Changes suggested for the York neighborhood plan stir emotions

Proposed changes to the York neighborhood plan have been met with both agreement and disagreement by residents.

At the City of Bellingham Planning and Development meeting on April 22, emotions ran high between residents of the York neighborhood and local property owners regarding proposed amendments to the York Neighborhood Plan.
The proposed amendments affect many different areas throughout the neighborhood but most of the controversy stems from suggested changes to Area 9. Area 9 starts past Gladstone Street along Ellis and stops right before Lakeway Drive, then starts again on the other side of Lakeway along Franklin Street until Edward Street. This area is currently designated a multi residential zone.

1889, the start of the York neighborhood

“The city has not embraced the historic district of the neighborhood,” said Anne Mackie, York Neighborhood Association president.
According to Mackie, “There is a desire by some developers to bulldoze some of the historic housing and replace it with 4-story apartments or businesses.”
For the most part, the suggested changes to Area 9 affect the neighborhood density requirements. The neighborhood is seeking to reduce the density from 1,000 square feet per unit to 3,000 square feet per unit. In addition to changing the density restrictions, the neighborhood would also like to eliminate any stand-alone offices along Ellis and add mixed-use buildings. The neighborhoods’ ideal goal would be to keep the area residential and preserve the historic housing.
According to Mackie, she feels the York neighborhood is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Bellingham. The change in density requirements would limit the number of units allowed on a lot.
In regard to the neighborhoods potential density measures, Mackie said, “Three thousand is still considered high density, it just isn’t as high.”
Other areas throughout the York neighborhood have been nominated as a national historic district. The neighborhood is now putting together an application for the rest of the neighborhood, including Area 9, so the entire York neighborhood can become a national historic district of Bellingham.
“The York neighborhood is one of the oldest and still intact neighborhoods in Bellingham,” Mackie said. “We are trying to prevent the bulldozing, in order to keep the character of the neighborhood.”

Property owners against change, they see, for the worse

At the meeting, although there were supporters of the proposed changes made by the neighborhood, there were also those there who opposed the suggested changes. Property owners on Ellis Street, directly in Area 9, were concerned with the amendments and the affect the changes will have on the businesses or houses they own and rent.
Kris Clark, owner of Clark Construction on Ellis Street, who owns two properties, is one of many property owners who disagrees with the neighborhood’s proposal.
“If the city wants to promote high density and infill, changing the density is the wrong thing to do,” said Clark.
According to Clark, most of the houses in the area that will be most impacted by density changes are run down homes and are all rentals. It would be nicer to see duplexes or something there that fit more the craftsman style of housing, he added.
These density changes will not affect the structure of existing businesses but they will affect the investments of the owners.
“I bought my [2] properties as investments for my company and changing the zoning will make it so my investment is not as fruitful,” Clark said.

Bellingham’s goals to strive for

Chris Koch, a city planner assigned to review and assemble the staff report for the York neighborhood said, “In the end, the proposal that works will be easy to understand by both city employees and neighborhood residents. It is important that what’s written and adopted is understood by the community.”
Bellingham’s goal is to create a plan for the York neighborhood that works with the city’s comprehensive plan, Koch said.
Currently, there are conflicting goals within the city’s own comprehensive plan. There are contradictory statements that make it hard for easy decisions to be made. Therefore, the city has to base any decisions on priority for each individual neighborhood. Koch said, “We have to work neighborhood by neighborhood, sub-area by sub-area.”

The steps to be taken

Koch said, the process of changing neighborhood amendments usually does not take as long as it has taken the York neighborhood. Near the beginning of 2007, the York neighborhood had completely updated its plan and was ready to submit their proposal to the city. But a few conditions were placed on the process. Complete rewrites were not accepted anymore only suggestions that were of priority to the neighborhood.
By 2009, the plan was ready to be reviewed but because of the lack of staffing, the York neighborhood’s process was extended to 2010, said Koch. After the council reviews the Planning Department’s staff report, it will submit recommendations and alternatives and pass the proposal along to the city for a final decision.
Koch said, they are currently reviewing these plans and it is expected to be adopted by the end of this year.

Both sides, full of support

The York neighborhood and their association are full of passion and easily have hundreds of people that would support them in trying to better their neighborhood. “It’s rare to find dedication like that,” Mackie said.
“Our main focus is the preservation of the neighborhood,” said Mackie, “And we’re ready to pull out all the stops.”
Similarly, property owners opposed to the amendment feel the same. “We’re ready to fight to the hilt,” said Clark.

For a map, to help you locate where Area 9 is and for the current plan of the York neighborhood, click here. There is a list of all neighborhoods in Bellingham, scroll down to York.