Birch Bay residents worry new apartments will block views

By Oliver Lazenby

There’s more to Birch Bay than the views, but for some, the chance to see the water from a deck or dining room table is reason enough to buy a home.

“We looked all around Birch Bay for a little house to buy and when we saw this one, that was it. Who could ask for anything better?” Birch Bay resident Patty Anderson said. Anderson and her husband Pat bought their home on Morgan Drive in Birch Bay in 1989 for its end-to-end view of the bay, she said.

Over the years, the view shrank due to encroaching trees. Now, in the summer, only a gap between maples offers a view over Richmond Resort to the water.

Plans submitted last month for a three-story apartment building at Richmond Resort, an RV and manufactured home park at 8086 Birch Bay Drive, could nearly eliminate views for the Andersons and for residents of about six other houses on the ridge behind the proposed project.

Freeland & Associates, a Bellingham engineering firm, submitted a proposal to demolish the RV park and build three apartments buildings up to 35-feet tall, with about 39 units total. The project is called Sunset Bay apartments and is owned by Steve Taberner.

The Andersons and their neighbors on Morgan Drive estimate – based on the height of a utility pole and nearby buildings –that Taberner’s buildings might completely block their view of the water.

“It’s heartbreaking, really. The thought is just heartbreaking,” Anderson said.

A few houses away, Steve Nelson would still have a view from his second story, but his first floor view would be gone, he said.

Nelson, an accountant, has been involved with several Birch Bay development projects.

“I recognize that people are entitled to do with their property as they wish,” he said. “I don’t think they’re entitled to harm me and the view.”

Protecting the view

Nelson, the Andersons, and several of their neighbors have sent letters to the county, which is taking public comments on the project until Friday, July 20.

They’re hoping that language in the Birch Bay Community Plan, a framework for growth in Birch Bay that Whatcom County adopted in 2004, will affect the county’s assessment of the project.

The community plan states in its “Shorelines and Shorelands” chapter that “multifamily housing should not obstruct or significantly limit views of the bay from existing development.”

The county’s zoning code for Birch Bay, however, allows buildings up to 35 feet tall, as the Sunset Bay project proposes.

It’s unclear how the community plan is applied to preserve views.

Taberner, the property owner, said he isn’t surprised that neighbors are concerned with their views, but his plans stay within the limit of what county zoning allows.

“I think anytime anything is done with any height, all the people above will be concerned with how it affects their view,” Taberner said. “All of our effort has been to stay within the regulations of what’s allowed.”

Taberner bought the 2.5-acre lot in 1997 and he’s always planned to develop it, he said. Over the years, he said he’s told his tenants, who are mostly seasonal, that the property will be developed at some point.

Whatcom County’s public comment period on the project ends on July 20 and a hearing isn’t yet scheduled. The project requires a hearing for several reasons, including its size and proximity to the water.

“At this point staff is reviewing the proposal and it is likely we will issue a Notice of Additional Requirements (NOAR) to clarify items before a hearing is scheduled,” said Whatcom County senior planner Amy Keenan in an email.

Nelson hopes the county will require some revisions to the layout, height and roof design.

“If they decided to reposition the buildings and use flat roofs, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, Nelson said. “It should be possible to do something that won’t block everyone’s view, is our point.”