Whatcom County Planning Commission

**Michael Cerbone, Community Development Director, City of Ferndale** Presented Ferndale's UGA proposal showing the city can meet all 20-year growth targets without UGA expansion. Formally recommended the commission defer UGA Reserve designations (Areas 6 and 7) to 2026–2027 to allow broader stakeholder engagement. If the commission proceeds now, he supported Areas 6 and 7. Expressed concern about resource agricultural land designations boxing Ferndale in over the long term. **Heidi Gudde, Director of Community Development, City of Lynden** Presented a clean proposal with no UGA expansion, sufficient capacity within the existing boundary, and recent code improvements enabling higher density. Described the city's creative water-rights management strategies with the Department of Ecology. **Chris Behee, Planner, City of Bellingham** Presented Bellingham's proposal to reconfigure the UGA with a net reduction of approximately 1,300 acres, an addition of 364 acres at the North Bellingham reserve, and retention of the South Yew Street reserve area in reserve status. Defended the choice of the north area over the south on capacity, terrain, and infrastructure cost grounds. Acknowledged deep-affordability housing shortfalls as a resource problem, not a zoning problem. **Matt Aamot, Whatcom County Senior Planner** Presented the Cherry Point and Rural/Resource Lands proposals. Confirmed that UGA Reserves are not GMA-required. Noted that the HAP tool discrepancies would be discussed at the city-county planners group the following day. **Lauren Clemens, Whatcom County Climate Action Manager** Addressed commissioners' concerns about greenhouse gas emissions from rural growth, clarifying GMA limits on emissions-based growth restrictions. **Ruth Danielsen, Public Commenter (unaffiliated, Birch Bay area resident)** During open public comment, raised procedural objections to the Birch Bay UGA Reserve additions from the September…

**Michael Cerbone, on recommending deferral of UGA Reserves:** "I'm going to tell you that the GMA doesn't require us to do it right now. I'm also going to tell you that we have a lot of stuff that Matt, poor Matt, needs to herd the rest of our cats and get us through between now and the end of probably the first quarter is what I'm guessing, uh, of next year. And so I think we can take this decision about how and where the UG reserves go and we can punt it." **Michael Cerbone, on the long-ter…

Before this meeting, the Planning Commission had received UGA presentations for Sumas, Everson, Nooksack, Birch Bay, and Columbia Valley (September 11). After September 25, the following is different: 1. **Public record is now open** on UGA proposals for Ferndale, Lynden, Bellingham, Cherry Point, and Rural/Resource Lands. Public testimony has been received and is in the record. 2. **Ferndale's UGA Reserve deferral is formally on the table** as a policy option. Before this meeting, the commission had only seen a map showing Areas 6 and 7 proposed. Cerbone's formal recommendation to defer — and Aamot's confirmation that this will be discussed at the city-county planners meeting — represents a substantive shift in the trajectory of UGA Reserve designations countywide. 3. **The Bellingham Sout…

--- ## Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Planning Commission held its regular meeting on September 25, 2025, conducting public hearings and a work session on Urban Growth Area (UGA) proposals for the City of Bellingham, City of Ferndale, City of Lynden, Cherry Point, and Rural/Resource Lands. This was the second of two meeting nights devoted to UGA boundary proposals from Whatcom County's cities and unincorporated areas as part of the county's mandated Growth Management Act comprehensive plan update. --- ## Key Terms and Concepts **Urban Growth Area (UGA):** A boundary designated under Washington's Growth Management Act within which urban-level development is expected and encouraged. Cities can only annex land within their UGA. Everything outside the UGA is subject to rural or resource land regulations. **UGA Reserve:** Land identified as potentially needed for urban growth beyond the current 20-year planning period. UGA Reserves are not currently in the UGA but are held at low-density zoning (typically R10A, one dwelling per 10 acres) to preserve the option for future urban development. UGA Reserves are not required by the GMA. **Growth Management Act (GMA):** Washington State law (RCW 36.70A) that requires counties and cities to manage growth through coordinated comprehensive planning, including designating UGAs, protecting resource lands, and planning for housing across all income levels. **House Bill 1220 (HB 1220):** A 2021 Washington State law requiring cities and counties to plan for housing across all income levels — including very low, low, moderate, and above-moderate income households — and demonstrate land capacity to meet each income category's needs. **House Bill 1110 (HB 1110):** A 2023 Washington State law requiring cities to allow "middle housing" (duplexes through sixplexes, townhomes, co-living units) in areas previously zoned exclusively for single-family homes. Cities can no longer maintain residential single-family-only zones under this law. **Land Capacity Analysis (LCA):** A technical study comparing the amount of land available for development (at permitted densities) to the projected growth that must be accommodated. A surplus means more capacity than needed; a deficit means insufficient land. **Area Median Income (AMI):** A benchmark used to categorize housing affordability. Housing affordable to households earning 0–30% of AMI is deeply subsidized; 50–80% AMI is affordable workforce/rental housing; above 120% AMI is market-rate. **HAP Tool (Housing for All Planning Tool):** A state-developed spreadsheet used to calculate housing needs by income band. It applies uniform household size and vacancy rate assumptions across jurisdictions, which can produce results that appear inconsistent with local conditions. **Annexation:** The legal process by which a city absorbs unincorporated land — typically land within its UGA — and extends city services, zoning, and governance to that area. **R10A Zoning:** Rural zoning designation allowing one dwelling unit per 10 acres. This is the standard holding zone applied to UGA Reserve lands and to rural areas removed from UGA designation. **Non-conforming Use:** A legally established business or land use that no longer complies with current zoning regulations but is allowed to continue operating under certain conditions. Expansion typically requires a conditional use permit. --- ## Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kelvin B…