Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: WWU and the Waterfront

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

WWU and the Waterfront - Who Will House the Students?

The following article recently appeared in the Bellingham Herald (click here):

“Western Washington University’s campus committee, which is looking at waterfront options for the school, will host another public forum at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Communications Facility, Room 115.

Doug Graham of STRATUS, a consultant for Western’s Waterfront Development Committee, will provide an overall update on planning and other work since the last forum, including progress in developing the academic, enrollment, space plans and potential development models. Also included will be an update of the overall timeline for waterfront development and a discussion of specific accomplishments to date.

At its Oct. 12 meeting, WWU’s board of trustees heard a presentation from STRATUS and Portland developer Homer Williams about some varied and creative ways a waterfront can be developed.

Williams led the effort to develop the Pearl District in Portland, Ore., and also is a leader in development of Portland’s South Waterfront District, which includes space for the Oregon Health & Science University.”

You can read the information provided by STRATUS at the WWU website (click here for the report). Such development calls for increased enrollment of Huxley College. Although some comments within the report suggest planning for retail and commercial facilities, “housing” is also mentioned, however, it is unclear for whom the housing would be built. If it is a case of condominiums with exorbitant price tags that are clearly not meant for students, then this presents a problem. Where does WWU intend to house these additional students (500 in one scenario)? Can the waterfront campus even accommodate housing for 500 additional students? The Zonemaven intends to keep his eye on planning for WWU facilities at the waterfront. For those of you who can attend the presentation on 1 November, the question of student housing should be a topic of conversation with STRATUS and WWU.

1 comment:

Doug Karlberg said...: I submitted a "public documents request" on Western and have received a bundle of largely undisclosed documents from Western and the Port. What is being planned for housing on the waterfront is as much as 100 units that are housing for Professor, visiting Professors, retired Professors, and alumni of Western. The college gives this proposal some fancy name that obscures the true intent, so the real plan is hard to discern.

Western helps create this housing shortage by attracting students without provisions for housing them, placing the burden onto the local citizenry. Then complaining of a housing shortage for professor, creates with tax money a large scale view condominium project for their chosen people.

This is Westerns plans, which I am sure that are subject to change. What I object to is that Western is only concerned about their own problems, not the ones that the college places on the community. Now they want view condominiums, but they will not come out and simply tell us this. Why are they hiding, if they are so proud of their self-centered housing plans?

Its the view they are after. You think the President of Western will want one of the new condos?; November 2, 2007 at 2:08 PM

The Rationale for Rental Licensing

There is the definitive experience of cities that have already adopted rental licensing and inspections in the face of exactly the same opposition as we saw in Bellingham over the last decade. Ultimately, each of these cities was proven correct in its resolve to move ahead to protect the safety and health of the renters. We already know that the city of Pasco, WA found that 15% of the units inspected under their program had serious life/safety issues. 10% had mold problems. A full 85% had problems of varying degrees. The city of Gresham, OR performed over 1600 inspections in 2009 and issued, as a result, over 4,000 citations. Lexington, KY performed inspections of units near the University of Kentucky and found that 50% had life/safety issues. Sacramento, CA began an inspection program during which one third of the units inspected had serious safety and health issues. The question why does anyone believe that the condition of rental housing here in Bellingham does not mirror that which is found in cities that have the statistics to show that time and time again the condition of rentals in our cities is problematic? All we have had to date from those who oppose licensing are broad statements by the landlords and their paladins that are completely and utterly unsubstantiated. The Zonemaven has searched in vain for the horror stories that these opponents of licensing and inspections have predicted. On the other hand, The Zonemaven did find over 100 cities that have licensing AND inspections without the catastrophic effect for the rental markets that the landlords would have you believe. (See this blog's sidebar at bottom left for list)

One Reason Illegal Rooming Houses Do Not Work

The limit for unrelated persons at a single family home rental is three residents. Leases are signed by three people who then invite additional renters to join them to lower per capita rental rates. The perverse effect is that rental rates tend to rise under these circumstances making it difficult for single families to rent single family homes. Some local rental agencies facilitate this practice.

"To say that a family is so equivalent to a ragtag collection of college roommates as to require identical treatment in zoning decisions defies the reality of the place of the family in American society, despite any changes that institution has undergone in recent years. Only the most cynical among us would say that the American family has devolved to the point of no greater importance or consideration in governmental decision making than a group of college roommates." (Stegeman v. City of Ann Arbor)

That being said, accommodation ought to be made for protected classes, especially non-traditional unions and group houses for the disabled. These classes are laid out in federal and Washington State law.