Pay Attention to OUR Land-use Issues

What is going on between the Whatcom County Council and the state government has a lot to do with how Birch Bay develops.

While it is fine to take vicarious interest in what goes on in Egypt, Pakistan and so on, if you want to participate in democracy, the County Council is where the action is.

As the Elder once said in a memorable Steering Committee meeting, “The business of Birch Bay is building primary and secondary homes,” so what is built and how it is built is of great importance to our economy. Do we want growth to be concentrated in a compact Birch Bay Urban Growth Area or don't we care if more new houses are built on five and ten acre lots of former farm land?

To understand the issues related to Whatcom County's failure to comply with the state's Growth Management Act read the February issue of Whatcom Watch. The GMA protects rural land and encourages urban development to make services such as fire protection more efficient. Hard copies of Whatcom Watch are available in a number of locations including the Blaine library or go to www.whatcomwatch.org

The authors of this article are Cathy Lehman and Jean Melious. Ms. Lehman is chapter director of Futurewise Whatcom, which brought legal action against the county that resulted in an “Order of Invalidity” by the Growth Management Hearings Board. Ms. Melious is a land use attorney and professor in the Environmental Studies Department at Western. She was chair of the Whatcom Planning Commission for four years and ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in the last election.

On the other side of this issue is the “We the People” movement, our county's version of the national Tea Party, that put up “Land Grab” signs and elected a majority of the present County Council members. Their argument is that the Growth Management Act is the product of “Olympia bureaucrats” – to quote Sam Crawford, the current council chair.

As Randy Cross, president of the Whatcom Tea Party, explained in our profile, published in March of last year (and found below),“The focus of the Tea Party is on progressive trends: Making people do what they would not do voluntarily.” That certainly can apply to the landowner who is tired of growing alfalfa and would like to “cash in.”

Whatcom Watch is the ultimate in “grass roots.” The mission is to cover local government and environmental issues. No one gets paid except for those who earn a commission on the few ad sales.

Editors have come and gone but a constant is Bill McCallum who has served the publication since it was a typed newsletter almost 20 years ago. He is listed on the masthead as “layout director,” but is really chief shepherd looking after finances and circulation.

The new editor is Jennifer Karchmer who teaches in the Communications Department at Western. Despite 20 years at major newspapers and CNN, she brings youthful enthusiasm for strengthening the voice of the Watch.

Pay attention – it's free!

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