County planning staff presented their proposal for directing growth in Birch Bay for the next 20 years during a September 11 Whatcom County Planning Commission meeting. The plan, which would not increase the size of the Birch Bay urban growth area (UGA), includes several zoning changes that staff say will improve growth through 2045.
The Birch Bay UGA proposal is part of the decennial comprehensive plan that will chart out the next 20 years of growth. The county and its cities are required to submit their plans to the state by the end of the year.
UGAs are designated areas where future growth is encouraged to mitigate urban sprawl.
The Thursday evening planning commission meeting at the Northwest Annex building had presentations and hearings on the Birch Bay, Sumas, Everson, Nooksack and Columbia Valley UGAs. A handful of Birch Bay residents used the Birch Bay hearing to voice their concern on the city of Blaine’s proposal to de-annex east Blaine and swap its UGA near Semiahmoo.
A presentation on the Blaine UGA proposal was agendized, but the city withdrew it to fix a typo in its land capacity analysis. Blaine planning director Alex Wenger said the changes would not impact the UGA boundaries or projected population densities.
Wenger said the city needed to recalculate the amount of development that may occur with current zoning because analysis from Whatcom County and previous planning staff overestimated the potential allowable development under current zoning. Blaine planning staff is working to revise that figure to show how the city is growing, which reduced the city’s previous estimate for total development capacity. Wenger said the city has an overall surplus of land and ample capacity for growth.
Wenger is expected to present the updated Blaine UGA proposal to the Whatcom County Planning Commission during its Thursday, October 9 meeting. A public hearing will occur immediately after the presentation.
Whatcom County senior planner Matt Aamot told meeting attendees that the Birch Bay proposal would not change the UGA boundaries. The county wants to make the following changes to the Birch Bay UGA:
• Rezone 13 acres to general commercial that is currently a go-kart track parcel on Birch Bay-Lynden Road and the land just north and east of it;
• Rezone 187 acres in Birch Bay State Park from medium density urban residential to recreation and open space to better reflect the current use;
• Rezone about 100 acres of UGA reserve and 55 acres of proposed UGA reserve from one dwelling per 5 acres to one dwelling per 10 acres;
• Implement a countywide change to the urban residential four units per acre zones to allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes.
The county also proposed adding two UGA reserves that would add 266 acres to the east and southeast of the Birch Bay UGA. UGA reserves are planned areas where the UGA could be expanded when the capacity is needed.
County planners suggested the two reserves after the Birch Bay Community Advisory Committee (BBCAC) requested the Birch Bay UGA expand, Aamot said. Aamot suggested the reserves as a compromise for the group, saying the state likely wouldn’t approve expanding the Birch Bay UGA because it had sufficient capacity for the next 20 years of growth. The two reserves were selected because they were the most cost effective and could potentially provide land for light industrial land uses, which would help job growth.
However, the plan to add UGA reserves was up in the air by the end of the meeting. Ruthie Danielsen, who lives within the proposed reserve, said she surveyed the nine property owners who lived within the proposed reserves and six said they were against the change. After another resident in the proposed reserve spoke against it, the planning commission requested the BBCAC solicit more feedback.
Birch Bay’s population is expected to grow by 2,262 people between 2023 and 2045, which averages over 100 new people per year, Aamot said. The county derived its estimate from the annual average population growth in the UGA between 2013 and 2023.
The county estimates 1,051 homes will be built and 450 jobs will be created in the Birch Bay UGA over the next 20 years. The county is looking at ways to expand job opportunities in Birch Bay as it had 3.8 percent of the county’s population in 2023 but only 0.5 percent of countywide jobs.
A handful of Birch Bay residents used the hearing to voice opposition to Blaine’s UGA swap proposal. Blaine will ask city voters in November whether they want to de-annex 573 acres of east Blaine, 473 of which are the Grandis Pond property that is no longer expected to be developed. If the de-annexation passes, the city plans to add 53 acres of UGA and 539 acres of UGA reserve near Semiahmoo.
Birch Bay resident Sharman Burnam told planning commissioners that, despite opposition from the community, Birch Point was removed from the Birch Bay UGA in 2004. Birch Bay resident Doralee Booth later said sensitive land around Birch Point was removed to protect bluffs and other critical areas.
Burnam, who is involved with the Birch Bay Incorporation Association, said Blaine’s UGA swap would give the city an unfair advantage if Birch Bay became a city and wanted the land.
“Allowing Blaine to annex Birch Point would strip Birch Bay of land and a future tax base before we even had a chance to incorporate,” Burnam said.
Burnam believed Blaine hadn’t adequately involved the Birch Bay community, which she considered, “a failure of process and a breach of trust.” Should it pass, Burnam said she would challenge the UGA swap before the state’s Growth Management Hearings Board.
Birch Bay resident Lisa Guthrie, also involved in the incorporation efforts, said the UGA swap concerned her about stormwater management, traffic and ecological resources.
BBCAC planned on sending a letter to Whatcom County Council later this month with its official stance on the Blaine UGA swap, Booth said. Among concerns, Booth was focused on stormwater runoff, water quality and who would foot the bill for Birch Bay road improvements if Blaine traffic increased.
“Should Blaine’s annexation proposal be allowed to undermine years of Birch Bay planning?” Booth asked the commission.
The planning commission is expected to hold more hearings on the UGAs this fall before approving its final recommendation for the county’s comprehensive plan. For more information on upcoming planning meetings, including the Blaine UGA hearing on October 9, visit bit.ly/3Ip1Ycn.
