The latest news from the Blaine City Council meeting on September 23.
Blaine City Council unanimously voted to extend the city’s letter of intent to sell its vacant lot at 1721 Fern Street that is envisioned to become part of an industrial park. The letter of intent will be extended from 180 to 365 days.
In March, council authorized city manager Mike Harmon to enter the letter of intent to sell the city’s 2.65-acre property to Vancouver, B.C. commercial real estate agent Eugen Klein. Klein owns a 45-acre property adjacent to the city property that is zoned for an industrial park.
The city’s property is south of Pipeline Road, between Odell Road and Yew Avenue.
Harmon said during the September 23 meeting that the city would charge $4 per square foot of buildable land and $1 per acre of wetland, which comes out to about $600,000.
Klein has negotiated with two to three developers to purchase and finalize the building stage of the park, while securing four to five businesses to occupy the park, according to city records.
Harmon said at a council meeting earlier in September that Panattoni Development Company was looking at building on the property. According to its website, Panattoni specializes in industrial, office and build-to-suit projects.
By signing the letter of intent, Klein would commit to building a warehouse or similar building that would be at least 150,000 square feet, Harmon said. A site plan would need to be submitted to the city within 60 days of the city receiving a signed letter of intent.
A permit would need to be applied for within two years of the letter being signed and construction would need to start within five years of the letter being signed. In absence of these, the land title could be transferred back to the city, Harmon said.
Klein needed the letter of intent to be extended because he anticipated a four to six month approval timeline from the Department of Ecology and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
City council unanimously approved renewing its contract with the Port of Bellingham that allows the city to use about 3,000 square feet in Blaine Harbor for temporary storage of four portable tanks used to prevent sewer overflow during heavy rainfall. The contract, which runs until February 2025, will be for an area at the corner of Marine Drive and Sigurdson Avenue.
Council also renewed its contract with the city of Sumas to share personnel and equipment for electric systems related work. The contract allows both cities to request aid from the other, with the provision that each community may prioritize their resources for their own needs. Blaine and Sumas will be compensated for their services and equipment. The agreement will be effective through February 2028.
Community Development Services director Alex Wenger told council planning commissioner James Bring resigned, bringing a vacancy to the commission as it decides whether to recommend increasing building heights by one story on the west side of Peace Portal Drive in downtown Blaine.
When Wenger told council that planning commission had decided to hold off on its recommendation during its September meeting, council member Mike Hill expressed frustration about planning commission pushing the vote. Commission had delayed the vote until its October meeting because only four of the seven commissioners were in attendance to vote on increasing the height from three to four stories.
“I believe the planning commission is carefully deliberating what’s in front of them,” Harmon said when asked by Hill for his input on the delayed vote. “I don’t want to speak ill of our volunteers that give up their time to help us make the city better.”
Harmon offered if council wanted to provide instruction for the planning commission, council could create a resolution giving clear direction for the commission.
Mayor Mary Lou Steward suggested council meet with the commission to discuss their visions of development in Blaine. Harmon said he would find a time that worked for planning commission.
Wenger told council the Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee will be reviewing grant applications it received for tourism projects and its tourism budget at the committee’s next meeting on October 1. He added the committee only had four members, to which council member and committee chair Sonia Hurt replied that she had contacted representatives from Semiahmoo Resort and Blaine Harbor to apply for two of the openings. The tourism committee has seven voting positions and two non-voting positions.
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