Sound of Silence - The City Speaks

“And no one dared…
Disturb the sound of silence”

It is the end of 2008 and time to take stock of the “progress” on the issue of illegal rooming houses in Bellingham. The refrain from the Simon and Garfunkel song above seems to bring it all together.

It has been over a year now, more precisely October 2007, since Council Member Terry Bornemann asked for (See my blog entry on that action here) and the council subsequently voted for a “pilot program” to enforce the Bellingham Municipal Code with respect to illegal rooming houses. The sole city official who seems to have actually done anything on the subject is our Chief of Police, Todd Ramsay, who set up the program of enforcement which now falls under him, or, more precisely, the Neighborhood Compliance Officer. (Click here to read about that) The only problem is that, with the exception of its exposure on my blog, the process is virtually unknown. The Planning Department website, where the program used to lie, much like a wet towel on the locker room floor, has posted nothing to indicate that the Police Department is now the action agency. Perhaps, Tim Stewart will read this and take appropriate action to have his web pages reflect the change.

As for the City Council, the subject of illegal rooming houses was last discussed in early August when Council Member Jack Weiss proposed that which I call the Six Legged Stool for dealing with the issue. (Click here to read my blog on that meeting) The task of working on the six topical areas was given to Mark Gardener, the new Legislative Policy Analyst from whom the public has heard nothing, probably because the council has not resurrected the subject in 5 months in spite of my continuing comments on Jack Weiss' proposals in this blog (click here, here, here, here, here and here to read about each one).

I wrote Mayor Pike in September (Click here to read my letter) asking him to fulfill his campaign promise to enforce the code and to step out in front of the issue. His disappointing reply to me (click here to read this reply) outlined those actions everyone else was taking on the matter, thus missing my point completely. His preferred method of leading on the subject of illegal rooming houses looks as if to be from the rear, leaving the council as the point so that they can trigger the booby traps. In the words of the inimitable Moe Howard (of Larry, Curly and Moe fame), “I’ll lead the way. Go ahead!” Instead the city leadership whirls around like so many dreidels (I would have said “tops” or “Dervishes” but it is Hanukkah.) on the waterfront, which is going nowhere fast since we are headed with much greater rapidity for a depression (That’s right, you read it here first.). Then nobody will have any money to do anything except for the Terraquarium (read about that here) which might eventually have to serve as alternative affordable lodging (a true housing bubble!).

With the virtual silence of the city government, briefly I turned toward the beacon on the Hill at Sehome, Western Washington University, thinking that, perhaps, the new president, Dr. “Call me Bruce” Shepard might meet with me in the spirit of openness which he projected on his arrival. My September letter to him (Click here to read it) outlined several areas tangential to illegal rooming houses and of interest to the university. Seeing him, in fact, proved to be more difficult than expected as I was contacted by an individual in the university’s chain of command about five links down, who had been given the task to respond to me. I managed finally to clamber up the chain, eventually to meet with the Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support who graciously spent an hour with me chatting about my letter to Dr. Shepard. I will report on that encounter separately, however, I can characterize the meeting as “a frank exchange of views” which, in diplomatic-speak means we did not agree on much but left open some areas of discussion.

If we want to go back even further than this past year for silence on the subject, there is the abortive love-in at the Cruise Terminal four years ago when we were promised action on a landlord licensing law with the Council President proclaiming to the assembled group "We have heard you tonight!" Unfortunately, the night had largely been taken over by the horde of landlords who, we found to our shock and awe, were only mouthing the words to the chorus of Kumbaya. (Read here for a bit of history on the promises made and then forgotten.)

So, here we are in December and nothing is happening. In the words of the great philosopher W. T. Pooh, who knew when things were at a standstill…

“The more it snows

Tiddly Pom

The more it goes

Tiddly Pom

The more it goes

Tiddly Pom

On Snowing

And nobody knows

Tiddly Pom

How cold my toes

Tiddly Pom

How cold my toes

Tiddly Pom

Are growing”

Crap Shoot Zoning – Predictability Loses Out and So Do You

When talking about the subject of illegal rooming houses the other day with a Bellingham resident, the matter of predictability arose. When we zone particular areas for a particular purpose, the objective is to separate incompatible uses. One would be shocked to find someone trying to build a gas station at the end of a residential cul-de-sac or for that matter to build a home in the middle of an industrial park. One might also think about the effect of such incompatibilities on the values of the properties.

When it comes then to illegal rooming houses, somehow the incompatibility issue is forgotten or brushed off for the sake of convenience or perhaps the dollar – pick which. The result is that your street can be partially rezoned without the slightest warning and without consultation. There is no predictability here. All depends on the whim of a homeowner or a landlord or a property manager who decides that she wants now to rent the place legally, according to the Bellingham Municipal Code or illegally, turning the home into a rooming house.

Several months ago I read an article on the subject of the art of selling a home in today’s market. The essence of the piece was that a real estate agent must now be much more familiar with the neighborhood, even the street, on which the sale home is located in order to present the home in its best light. Moreover, the agent must also know about those facts which may cause problems with a sale, such as rentals, especially those which do not conform to code.

Were I to have a need to sell my home now, what sight would greet a prospective agent and a potential buyer? Since a good number of people tend to look for homes on weekends and a good number of real estate agents tend to hold open houses on weekends, the picture would be a bit off-putting. A typical Sunday across from my house, the illegal rooming house would be the host of 8-10 automobiles instead of the normal 5 during the week which belong to the 5 students who now rent there. The cars would be parked helter-skelter, according to the relative sobriety of the drivers who parked them the night before. Down the street would be the same sight at another rooming house with assorted trucks, cars and SUVs.

Houses are being sold at a rate greatly reduced from that of the past several years. Your home may be a gem among the others but the condition and use of the homes around you count. Now is the time to take action. Click on the form at the right and complain at this very instant about that illegal rooming house on your street. (Send the completed form to Darren Sandstrom, Neighborhood Compliance Officer, Bellingham Police Department, 505 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225) It is your neighborhood. Do not let the scofflaws gain control.