Residents take issue with Lake Whatcom development standards

 

Residential houses on Lake Whatcom as seen from Bloedel Donovan Park in Silver

Beach. Homeowners in this area must comply with the city's environmental

regulations when developing on their property.
 

Some homeowners in the Lake Whatcom watershed area are disgruntled with Bellingham’s development regulations, but the city says it must enforce them to meet environmental standards.
 
Silver Beach resident Renay Fredette says she applied for necessary permits when modifying her property, yet the city pushed back.
 
“They treated us as people trying to break the rules,” she said, referring to the city’s strict adherence to environment policies around Lake Whatcom. “I felt upset, demoralized, and anxious.”

Fredette wanted to remove concrete, grass and part of her deck from her yard while adding a new patio. The city considered this new development and told her she was changing her property too much to be allowable under their regulations.
 
Residents in the Lake Whatcom watershed are required to seek approval from the city before making changes to their property that can potentially harm the lake, including adding or replacing lawns, patios, sidewalks, driveways and decks. This is according to the Silver Beach Ordinance, which the Bellingham City Council passed in 2009 and went into effect the following year.
 
“The intention of the regulations is to make sure runoff is reduced to help clean up the lake,” said Eli Mackiewicz, coordinator and engineering technician of the Public Works Department’s Homeowner Incentive Program. The program serves to motivate residents to make environmentally sustainable improvements to their property and offers a total reimbursement of $6,000 in material and labor costs.
 
The city defines runoff as nutrient-based pollution that occurs during development and harms the quality of Lake Whatcom, the main water source for approximately 100,000 residents of Whatcom County. Mackiewicz says the city is complying with state standards requiring 87 percent of runoff to be managed.
 
“I think most people find the process of dealing with the planning and permit office at the city daunting,” said Vale Hartley, Silver Beach’s Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission representative. “Some people are frustrated by the time it takes and by the detailed regulations and expectations while others find the Silver Beach Ordinance restrictions too restrictive.”
 
One of these restrictions requires residents to devout a section of their property to native plant species as mitigation for runoff, with homeowners liable for all costs. For example, if a resident wanted to build a new deck, they would have to allocate an area of their land 10 times the size of the deck to native plant species to offset potential runoff from the new development.

Fredette says she spent $13,000 to meet this requirement in addition to the $12,000 she spent on the permit process. If she had not complied with this regulation, she could have been fined a maximum of $1,500 for this violation, $11,500 less than she spent to put in the mitigation.
 
“Not having these regulations would be so less invasive and less troublesome,” she said, adding that she does not know of a single neighbor who has gone through this process with the city, although many, according to her, have developed their property.
 
“That’s certainly something that is dealt with,” said Mackiewicz, referring to residents who develop without proper permits and run the risk of being fined. “When they do that, generally they are making things worse [for the environment].”
 
Hartley says she understands the issue from a resident’s perspective, yet does not advocate that people ignore regulations due to expenses or complexities.
 
“My husband and I had a frustrating experience in this vein a few years ago,” she said. “It can be frustrating when the homeowner knows that their desired action will not actually have a negative effect on the water quality in Lake Whatcom and might, in fact, be beneficial, but the rules don't permit it.”
 
The Washington State Department of Ecology listed Lake Whatcom as an impaired body of water under the Federal Clean Water Act in 1998 and again in 2004 due to low levels of oxygen and high levels of phosphorous.
 
According to the Silver Beach Ordinance, the lake’s water quality has been deteriorating since 1988 from increased levels of development in the area. The ordinance is in place to reverse this trend.
 
Fredette says she thinks the entire process should be streamlined to aid residents in fulfilling the regulations.
 
“[The city] needs to have a mindset of ‘we’re here to help you,’” she said, adding that her experience with the city has discouraged her from working with them again. “They are really shooting themselves in the foot.”
 
According to Mackiewicz, the permit and oversight process is intentionally complicated to meet regulations.
 
“The city doesn’t think it should be easy to get a permit for something that will harm the lake,” he said. “The process is more streamlined if someone wants to do something good for the lake. If they have the intention of improving the lake, the city will work with them.”