HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty Council May 5 1992i.
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1 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Regular Meeting
3 May 5, 1992
4 The meeting was called to order by Council Chairman Daniel M. Warner at 7 p.m.
5 in the Council Chambers, 1000 N. Forest.
6 Present Absent
7 Robert Imhof None
8 Ken Henderson
9 Larry Harris
10 Barbara Brenner
11 Marge Laidlaw
12 Dennis Vander Yacht
13 SPECIAL PRESENTATION
14 REPORT BY HEALTH OFFICER DR. FRANK JAMES (AB92 -193)
15 Dr. James discussed the following points: Health Department's new facilities on
16 State Street; environmental health issues; former dump on the bay, owned by Department
17 of Natural Resources (DNR) and leased by Georgia Pacific, including testing of the area;
18 quality of the water in Lake Whatcom that recently killed many fish; drinking water quality
19 of the lake; difficulties with composting at the. RECOMP facility; the economic viability of
20 RECOMP; evaluation of sludge; immunizations that went from 8,000 to 20,000; smoking
21 ordinance; assessment process for excellence in public health; water fluoridation in the City
22 of Bellingham.
23 Items discussed were: Types of metals in the compost; free strep tests; assessment
24 process; status report to Department of Ecology (DOE) declaring Lake Whatcom as a
25 severe health hazard; request to have the phones answered during lunch hours; not adequate
26 staff to stagger phone reception in immunization; thanks to Environment Health for the
27 septic flyer recently sent out; are there adequate records on old dumps; when the medical
28 items were deposits put in the dump; needles and medical bags on Church Road; siting a
29 new landfill; 15 unfilled positions in the Health Department.
30 Comments were made by: Brenner; James; Laidlaw; Vander Yacht; Harris; Imhof;
31 Henderson.
32 REPORT BY SHERIFF DALE BRANDLAND (AB92 -194)
33 Sheriff Brandland discussed the following: Quarterly report; information on the jail
34 which is filled to 139 percent capacity; 17 percent increase in crime rate; warrant processing;
35 domestic violence increases; concealed weapon permits; increase in citations being given.
36 Items discussed were: training; plastic covered sheets in the reports; 4th of July in
1 Birch Bay; overtime; problems on the Nooksack River; explanation of "events "; concealed
2 weapon process; staffing needs of the Sheriffs department; Point Roberts facility; currently
3 there are 48 officers and the ideal would be 63 for this population; criminal justice money
4 will sunset next year and the Sheriff was asked for data-
5 Comments were made by: Warner; Harris; Brenner; Vander Yacht; Laidlaw.
6 HEARINGS
7 ORDINANCE AMENDING THE BIRCH BAY - BLAINE SUBAREA
8 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MAP FOR 44 ACRES OF A 146 -ACRE
9 PARCEL BY CHANGING 14 ACRES -FROM URBAN RESERVE TO
10 COMMERCIAL-RESORT AND 30 ACRES FROM URBAN RESERVE TO
11 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL PARK; AND SI1IMIILARLY AMENDING THE
12 OFFICIAL ZONING MAP SUBJECT TO A CONCOMITANT
13 AGREEMENT AFFECTING THESE 44 ACRES WHICH ARE LOCATED
14 NORTH OF BIRCH POINT ROAD IN THE NORTHEAST QUARTER
15 OF SECTION 23, TOWNSHIP 40 NORTH, RANGE 1 WEST (AB92 -062)
16 Dan Taylor, Planning Director, explained the issue. He discussed the following:
17 conditions in the Concomitant Agreement; the statement that the studio must be
18 commenced within five years or that area will revert back to its former zoning; Planned Unit
19 Development (PUD) has varied uses and provides flexibility.
20 Items discussed were: Planning Commission opinion on returning the site to former
21 zoning if the film studio is not commenced in five years; Resort Commercial would not
22 convert back; what other zones a film studio would fit into; why this is being planned in
23 Birch Bay; and if the whole area could be reverted back to original zoning.
24 Comments were made by: Harris; Laidlaw; Brenner.
25 The public hearing was opened.
26 Emily Jackson, 8367 Berthusen Road: She spoke in favor of this ordinance. There
27 are many resources for allied arts in Whatcom County. This kind of industry would help
28 preserve the beautiful area and share it with others; the environment does have an impact
29 on creativity.
30 Dave Cottingham, 32 North Shore Road: Representing a number of people who
31 reside in the area of the proposal. He asked why there was a need for this spot rezone when
32 this area was just zoned a few years ago. He questioned the haste with which this has been
33 processed. This will result in more intensive uses and will only be lucrative for the
34 landowner.
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 2
1 Gordon Pierson, President of the Birch Bay Village Homeowners: He said the
2 members realize it will be developed and they do not own it. After speaking to the
3 petitioners, his group has been satisfied with the proposed structures and the road to be
4 used to reach the studio. The -homeowners are pleased that drainage issues will be
5 addressed.
6 Richard Myhre, 8238 Birch Bay Drive: Birch Bay is a unique recreational area and
7 needs to be protected. He is particularly perturbed by the haste of this proposal.
8 Gordon Davis, Managing Director of Cannery Hill Development: He regards the
9 prospective film studio as an exciting development. He said the film industry has proven
10 to be a positive thing in Vancouver.
11 Lester Goldsmith, resident of Anacortes: He said he is correspondent for Variety,
12 a trade publication distributed all over the world. He stated he is representing the mayor
13 of Anacortes whose view is that there is a need for jobs from ecologically safe industries.
14 The City of Anacortes urges the approval of this project. He mentioned the economical
15 benefits other communities have derived from the movie industry shooting films in their
16 area.
17 Fred Amundson, 5641 Sanderling Way: Hopes to be a neighbor of this project. He
18 hopes the project will be allowed a mixed use zoning. He said it will be an attractive
19 project and bring pride to the County.
20 Bill Schultz, 5681 Sanderling Way: He has no connection with the group but is very
21 familiar with a similar area in London. Almost no one had anything bad to say about the
22 Pinewood studio and he is in favor of this project.
23 Patrick Alesse, 4825 Alderson Road: He said he represents the Birch Bay
24 Association and they are quite neutral about this project. He hopes this will be put forth
25 so that a future city of Birch Bay could handle the transition.
26 Sylvia Goodwin, City of Blaine: The City of Blaine actively recruited the Beacon
27 Group to diversify the economy of the area It is felt this is a non - polluting business and
28 would help the economy with its spin of businesses. Blaine supports the approval of this
29 ordinance. She does not see traffic as a problem.
30 Gene Hanacek, 8936 Semiahmoo Drive: He attended the Planning Commission and
31 there was not unanimity among the members. He stated the Vancouver area is the third
32 largest movie producer in North America. He said the people who would work here would
33 come from elsewhere so this would not provide the jobs intended. Vancouver was able to
34 develop the expertise over an 8 to 10 year period but that was required of them by the
35 unions. He said he felt it was inappropriate to pass this rezone.
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 3
1 David Bell, 4th Comer Development Group: Distributed a letter in support of the
2 project. Two reasons they support it are the clean industry and the economical lift. He said
3 it would generate a great deal of money to the County.
4 Mark Jackson, 8237 Shintaffer: Landowner who supports the Beacon Group plan.
5 Nigel Thompson, Cannon View Drive: He is a principal of the Beacon Group. He
6 lives in Bellingham. He spoke of the addition of jobs and help to the economy of
7 Vancouver and he indicated that is -possible in Whatcom County. Movies shot in
8 Washington are having their studio work and post production work in Vancouver, B.C. and
9 the amount of investment will be very large for Vancouver. Bellingham just lost the
10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II to Portland because there was no shooting studio in
11 Whatcom County.
12 Mike Brennen, Chamber of Commerce, 1203 Cornwall: Spoke in support of the
13 Beacon Group proposal. He spoke of the conditioning that can be added. He said this
14 proposal fits in all the opportunities for a lift to the economy while keeping the environment
15 safe. Light Industrial means the business takes place inside building envelopes so there is
16 no outside noise. He said this is a rare opportunity for Whatcom County to encourage a
17 clean industry.
18 Art Anderson, 4140 Meridian Street: He represents the Associated General
19 Contractors who support the rezone wholeheartedly. He has confidence this will create jobs
20 and help to the economy.
21 Chuck Stirling, 8316 Fawn Crescent Drive: He spoke against the fast tracking this
22 has received. He was previously open minded about this but now opposes it. He is against
23 people outside Birch Bay telling them what to do. He said Whatcom County is a fragile
24 place and could change beyond recognition if this is allowed. Whatcom County needs to
25 take control of the future.
26 Neil Jakovac, 2156 W 14th, neighbor of the property: He can't understand why
27 people would invest in a residential area without having approval. He is against
28 development, but if it is authorized, he would hope there would be a buffer zone required
29 between the development and surrounding residential sites.
30 Michael Ross, Secretary of the Birch Bay Rural Preservation Forum: He read the
31 list of things that could go on in a light industrial zone. The people of his group are in
32 favor of the movie studio but wants riders put on this limiting it to a film studio. He sees
33 no reason why light industrial should be put into the neck of the peninsula. The forum
34 wants Beacon to implement this project and not a subsidiary who may not have enough
35 funds.
36 Judith Stirling, 8316 Fawn Crescent Drive: Concerned about the project even
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 4
1 though the Planning Department have spent a lot of time with her. She said Jerry Mixom
2 recommended incomplete SEPA checklists. She said the Planning department is
3 overworked with Growth Management and this project came when they were under
4 pressure. She said the whole application is incomplete.
5 David Syre, President of Trillium and owner of the property: He said the plan is very
6 acceptable to Trillium and he hopes the Council does not discourage the Beacon Group
7 from building in this area. He said the national and international reputation of Semiahmoo
8 lends itself to the choice of Birch Bay" for this proposal. He said they have been many
9 public hearings and have been working on this for 15 months. He urged approval.
10 Claudia Hollod, 8240 Birch Bay Drive: She said the Western study was bought by
11 Beacon Group. She said she is against the spot rezone and urged denial.
12 The public hearing was closed.
13 Items discussed were: Spot rezone; water resources; no housing at the lower end of
14 the spectrum; non - polluting hazards; SEPA checklist; light industrial zones instead of UR4;
15 departing from the Comprehensive Plan; changed conditions from 1987 plan; reversion to
16 previous level of zoning if project fails; retention of architectural review; what is the failure
17 rate of projects like this; goals of subarea plans and citizen involvement.
18 Comments were made by: Brenner; Watts; Taylor; Henderson.
19 Brenner asked Goldsmith why he thinks this is non - polluting. Goldsmith explained
20 that there is no noise pollution as the building of sets is done inside of sets that are mostly
21 soundproof. Goldsmith said this is not a smokestack industry and they must maintain an
22 environmentally safe atmosphere for the actors and actresses. The studio will want to have
23 trained local people as they certainly do not want to bring people from Hollywood and have
24 to pay them high per diem payments.
25 Henderson asked Goldsmith about the failure rate. He said the ones that fail are
26 stand -alone movie studios, not complexes. He said they want to develop in the United
27 States so they can avoid immigration concerns.
28 Harris said a lot of the success depends on the Beacon Group and asked its
29 representative to talk about the company. Grant Allen said it is a company that has
30 invested over 90 million dollars in over 100 films; it also has a production company and a
31 distribution facility. A large percentage of their participation is in investments. He said
32 Beacon has 22 subsidiary companies who specialize in different areas. Allen said diversified
33 complexes have the greatest chance of succeeding.
34 Items discussed were: What might happen if the resort commercial is not built; rate
35 of pay; density of housing; the haste of this project; revision to original cost amount; the
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 5
1 need for a helicopter pad; the perception that the Planning Commission was rushed; division
2 in the Planning Commission; traffic counts; further review under the PUD process.
3 Comments were made by: Laidlaw; Harris; Brenner; Allen; Vander Yacht;
4 Henderson; Imhof.
5 HENDERSON MOVED TO ADOPT THE ORDINANCE.
6 HENDERSON MADE AN AMENDMENT TO NUMBER 5, LINE 6, CHANGE
7 THE WORD "FILM STUDIO TO ME ".
8 Imhof and Warner spoke against it.
9 David Syre said that one PUD in Whatcom County is Cordata and it shows that
10 different uses can co -exist successfully. Grant Allen said some of the residential areas will
11 be owned by the investors and its growth and safety will be watched carefully.
12 The motion failed with Henderson, Harris and Brenner voting for it.
13 HENDERSON MOVED THERE BE AN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW.
14 After discussion, Henderson withdrew his amendment.
15 HARRIS MOVED TO AMEND ITEM 2 TO ADD AFTER "SUBJECT
16 PROPERTY. THE SENTENCE "IF THIS DOES NOT OCCUR, THE AGREEMENT IS
17 NULL AND VOID."
18 Watts commented on this amendment saying that the words "unless an extension is
19 granted" should be added.
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Harris agreed to the following wording for his amendment to item 2. line 5 of the
concomitant agreement to add after the words "subject property": IF AN APPLICATION
IS NOT MADE WITHIN TWO YEARS, THE COUNTY WILL INITIATE ACTION TO
REVERT THE PROPERTY TO ITS PRIOR ZONING WITH THE APPROVED MAJOR
DEVELOPMENT PLAN MDP 1 -82 UNLESS THE COUNTY HAS GRANTED AN
EXTENSION.
The Beacon Group asked if it was submission of an application or final approval.
The amendment carried unanimously.
Harris spoke against the ordinance. He said the economic benefits of the Western
Washington study relied on the construction rather than the operation. If the film studio
fails, we are left with a fragmented spot zoning. He said the Beacon Group should build
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 6
1 a film studio on a scaled back acreage and not provide another helmet factory.
2 Imhof, said the ill-fated helmet factory is an entirely different situation as the
3 government will pay for that but in this case there is minimal risk to the County.
4 Brenner said a lot -of her concerns have been alleviated since there will be community
5 involvement down the road.
6 The motion was carried 6 -1 with Harris against.
7. REPORTS AND OTHER ITEMS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS
8 Helicopter review of the Blue Canyon Cut (AB92 -104): Henderson said he would like
9 to have a review on the Blue Mountain Cut at an upcoming meeting.
10 Sumas Mountain presentation (AB92 -003): Henderson said the Sumas Mountain
11 group would be making a presentation on May 12.
12 Columbia Aggregate issue (AB92 -152): Brenner said there was a Water Resources
13 meeting today and there was discussion on the proposed Columbian Aggregate issue; she
14 encouraged residents to write to DNR.
15 The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 p.m.
16 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
17 ATTEST: WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
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19 Bar ara Maher, . Deputy erk Darnel M. Warner, thairman
Minutes, 5/5/92, Page 7