Property Tax Search
Home › Comp Plans › Bellingham › Economic Development Chapter
Bellingham · BEL-CP-2016 · Pages 138-158

Economic Development Chapter

The Economic Development Chapter identifies the City's role in fostering a vibrant, sustainable economy through a positive business climate, economic diversification, adequate employment lands, vibrant urban villages, and quality-of-life investments. It provides the framework for the City's Economic Development Strategic Action Plan and includes SWOT analysis findings and characteristics of the local economy. The chapter emphasizes living wage jobs, support for small businesses, and coordination with regional partners.

Economic Development Economy Governance Environment Social

“Only 2 of 51 Economic Development Chapter policies (4%) include a concrete, measurable commitment.” Real Record SAY vs DO analysis · Bellingham Comprehensive Plan

About this analysis

Real Record applies the SAY vs DO accountability framework to every chapter of every Washington comprehensive plan we publish. Each policy in the chapter is read individually and scored into one of four buckets:

  • Measurable — the policy names a specific target, deadline, dollar amount, or action that can be verified later.
  • Strong — binding action language (“shall,” “will adopt,” “require”) without a measurable threshold.
  • Aspirational — encouraging or supportive language (“encourage,” “support,” “consider”) with no enforcement.
  • Monitor only — policies that commit to tracking or reporting but not to action.

The accountability score shown in the sidebar is the share of policies in the chapter that landed in the “Measurable” bucket. A score of 0–19 (red) indicates most policies use aspirational language without concrete accountability; 20–49 (orange) is mixed; 50 or higher (green) means the chapter is dominated by measurable commitments.

The underlying text comes from the official adopted comprehensive plan published by the Bellingham planning department. Scoring is performed by Real Record analysts using a structured rubric; the raw policy text and bucket assignments are archived in the Real Record civic data warehouse.

Read the full methodology, sources, and rubric at Real Record · About.

What the Plan Promises
Formal targets adopted in the Bellingham Comprehensive Plan.
Accommodate 22,641 new jobs by 2036; employment capacity of ~27,300 jobs in City and UGA; 820 acres of vacant employment lands available (2013 LCA)
Goals (5 total)
  • GOAL ED-1: Build and maintain a positive and competitive business-friendly climate that will retain, grow and attract high-quality businesses.
  • GOAL ED-2: Accommodate a broad mix of employment opportunities, while actively seeking a greater proportion of living wage jobs that will benefit a broad cross-section of Bellingham residents.
  • GOAL ED-3: Maintain an adequate supply of developable employment lands and supporting infrastructure to accommodate forecasted growth.
  • GOAL ED-4: Foster vibrant urban villages.
  • GOAL ED-5: Continue to invest in the quality of life attributes that provide the City with a competitive advantage in terms of economic development.
Stronger Policy Language (20 policies in this chapter)
  • Policy ED-1: Periodically review and assess the impacts of the City's regulatory structure, taxes, fees and utility rates on Bellingham's economic development goals and make adjustments as appropriate.
  • Policy ED-5: Continue the City's Performance Measures program as a means of monitoring progress toward achieving the economic development and other goals in the Comprehensive Plan.
  • Policy ED-24: Periodically assess the adequacy of the supply of vacant and redevelopable employment lands in Bellingham and the UGA, especially land zoned for industry.
  • Policy ED-31: Continue to provide adequate and efficient community infrastructure such as roads, water, sewer, stormwater management and other public facilities and services.
Show all 20 stronger policies
The four examples above are a representative sample. The remaining 16 stronger policies are catalogued in the Real Record civic data warehouse and indexed by policy number against the adopted plan text. See how policies are scored →
Aspirational / Monitoring Language (29 policies in this chapter)
  • Policy ED-9: Aid the efforts of business associations to promote economic activities and tourism.
  • Policy ED-22: Working with the Port of Bellingham, Whatcom County and others, explore and pursue opportunities to solicit/attract new investment from businesses outside the Bellingham area.
  • Policy ED-23: Encourage an environment supportive of entrepreneurial activities and explore methods to encourage low-impact enterprises and emerging business models.
  • Policy ED-47: Explore options and partnerships to allow continued recreational use of the Galbraith Mountain trails.
  • Policy ED-51: Encourage locally-based food production, distribution and choice through the support of community gardens, farmers markets, and other small-scale initiatives.
Show all 29 aspirational / monitoring policies
The four examples above are a representative sample. The remaining 25 policies in this bucket use language like “encourage,” “support,” “consider,” or “monitor” — phrasing that does not create an enforceable commitment. See how policies are scored →

SAY vs DISCUSS: Did this come up in meetings?

Real Record has not yet indexed any Bellingham briefings tagged to this chapter’s topics. Browse all Bellingham council and planning briefings to see related discussions in context.

View Bellingham Briefings →