Saturday, July 26, 2008

Amicable Jousting on Single Family Zoning

Councilman Stan Snapp and I are having a kind of written debate on single family zoning on D. J. Gray's Eye on Whatcom forum. Citizen Flat Tire also joins the discussion. Although it may not rise to the level of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, you can read the zoning discussion by clicking here. We invite you to take part in the conversation. Our council needs your input.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just want to comment on what Stan Snapp said about so few contacting the City Council about the problem of illegial rooming houses. I know that over the past year I have written to them collectivly and to several of them specifically concerning this issue. I have also written Linda Stewart and the Mayor.
I have talked with many people in my neighborhood and at work about this issue. The response that I get is that it doesn't do any good to contact the City Council or the Mayor.Sadly, this seems to be the case.

Zonemaven said...

I have heard this same story from many sources. I would encourage you to continue writing to the mayor and the council to voice your concerns. Changes to the single family zoning code will probably come before the council for consideration soon. We need folks like you to send a message to the city officials on the subject. Citizen discouragement and subsequent apathy are our enemies. We elected these officials to listen to us. Shame on us if we do not hold them to their responsibilities.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous is correct about the indifference of city council. Not only the current council but previous ones just pushed the matter of illegal rooming houses onto a city hall back burner and did nothing to halt the certain and visual deterioratiuon of multi rentals in single family districts. You would think council would clearly see what the future has in store when they fail to get active on the now arrived downgrading that has intruded into so many areas.

It is baffling why any person of moderate intelligence cannot see the certainty of district depreciation that has beset bellingham and is increasing.

There is no justification for packing transient youth into family districts because this moves the burden onto the citizen home owners instead of causing pressure at the university to show some responsibility toward the hundreds of students who pay their executive salaries and college costs with their tuition fees. They should be FORCED into providing more reasonably priced bedrooms NOT encouraged to do nothing because council messes around with stopgap measures that are a severe detriment to respectable home owner/occupiers

Today you may not be a victim of the "packing" of residences but tomorrow look out Hundreds more students are coming maybe to a house near you. THEN you'll get concerned and in quick time you'll realize you should have spoken out to your indifferent council while the matter was under discxussion.