HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Aug 9 2022Whatcom County
Council Planning and Development Committee
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360)778-5010
Committee Minutes - Final
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
2:25 PM
Hybrid Meeting
HYBRID MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 2:55 P.M.; MAY BEGIN EARLY
(PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT
www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL 360.778.5010)
COUNCILMEMBERS
Todd Donovan
Ben Elenbaas
Kaylee Galloway
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council Planning and Development Committee Minutes - Final August 9, 2022
Committee
Call To Order
Roll Call
Committee Chair Ben Elenbaas called the meeting to order at 2:25 p.m. in a
hybrid meeting.
Present: 3 - Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, and Kaylee Galloway
Absent: None
Also Present: Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Carol Frazey, and Kathy Kershner
Announcements
Special Presentation
1. AB2022-441 Presentation on Request for a Motion to grant the City of Bellingham notice to
proceed in applying for a Major Project Permit for their Umbrella Mitigation Bank
Cliff Strong, Planning and Development Services Department, introduced
the presentation.
Analiese Burns, City of Bellingham Habitat and Restoration Manager,
presented.
Strong, Burns, and Renee LaCroix, City of Bellingham Assistant Public
Works Director, answered questions.
They answered what triggers a major project permit, what it means for the
Council to do "notice to proceed," whether the County Code gives the
Council the ability to say no to somebody applying for a major project
permit, whether Council should wait until after this goes through the
permitting process to ask about project -specific or concept -specific
questions or concerns, how they are funding and why they already have dots
on the map where there are potential public benefits going to private
developers, why the Lummi were concerned about the size of their service
area, how we know the goal of improving the ecological success of off -site
mitigation will happen, what the public comment period that was mentioned
was and how that unfolded, and whether the proposed service areas on the
map (in the presentation) were areas impacted by the recent floods.
Satpal Sidhu, County Executive, stated he strongly supports this project and
that we will need more and more of this type of mitigation in the next 25
years. This will give us a little breathing room before we can bring the next
wetland bank online. He has had discussion with Whatcom Land Trust who
Whatcom County Page I
Council Planning and Development Committee Minutes - Final
Committee
August 9, 2022
have 20,000-30,000 acres of conservation easement lands which could be
eligible for enhancement and that has to be studied. We will be coming to
the Council early next year to start another application which could take ten
years.
Councilmembers and the speakers discussed whether credits will be sold by
the square foot or by an acre at a time, and whether the Council will need
staff present at the meeting tonight.
This agenda item was PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED.
Items Added by Revision
Other Business
Adiournment
There were no agenda items added by revision.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.
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Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
Ben Elenbaas-via email 8/16/2022
Ben Elenbaas, Committee Chair
Whatcom Country Page 2