Public meeting to focus on East Maple Ridge development

A public meeting will be held to discuss the East Maple Ridge housing development planned for east Blaine.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Blaine Harbor Boating Center, 235 Marine Drive. It is hosted by Bellingham-based APC Engineers and Invictus Global Group.

The East Maple Ridge housing development will be a neighborhood of approximately 353 new single-family homes, located north of H Street, east of Jerome Street and west of Harvey Road.

East Maple Ridge was approved in 2010 and was granted an extension by city council in 2018. It is owned by Douglas and Louise Connelly, and the approval is set to expire on July 26.

Because the approval will be expiring soon, the project applicant will be submitting a reapplication for new approval of the East Maple Ridge PUD single-family neighborhood residential subdivision.

As part of this process, the Blaine Municipal Code requires that a public meeting or “community conference” be held. According to section 17.68.070 of the Blaine Municipal Code, “the community conference is an informal public meeting hosted by the applicant. The purpose of the meeting is to provide early and informal notification to the public, to generate discussion, and make the proponent aware of community concerns relative to the proposed project.”

According to Stacie Pratschner, the city of Blaine’s community development director, the project applicant is applying for a new PUD and preliminary plat approval. “That is step one in the three-step process for approving a subdivision, to create lots to build homes on,” she said.

The second step is construction plan approval, said Pratschner. The applicant applies to the city’s public works department for approval of public and private infrastructure. The third step is final plat approval, and that is when the lots are created and the construction of homes can begin.

Pratschner said that after the public meeting, the applicant will prepare a written report documenting the community meeting, summarizing the issues raised and describing how the proposed project addresses the issues. The applicant will submit the report to the planning commission, which will accept public comments again through a more formal process.

The planning commission will ultimately make a recommendation to Blaine City Council whether to approve or reject the application.

Any questions about the meeting can be directed to APC Engineers at 360/671-1146.