HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole November 21 20061 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Committee Of The Whole
3
4 November 21, 2006
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7 Council Chair Laurie Caskey- Schreiber called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in
8 the Council Committee Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
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10 Present: Absent:
11 Barbara Brenner None
12 Dan McShane
13 Sam Crawford
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 Carl Weimer
16 L. Ward Nelson
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18 CLOSED DISCUSSION
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20 1. CONSIDERATION OF AN APPEAL OF THE HEARING EXAMINER'S DECISION
21 ON APL06 -0022, FILED BY ROYCE BUCKINGHAM ON BEHALF OF WHATCOM
22 COUNTY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, REGARDING AN
23 ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION ABOUT WHETHER A LOT IS A LEGAL LOT OF
24 RECORD (AB2006 -366)
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26 Nelson moved to go into executive session to discuss this item.
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28 Motion carried 5 -0 with Fleetwood and Weimer out of the room.
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31 OPEN DISCUSSION
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33 1. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PRESENTATION ON THE I -5 MASTER
34 PLAN, FAIRHAVEN TO FERNDALE (AB2006 -436)
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36 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, introduced a new County staff person to work
37 on real estate.
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39 Todd Carlson, State Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering Services
40 Manager, submitted information (on file). He wants to make the Council aware of what
41 they're doing. This is a master plan for the Interstate 5 (I -5) corridor. The issue is
42 primarily safety, but also has to do with congestion and mobility. There are two phases to
43 the project. The first phase is data gathering. They have money from the legislature to do
44 ramp improvements between Samish and Sunset Drive. They need to do interchange
45 improvements all along the corridor from Fairhaven to Ferndale. This work will integrate
46 with the work being done on Pioneer Plaza study area.
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48 In terms of public process, they are talking to public officials and have information
49 available to the public at a kiosk at the Bellingham Library. A key message is that the
50 freeway was built to accommodate interstate travel. However, people use it to get from one
51 side of town to another. They can do a lot to improve safety by building longer ramps,
52 putting in weave lanes, and building noise walls. People must get through these
53 interchanges safely. Plan so that they can build pieces of this incrementally when they get
Committee of the Whole, 11/21/2006, Page 1
1 funding. Phases one and two is only part of the solution. They also have to figure out
2 phase three, which is the funding. Now, they are working toward a construction date in
3 2010 to build safer expansion ramps.
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5 Brenner stated it's been said that the northbound off ramp curve from Axton Road
6 and Main Street is too tight. However, the ability to see the lane is absent. Carlson stated
7 they will eventually prioritize the solutions.
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9 Crawford asked if widening is not an option. Crawford stated the DOT is not going to
10 accommodate all the growth to 2035 on the freeway. They could never afford it. That's not
11 what this is about. This is about how they use the freeway to maximize its use for
12 interstate and inter - regional travel. A solution may be to ramp meter the freeway.
13 Maximize the blending of all these modes to satisfy the needs.
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15 Crawford stated that in the metropolitan areas, freeways are built to move people
16 from one area to the next. He asked what makes this different. The freeway is an
17 important part of their transportation infrastructure for local use. Carlson stated that isn't
18 what the federal policy says. They're the ones who regulate it. It's appropriate to use the
19 freeway from Mt. Vernon to Bellingham, for example. However, 60 percent of the traffic on
20 the freeway is to get from one interchange in Bellingham to another. The question is
21 whether that use is appropriate. If they get rid of that kind of use, and only use it to get
22 from region to region, the freeway would be adequate.
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24 Crawford stated it would then be a 100 -year freeway. Carlson stated that's the
25 point. They can't do that, however.
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27 Caskey- Schreiber stated that the freeway cuts right through the middle of town.
28 That's part of the problem.
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30 Nelson stated that to keep people off the Autobahn in Germany, they have priority
31 roads in the local system that don't have any stoplights. It will take more than just
32 planning the freeway. It will take local planning for the local road system. Carlson stated
33 he agreed. They will revisit improvements to local streets that the City dismissed.
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35 Brenner stated the DOT doesn't do a good enough job weighing in on local decisions.
36 Carlson stated the State can weigh in on State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) decisions.
37 The issue is authority over those decisions. The DOT has weighed in on some issues in the
38 past, but they can't do all. He and Planning Director Hal Hart are working on an interlocal
39 agreement similar to countywide concurrency.
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41 Brenner stated she doesn't want the DOT to close the Northwest interchange.
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43 Caskey - Schreiber asked what interchanges they are considering closing. Carlson
44 stated they have to consider any interchange closer than a mile to another interchange.
45 Rather than closing the lanes, it's easier to build a collector /distributor lane to link the
46 interchanges safely.
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48 Fleetwood asked if there will be any money available, or if this is all speculative.
49 Carlson stated there is about $10 million in construction between Samish and Sunset. It
50 will cost $200 million to redo the interchange at the Guide Meridian. It will require
51 accommodations for fish passage, non - motorized improvements, new ramps, and many
52 other things.
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Committee of the Whole, 11/21/2006, Page 2
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Caskey- Schreiber stated the mall failed to put an on ramp directly from the mall to
the southbound freeway. Carlson stated he agreed.
East -west connections, such as Larrabee Springs, Cordata, and Smith Road, are
being considered now, through a consultant. They need to figure out a way to model and
prioritize the Smith Road interchanges. If the money that would go to a Smith Road
interchange should go instead to other connections and improvements, then the State
legislature should fund those improvements first.
Caskey- Schreiber stated Ferndale needs a major upgrade before a new interchange.
Carlson stated the City of Ferndale is working with Senator Murray's office to see if they can
get federal money for it.
They will have focus groups working in January. Make sure they go through the
public process before they make a prioritized list of improvements.
OTHER BUSINESS
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
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j/ved these minutes on February 13 , 2007.
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WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
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Laurie Caskey -Sc reiber, Council Chair
Committee of the Whole, 11/21/2006, Page 3