WWU Students Confused on Rentals? - Small Wonder

In the 21 July 2009 print edition of the Western Front there appeared an advertisement for homes for rent near WWU. (Click on the image at left) My assumption is that since the ad appeared in the student newspaper, the target population was the student body, i.e., those looking for lodging for the coming year. On 29 July 2009, I visited the website, www.ebenalrents.com, and found 17 four and five bedroom single family homes for rent. Most of the homes are owned by Huntco, LLC and 35th St. Properties, LLC. One wonders if the owners are aware that their homes could be rented or occupied in violation of the law. All but two of the homes were in single family zoned neighborhoods which means that they fall under the Bellingham Municipal Code which limits the number of unrelated renters to three. In fact, the photo in the ad is that of a five (5) bedroom unit on S. 41st St. which is zoned single family. Nowhere on the site was there a cautionary note to prospective clients with regard to the limitations placed on the number of renters. (This is not the first time I have written about Ebenal ads in the Western Front. See my blog entry from April 2008 by clicking here.)

Unless students have already visited the Viking Union (VU) rental listing website or the bulletin board at the VU, there is little expectation that they will be aware of the city codes on illegal rooming houses. Much to its credit, The VU has taken steps to inform students of limitations on rentals. Dean Ted Pratt and VU Facilities Director Jim Schuster were instrumental in placing warning notices on the VU bulletin boards and the VU on-line rental housing list.

On the other hand, the management of the Western Front has not responded to any of my efforts to have them remove from the newspaper advertising for single family rentals which are problematic with respect to violating the municipal code that bars rooming houses in single family neighborhoods. I even received an email request early this year from Carolyn Nielsen, the faculty advisor to the Western Front, asking me to remove her from my Zonemaven mailing list so that she could give priority to the “so much” student emails she receives. I complied with her request but I cannot help but think of the thousands of students who remain clueless about rental advertising in the Front since she lacks information which might help in her advisory capacity.

It is time the Western Front and Ebenal clean up their rental advertising. At a minimum each rental ad should contain the caveat on the limit of unrelated renters. If the Front or Ebenal needs a reference, here is the relevant code portion: “ Title 20 LAND USE DEVELOPMENT, Chapter 08 DEFINITIONS, 20.08.020 - SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS -F. 1. Family: One or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or not more than 3 unrelated persons, living together within a single dwelling unit. For purposes of this definition children with familial status within the meaning of Title 42 United States Code, Section 3602(k) and individuals with disabilities within the meaning of Title 42 United States Code, Section 3602(h) will not be counted as unrelated persons. "Adult family homes," as defined by RCW 70.128.175, are included within the definition of "family." Facilities housing individuals who are incarcerated as the result of a conviction or other court order shall not be included within this definition.”

I have written previously on this and related subjects. You can read those blog entries by clicking here, here here and here.

City Council Work Session on Infill ToolKit - My View

Note: I received the following from Nicole Oliver of the Planning Office after publication of my blog entry below: "I confirmed that the next meeting on the Toolkit is not a public hearing, but another work session on the ordinance. Folks certainly may comment during the evening during the comment period or submit comments in writing."

As I described in my last blog entry Council Work Session on the Infill TookKit – Keep Informed (Click here to read that entry), the City Council not only had an afternoon work session on the ToolKit but extended the discussion into the regular evening business meeting. There was no public input as the council was only to give direction to staff prior to a further hearing [see above note] on the ToolKit (which, by the way, the council scheduled for July 27th – mark that on your calendar now). Materials from the staff should be available around the 23rd of July on the City Council web pages.

The two major areas of discussion and conflict were the applicability paragraph and the portion of the ToolKit which deals with townhome height limits. With respect to the height limits, I think there are some valid points about keeping the limit to 25 feet in some areas, however, limiting the height may also unnecessarily constrain their placement in areas such as urban villages. The major bone of contention for the afternoon and the evening was that of the wording of the applicability paragraph with respect to inclusion of the ToolKit items in areas zoned single family.

The image at left (Click to see larger version) shows two versions of the applicability paragraph or “the where” over which the neighborhoods were to have full control. (Remember that from the two Planning Academies?) The original version, which was the object of citizen wrath, is at the bottom. A revised version is at the top. Essentially, the revised version strips away the ability to apply the housing forms in single family areas by using a Type VI legislative process. The revision also simplifies the language of the entire original paragraph in which had been inserted such lines as “only as a legislative rezone, with all the notice requirements, hearings, and safeguards afforded by a Type VI legislative process.” and “Additionally, required pre-application neighborhood meetings shall occur prior to docketing for Comprehensive Plan Amendments.” Most saw these earlier “explanatory” lines as attempts to mollify the public who, by dint of not having just fell off the turnip truck, saw through the fluff. The more you attempt to explain away the noxious qualities of a subject, the more that subject is seen as being what it is – noxious.

Also of note is the brevity of the revised version – a cousin to the rule of parsimony* attributed to the Earl of Occam (13th century). In this case, the simplest approach, during the annual review in each neighborhood, will suffice as a means to apply the ToolKit to a single family area. The original version, due to its length and qualifiers, becomes a legalistic and convoluted gloubi-boulga through which one plows at one’s peril. The new version also provides a modicum of predictability in that the uses of the ToolKit items would have to be part of a neighborhood rezone which can only take place once a year and apply to an entire numbered area. Otherwise, a Type VI process can be kicked off at any time and by anyone who can convince the Director of Planning, the Planning Commission or the City Council to do so (Can you guess the path of least resistance?). This is neither predictable nor desirable.

Of the six at the work session and subsequent meeting, Gene Knutson, Terry Bornemann and Louise Bjornson support the revised version which is intended to move the process along and allow the housing types to be placed initially in multi-family areas so that citizens can see and judge for themselves. There is no barrier to lifting or changing the applicability in the future at a time when the housing types have proved themselves. Barbara Ryan, Jack Weiss and Stan Snapp continue to support the old version with the Type VI process and its unpredictability, i.e., zoning by crap shoot. Jack Weiss attempted to suggest that neighborhood associations were beating down his door so that they could apply these housing types to their neighborhoods. He could only cite 3-4 of the 24 Bellingham neighborhoods as being so very pressed. Hardly a groundswell. Barry Buchanan was absent, however, in an email to me, he voiced support of the revised version. The sky is not falling, the sword of Damocles is not about to plunge, and the Eighth Plague (invasion of locusts) in the form of newcomers has been stopped by the economy. Time to chill.

But come to the hearing and testify.

*Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem or "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."

Council Work Session on the Infill ToolKit - Keep Informed

For those of you who are closely following the Infill Tool Kit, this is a reminder of the City Council work session on the subject scheduled on Monday, July13^th from 1:10 to 2:40 in the council chambers at city hall. (Read the agenda item by clicking here) If you were not present for the hearing on the 29^th of June, click here to review the slide presentation made by the staff to the council. Click here to read the information on the ToolKit provided to the City Council prior to the hearing on the 29^th. This document contains information from the Planning Commission hearings and copies of written comments provided to the city by private citizens.

You can also read my blog entries on the ToolKit by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

It is not likely that the council will vote on the ToolKit after the work session. We will probably see another hearing on the subject in the near future but, in the meantime, this is an opportunity to keep current on the thought processes of the council members as they review the ToolKit with staff.

Update on Shenanigans at 423 E. Illinois - Approval Appealed

On June 9^th I wrote a blog entry entitled How to Destroy a Neighborhood – One…House…at…a….Time. (Click here to read that entry). The lead example I provided, 423 E. Illinois is now the subject of an appeal. I have learned that a local homeowner has challenged the approval by the Planning Director of the building plans and other aspects of the development of the property. The case will be heard by the Hearing Examiner on July 15^th at 6pm. (Click here for details.)

These appeals are costly to the individual homeowner who wishes to challenge the city government. In this case the price tag is over $1,000 just to file the appeal. Attorney fees are additional. Of course, any costs for a developer or builder merely get added to the sale price of the property and are footed by the purchaser. Advantage → builder.

The approval of the permit is an especially dangerous precedent as the structure, although touted as a single family home, is no more than a mini-dormitory with 6 rooms which is reportedly destined to house protected groups such as recovering alcoholics. According to Bellingham Municipal Code, the use of a single family home must be allowed for such protected groups –all well and good. In this case, however, the home is being designed and built specifically as a structure to house such groups. Further use as a single family home is essentially precluded by the design unless your picture of a single family home resembles the Bates Motel.

Even if you do not live in Sunnyland, you may wish to attend this hearing as the decision will have a notable impact on all neighborhoods in the future.

Infill Tool Kit Hearing on Monday - Come and Testify!

It is time to put the Infill ToolKit on hold. There is no rush. The city council should hear that from its citizens on Monday, 29 June at 7:00. You can read the Herald article on the subject by clicking here. Agenda documents for the hearing on Monday can be found by clicking here.

This piece of legislation has been mashed through a so-called public process that has been controlled totally by the city from its inception with Planning Academy I. The Infill ToolKit had little, if any, grass roots origins. Grass roots efforts have been mainly mounted to oppose the TookKit in part and to ask for a delay in further consideration until the city can figure out the manner in which it will enforce rules on these creations once they are built. It is time the city envision the evolution of these ToolKit items as the years go by and half of the town houses, cottage homes, duplexes, triplexes, etc. become rentals whose landlords are not licensed and whose structures are never inspected for the slightest health or safety conditions.

I invite my readers to examine some of my prior posts (click on the links below) on the Infill ToolKit with its problematic origins and future. I also invite you to attend the hearing on the 29^th to voice your opinion.

Whack-a-ToolKit

Hearing on Infill ToolKit

Sunnyland’s Discussion on Infill

Alice in ADUland

Infill ToolKit Still in ICU

Infill ToolKit – Municipal Rosemary’s Baby

Epiphany at Planning

Surely You’re Joking?

City Releases Draft Bellingham Infill ToolKit –What is the Point?

Whack-a-ToolKit*

In this great amusement park, also known as the City of Bellingham, the council and city management continue to offer arcade games which distract the public from the business at hand, in this case, the character and quality of our neighborhoods. Waterfront. Whack! TookKit. Whack! Waterfront. Whack! Urban Villages. Whack! ToolKit. Whack! Waterfront. Whack! Urban villages. Whack! No matter the skill of the citizens at banging these municipal moles on the head, they keep popping up while our existing neighborhoods deteriorate (see my last blog entry on that topic – click here). As mentioned in my blog of 1 June, there will be a hearing on the Infill ToolKit (click here to view materials on the city’s website) on 29 June. I would like to urge all of you to attend the hearing and speak against this premature action.

The main argument is that we need not be adherents of the Chicken Little assumption that growth is so imminent that we need to adopt the TookKit NOW. The city would go a long way towards re-establishing trust with the electorate if it were to recognize, first and foremost, that we have an enforcement problem, especially with respect to illegal rooming houses, with which we should deal before passing further legislation for which there is no promise of future enforcement. (As if in a tandem effort to nail down the degradation of the character and quality of our neighborhoods, the Bellingham school board and the superintendent appear to be hell-bent on closing neighborhood elementary schools, the neighborhood glue. Then we can bus the children to outlying schools or Mom can load them in the SUV for separate trips. Read more on this depressing development at the website of the Neighborhood Schools Coalition – click here).

Moreover, there should also be a landlord licensing code in effect, otherwise many of the smaller units designed under the ToolKit will devolve to rentals and, left to simmer on their own, accelerate the slide of these ToolKit areas into mini-slums. Without such enforcement requirements (mandatory code enforcement officers and salaries) included in the TookKit code itself, combined with effective controls provided by a robust landlord licensing program, an area such as the fanciful Samish Way Urban Village will eventually, by dint of proximity to WWU, become nothing more than a student rental ghetto, reminiscent of large portions of Happy Valley.

*Whac-a-Mole (without the K) is the trade name of the game. Click here to read more)

How to Destroy a Neighborhood – One…House…at…a…Time

And a little cloud wept on Sunnyland:

At the June 1st City Council meeting, a resident of Sunnyland spoke of plans by an owner of a single family zoned property at 423 E. Illinois St. to remove the current dilapidated structure and build a new “single family” home which would then be used a group home for recovering alcoholics. (Click here to review the video of that meeting. The resident spoke early on in the video) The current structure, pictured at left, is essentially a large garage with an abutting shack which could be called a house, albeit very small. Over the years it has been an ambulance dispatch center, a repair garage and a warehouse. Since the owner will be leaving the concrete pad(s), on which the current structures are placed, and a portion of the walls, the build-out will be designated a “remodel” and he will be able to build extremely close to the Illinois St. right-of-way, much more closely than the current codes allow - grandfathered, as it were. The “single family” home to be built/remodelled there, according to the Sunnyland resident who studied the plans, will consist of a long hallway on the ground floor off which will be six bedrooms. A kitchen and bath facilities will be located at the rear, appearing much like a group home/mini-motel, built to suit.

This is a far cry from merely allowing a single family home, built as such, to be used, in accordance with US Codes or the Revised Code of Washington, as a group home for the handicapped or other such protected group. When questioned about this unusual arrangement, our Director of Planning replied to a member of the city council in an email thus, “The quick, short, simple and non-legalise (sic) answer is that the house is being built as a ‘single family’, with lots of bedrooms. The ‘use’ will be for single ‘family’. But the special needs population is exempt from the ‘unrelated individual’ rule because of they are a protected class. So, the non-related protected individuals will not be subject to the ‘rule of three’. I know it is complex and confusing, but these are the rules.”

The Zonemaven finds it interesting that Mr. Stewart so quickly supports this obvious and twisted exploitation of the building codes when other rules (also known as laws), let’s say those having to do with illegal rooming houses, have been for decades and continue to be, under his management, virtually ignored. When is the last time the city closed down an illegal rooming house with the Director stating condescendingly to the landlord, “ I know it is complex and confusing, but these are the rules.”?

And then there is another property on Hampton Place (just inside the Cornwall neighborhood), within a few blocks of the mess on E. Illinois, owned by the same individual. This horror show of a structure (rear view of home at right) used to be a rather simple single family home, built in 1912 but now presents with an enormous, tumor-like appendage à la Bates Motel. This monstrosity has, according the on-line records of the Whatcom County Assessor, eleven (11) bedrooms and five (5) bathrooms. Even "John and Kate Plus Eight" would rattle around in this no-tell motel boasting 5,195 square feet of living space. I understand that this was at one time a group home; however, after a failed attempt to sell the behemoth, it appears to have devolved into yet another illegal rooming house as will likely eventually happen with the E. Illinois “single family” home. By then Tim Stewart will have been long gone and those remaining in planning will, in answer to future queries, scratch their heads and say, “Who let THAT happen on E. Illinois!”

No “Miracle on 34th Street” for the Samish Neighborhood:

“And Virginia, there is no Santa Claus”, [Yes, the Zonemaven knows that Virginia was not in the movie.] especially on 34th St., in spite of what the saccharine-tongued schlub from the New York Sun wrote in 1897. There is likely no mythic being, even Santa, who will prevent 34th St. from sliding down the razor blade of neighborhood deterioration although it will not be through inaction on the part of some of the long-time homeowners. I recently walked the length of the street with a homeowner as my guide. He has lived there for many decades.

-The first home we encounter was used several years ago for elder-care but the group lost its license at which time the home then morphed into a safe and sober house which eventually stopped operating. After a year of remaining vacant, foreclosure is now the fate of this beauty with 7 bedrooms and two baths sure to be bought by a retired couple interested in mopping and dusting all the unused rooms. Illegal rooming house to be? Perish the thought.

-Then comes the next house – in foreclosure. Future TBA.

-Following that is a house which has just been bought by a father for his son, who will be attending WWU next year. According to the father, two of his son’s friends plan to move into the home. Who believes that this 5 bedroom, 3 bath residence will house no more than three people as of October 1st? If you answered that you do believe, then your last names are Stewart and Pike. If you do not believe then your last name is that of anyone else in the phonebook.

-The next house we see is for sale. Not sure this is relevant but the Zonemaven threw it in anyway.

-Several doors away is a rental with about 6 unrelated people.

-Next door to that house is one in which the turnover in residents is so constant that nobody can discern what is actually taking place.

-Nearby is another rental with an undetermined number of occupants who have parked two trailers and a camper in the yard in what is known as Bellingham’s version of lawn ornaments.

-Then comes the jewel of the neighborhood, a house with an absentee landlord. Up to 9 cars are usually found parked at the home. . Initially, the daughter of the owner lived there with five others. The group living there last year had to be evicted. The home is listed on the Whatcom Assessor’s site as being a two bedroom. My guide tells me that the basement has been altered to create 4 additional bedrooms. So a neighbor who is retired from the fire department complained and a friend of his wrote to the Zonemaven “Another wrinkle. A neighbor (retired fire dept) called the inspection wing of the BFD [Bellingham Fire Department], requesting a inspection of one of the rooming houses in our neighborhood, as he felt it was a very unsafe house for those living there as some of the "added" bedrooms have no proper exits in the event of fire. Fire dept informed him it’s a Permit dept problem, Permit dept states it a law enforcement problem, law enforcement has been told by the city attorney’s office to "do nothing". Do not motels, hotels, licensed group residences, etc have to be inspected by the BFD for safety? Meeting rooms have a max capacity set by the BFD! Sure do enjoy merry-go-rounds.” [The Zonemaven can imagine a future Herald headline “34st Home Burns – 3 Students Dead, 3 Injured”. Response from the city management, “Oops!”]

-Then we have the sad tale of the single woman who had lived in her home for decades. Across the street is a rental which began as a 3 bedroom and in the Bellingham version of a giant transformer toy, has become a 6 bedroom house. The woman complained time and time again about noise, trash, cars. Result was that each call for enforcement was followed by some sort of vandalism perpetrated against her property. After years of abuse, she gave up and moved. The Zonemaven is surprised that the city managers did not proclaim a victory in having been able to reduce the number of incidents of vandalism on 34th St.

Walking back to my guide’s home, we pass another home. Owners are a retired couple, active in the community. One served on the Samish Neighborhood Board. Their home is impeccably kept. They follow the rules. They write letters. They complain, to no avail, about violations of code on their once quiet street. But they are exhausted fighting a city hall that will not fight for them. The house just sold, they are leaving and…

This is the way our neighborhoods end

This is the way our neighborhoods end

This is the way our neighborhoods end

Not with a bang but a whimper.*

* My appreciation and apologies to T. S. Eliot.

Hearing on Infill Tool Kit - More Diversion from the Real Problems

Have you noticed how smartly we are moving along to the preordained approval of the Infill Tool Kit? If you have not received the notice of public hearing on the Tool Kit, click on the image at left. From the beginning to its soon-to-be-ultimate finish, the Tool Kit has received tender loving care in a demonstration of the ability of the city to push through legislation that it desires in a canned process controlled by the city itself. Remember that the Tool Kit did not rise from a collective desire of the citizenry. Had one attended the Citizen Forum events on infill 21 March and 2 May, one would have discovered that when the city does not control the process, an open and frank DISCUSSION was possible and the distrust was allowed to surface.

Compare the Infill Took Kit process with that of the subject of maintaining the character of our neighborhoods through enforcement of codes, landlord licensing and dialogue with Western Washington University. In 2004, John Watts, then president of the City Council and speaking of landlord licensing announced at a public meeting on landlord licensing: “WE HAVE HEARD YOU TONIGHT! (Click here to read, yet again, about that meeting) What did the city do? Nothing. In October 2007, the Council voted to create a pilot project to enforce the Bellingham Municipal Code on illegal rooming houses. (click here to read, yet again, about that vote) How many illegal rooming houses have been shut down since then? None. (I invite the Mayor to correct me if I am wrong on this point) In August 2008, JackWeiss made his six point proposal to deal with illegal rooming houses, nuisances, landlord licensing, etc. (Click here to read, yet again, about that proposal) Progress to date? Ummm. Errrrr.

To be honest, in October 2008, the Legislative Policy Analyst for the City Council prepared a draft issue paper on landlord licensing. Click on the images at left to read the executive summary. (I will send my readers a full electronic copy of the DRAFT report – contact me at zonemaven AT hotmail DOT com) The paper is a wonderful example of a fair and thorough examination of an issue and Mark Gardner is to be congratulated for his fine work. Unfortunately, the draft issue paper, dated 21 October 2008 has languished in municipal purgatory for 6 months and has only recently been forwarded for comments by the various department heads. In the meantime, the city executives, the Council and the Planning Commission have been marching in quick time and lock step to ensure the Infill Tool Kit, which will do nothing to improve the present character of our neighborhoods and may do much to destroy that character, finds its place in the municipal Hall of Fame of premature and perhaps unnecessary legislation. I will refrain here from mentioning also the distraction from the real issues confronting our neighborhoods by the folderol surrounding the WATERFRONT where, at last look, nobody lives.

In what may be a final and futile plea, I ask the Mayor and the City Council to take up the issues that have an immediate effect on our citizenry. Forget the Took Kit, prepared to deal with the influx of new residents which is not happening. Forget the Waterfront, where no voters live and whose neighborhood character is thus a non-issue. Deal with the distrust you have created by taking up NOW the unresolved and still festering issues from 2004, 2007 and 2008.

Campus Community Coalition – Expanded Mission

The Campus Community Coalition, whose meetings I attend regularly, has reworked its mission and goals to fit with the broader context suggested by the name of the organization. (Click on the image at left) The Coalition was originally established over ten years ago to deal with a narrow range of issues concerning alcohol use and abuse by WWU students. For that reason it was placed under the office of Prevention and Wellness Services (Click here to go to the website). Several years ago, some members of the Coalition recognized that not all “town/gown” issues brought to the group fell under the rubric of Prevention and Wellness or had anything to do with alcohol consumption. With the arrival of Dr. Bruce Shepard, there was a push to move the coalition to the Office of University Relations which was recently filled by Steve Swan, a close associate of Dr. Shepard in his previous post in Wisconsin. (See my September 2008 letter to Dr. Shepard by clicking here)

I met with Mr. Swan last February (click here to read a summary of that meeting) in an attempt to persuade him that a Coalition with an expanded mission would not fit well if subordinated to an organization with a narrower mission than that of the Coalition itself. I had also met with Dr Eileen Coughlin, Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support, to whom I voiced the same idea. (Click here to read a summary of that meeting.) Other members of the Coalition have argued the point at meetings and in talks with Lara Welker, the Coalition’s director. In the past few weeks a decision was made to keep the Coalition in the Prevention and Wellness Services – at least for the time being. Although I am disappointed with the decision, the rationale was part budgetary as the Coalition is currently funded by WWU through the Wellness Office and part reticence in moving the entire mission to University Affairs where there was a lack of support staff. The door to moving the Coalition to the office of University Relations (Click here to read about this office) was not closed entirely as Mr. Swan is just now 4 months into the job and wants to get a better understanding of the Coalition and the issues before possibly moving it within the hierarchy. He did name Sherry Burkey, Associate VP for University Relations and Director of Legislative Affairs, (click here to go to the Legislative Affairs web page) to coordinate closely and directly with the Coalition on issues which fall outside the normal scope of Prevention and Wellness. Education on alcohol related issues will continue as a focus of the Coalition under the Wellness umbrella.

Since Mr. Swan has told me that he will also work closely with the Coalition, I am willing to wait to see if the new set-up will work. I am also encouraged by the fact that Dr. Shepard, in a demonstration of his commitment to the CCC, is continuing to fund the Coalition at its present level, even in the face of enormous budget cuts.

Citizens' Forum - Discussion on Neighborhood Schools- 2 June

Mark your calendar today for this Citizens' Forum event. The topic on 2 June will be "Neighborhood Schools – How Valuable Are They to Our Community". Click on the image on the left to view the flier with the place, time and directions. Attendees can expect to hear and comment on these questions:

What do our public schools mean to the neighborhoods they are in?

Walkability, smaller schools, involved neighbors – what is best for

children?

What are the economic realities and how should neighborhood

schools be financed?

The school board – its relationship and obligation to parents and the

community.

Will infill and a changing demographic impact our neighborhood

schools?

This is the fourth such discussion sponsored by the Citizens' Forum, the last having been held on 2 May on the subject of the Infill Tool Kit.