current zoning code for this area already has lists that allow or prohibit dozens of various uses. By adding to the list of prohibited uses, Donovan was attempting to shield these neighborhoods from the worst of the heavy industries that could move in.
But nothing is ever easy. For example, if solid waste handling facilities were prohibited, would that prohibit businesses from storing their own wastes? If bulk commodity storage facilities were prohibited, could businesses store such items for their own use? If battery energy storage systems were prohibited as proposed, could businesses have small-scale storage systems for their own use? For practically every proposed new prohibition, there could be questions about whether it is too broad or too narrow. But a more powerful objection to this approach came from members of the Planning Commission who criticized this approach as “zoning on the fly,” which is erratic and inevitably creates unintended consequences.
Temporary Protections
Since the whole point of the question is to create temporary protections for the Birchwood and Alderwood neighborhoods until the comprehensive plan is finalized, several commissioners came around to the conclusion (first proposed by Commissioner Jim Hansen) that a moratorium is the most defensible, justifiable and cleanest solution. The motion to request a resolution to that effect passed unanimously on a 7-0 vote.
The commission asked that the resolution be drafted by county planning staff with the option of a potential exclusion of the heavy industrial parcel at the north end of Roeder (where Mt. Baker Plywood is), which is somewhat downhill from the other industrial parcels along Marine Drive. And, Commissioner Atul asked that the proposed resolution reflect the deliberations of the commission that led to this result so that the county council could understand the depth of the commission’s discussion.
The next steps are for the resolution to be drafted and returned to the commission for a possible vote, likely in early fall. If it passes, it would then go to the county council for a vote. This was a rare and positive outcome. It is not often that the planning commission is handed some lists of zoning changes to consider and instead comes back with the idea of a moratorium. It was an act of confidence in its own judgment that the neighborhoods of Birchwood and Alderwood much appreciate.
Bill Craven is a retired environmental professional with more than 30 years experience as a legislative policy consultant on resource issues and as an advocate in state legislatures and for nonprofi t organizations.
