Bellingham City Council will hold a public hearing Monday, Aug. 29, on a draft of the Hundred Acre Wood Master Plan.
The hearing, to be held remotely over Zoom, will be the last formal opportunity for the public to weigh in on the plan, which has been in development, with public input, for more than a year.
The plan’s purpose is to guide public use of the park in a way that preserves the natural environment of the 112-acre area in the South neighborhood, including the 82-acre Chuckanut Community Forest the city purchased for $8.2 million in 2011. Voters in south Bellingham then approved a park district in 2013 that would preserve the forest as a public space with certain ecological, recreational and educational functions.
Proposals for Hundred Acre Wood have already generated debate, particularly around whether to include an off-leash area for dogs, and whether to restrict bicycle use.
According to a recent survey, 95% of respondents agreed the area, between Fairhaven Park and the Interurban Trail, should be formally named “Hundred Acre Wood.”
The park consists of coniferous and mixed forest with several wetland areas. The acreage is home to native plant species and serves as “an essential habitat corridor” for wildlife migrating through an urban environment, the draft plan says.
The public hearing will begin shortly after the 7 p.m. start of the City Council’s meeting on Aug. 29. Join the hearing at cob.org/cczoom. Individuals may sign up to speak at the hearing, or provide written comments, at cob.org/ccsignup.
