A proposed housing development off Chuckanut Drive has concerned neighbors calling for increased environmental scrutiny of construction projects within city boundaries.
The development, a 38-lot property known as the Woods at Viewcrest, abuts the Mud Bay Cliffs and sits above the North Chuckanut Bay estuary.
The initial development applications were submitted to City of Bellingham planners in March, prompting neighbors to create the Protect Mud Bay Cliffs group.
“We’re an all-volunteer, completely community-based group of folks that would like to see this amazing natural space to be protected from overdevelopment,” said Wendy Larson, one of the representatives for the group. “Our group is trying to raise awareness so that citizens understand that this gem of Bellingham is potentially up for some really devastating development.”
What began as a NextDoor conversation between Chuckanut Drive-adjacent residents blossomed into a group of more than 200 neighbors working to preserve the area from development. The grassroots organization does not have defined leadership but rather works under a “steering committee” of neighbors who organize letter drives, distribute yard signs and design the website, among other volunteer actions.
Cliff instability and safety, wildlife habitat destruction and stormwater management are chief among the concerns of the growing volunteer organization, but the city says these concerns are premature, as the development is still early in the application process.
In the initial application, project planners from AVT Consulting LLC, a Bellingham-based consultation and planning group, submitted geotechnical reports, wildlife assessments and other relevant studies to address some of these concerns.
“Our main goal is to minimize the adverse impacts of the development on the environment,” said Larry Horowitz, one of the steering committee members.
The Mud Bay Cliffs rise above the North Chuckanut Bay estuary.
(Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
Throughout the last decade, the City of Bellingham has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in restoring the estuary, as well as purchasing land around the bay to protect wildlife habitats.
“We want the salmon and the shellfish to thrive in Mud Bay, which the city invested a lot of money in,” Larson said. “We think all of the development activity will be really bad for the estuary and for everything that we’ve spent so much taxpayer money investing in.”
Of particular concern, Larson said, is the great blue heron colony that has taken residence near the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Just this year, the Bellingham City Council invested close to $700,000 in the land surrounding the heron colony at Post Point, Bellingham’s last remaining colony. The birds began nesting in the area more than 20 years ago, but the colony is not protected in perpetuity.
“I am quite convinced that if this development were to proceed as the application currently calls for it, the human activity would be very disruptive to the Post Point heron colony,” Larson said.
Ali Taysi, founder of AVT Consulting, said the owners of the property are working to protect the environment for local wildlife while also supporting the community.
“The family has a keen interest in preserving the ecological value of the property and Chuckanut Bay while also providing more homes for people to live in within the city limits of Bellingham,” he said in an email. “The Woods at Viewcrest development focuses on conserving the most ecologically sensitive areas of the property, including significant preservation of forests, cliffs, and the rich marine shoreline area along Chuckanut Bay.”
Land instability in the region, too, is of serious concern. According to the submitted Geotech Investigation & Report, the site contains several areas that are already “correctly classified as potential LHAs,” or landslide hazard areas with slopes “having a consistent grade of 40% or greater and a height change of at least 10 feet.”
The cliffs, Horowitz said, are incredibly steep, and falling boulders and rock slides are not uncommon. The beach below is peppered with massive rocks, and the landscape changes daily.
“There’s nothing going on on that property right now, and the boulders are still falling,” he said.
Larson and Horowitz are concerned the submitted reports lack nuance.
“The stormwater report was based on site visits that were done during the dry season,” Horowitz said. “They did field studies, I believe it was in July. But if you’re looking for water, going on-site in July is not going to give a good indication of what the conditions will be like in January.”
City of Bellingham planners have requested more information from AVT and the property owners, the Ann Jones Family Limited Partnership.
Bellingham senior planner Kathy Bell says the city has requested more geohazard and wetland information, as well as information related to grading and infrastructure, but says community concerns are premature.
“There are so many different procedural steps that this has to go through,” she said. “We haven’t even begun the application review process in terms of public involvement or environmental review.”
Taysi said the reports submitted “provide a great deal of detail on their respective environmental areas and address compliance with local, state and federal regulations and codes that apply to the project,” in addition to providing environmental mitigation strategies.
“While it is understandable for the community to have concerns about protecting the Bay, these concerns are unfounded,” he wrote in an email. “The design intent is to avoid impacts to the Bay, and redesign of the project has occurred throughout the planning phase, and in response to City and public comments, in order to [ensure] the Bay and adjacent steep slopes will be protected.”
Protect Mud Bay Cliffs has used donations to retain a lawyer to help them review submitted applications and project proposals related to the development. They intend to review all the materials, submit letters and public testimony to the city and encourage neighbors to get involved.
“The reports come back and say, ‘If you’re willing to accept the normal risks, then we can move forward,’ but should we accept the risks for an area that is so ecologically sensitive?” Horowitz asked. “We hope [the city] will not accept the normal risks, because the normal risks could be devastating.”
