Zonemaven Academy II

Dean Kahn has provided a summary of Planning Academy II where a number of new housing types, i.e., “the what” were presented to and evaluated by the attendees. (Click here to read his article) The imbedded bugaboo, i.e., “the where”, is yet to be decided although one does find some extant examples in Bellingham. I submit that there is a third component, which is “the how” and therein lies a greater problem...of which few speak. We already have examples of “the what” and “the where” which may provide clues to “the how” of the future.

It may be instructive then to look at the presentation made during the Planning Academy II wherein the “stakeholders” saw photos of the various types of alternative housing, “the what”. You can view these photos by going to the City of Bellingham website dedicated to the Planning Academy by clicking here. The photos are remarkable in that it appears that they had been taken on the set of “On the Beach”, a 1959 film in which a submarine crew, protected by being underwater during a massive nuclear weapons exchange, returns to the west coast to find the cities devoid of life. Similarly, we are presented photos of these housing types, “the whats”, in a remarkable state in which people, cats, dogs, cars, trash do not play a role. Let’s look at some Bellingham reality with regard to homes on “small lots” which include town homes, duplexes/triplexes, cottages or whatever.

These are “snout houses” (with protruding garages in front) on small lots along Ashley St. Click on each photo to enlarge for full effect.

Here are some small lots on a cul-de-sac off Consolidation St.

This is a morning panorama on a street in the Magnolia Hills subdivision.

As for accessory dwelling units, among which I include carriage houses, the prescription that either the main house or the accessory unit must be occupied is of little comfort for the simple reason that economics will soon drive the homeowner to the accessory unit at which time he or she will rent the “big house” to maximize returns on the rental. At the last Samish Neighborhood annual meeting our Director of Planning mentioned this as being an attractive alternative. Why rent the ADU at $400 per month when renting the house will bring in $1,500 to $2,000 per month? The residency rule may attenuate somewhat any propensity on the part of the renters to engage in un-neighborly behaviors but the amount of infill will be distorted. One rents an ADU to one or two people. The “big house” will attract many more and double or triple the density into what we call an illegal rooming house. And then there are the cars...

So now we arrive at “the how”. Here is how the city tends to enforce housing codes. These examples were found in a matter of hours in widely scattered neighborhoods and are surrounded by modest and well kept homes.

The question for the citizenry is, “How ('The How') will the City Council and the city government enforce future codes on the housing described above when its efforts to date have allowed for a proliferation of illegal rooming houses, derelict homes, and residences where boats, trailers, cars and various sorts of containers are treated as lawn ornaments?” I know that our new Chief of Police, Todd Ramsay, is working diligently on a method of enforcement but will the political will of the Mayor and the City Council be there at the moment of implementation?