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Bellingham · BEL-CP-2025 · Pages 124-138

Community Wellbeing

The Community Wellbeing chapter addresses the social, economic, environmental, cultural, and civic factors that contribute to a connected, safe, and equitable Bellingham. It establishes policies to address health determinants including food security, housing stability, community safety, and social connection, while promoting arts, culture, and lifelong learning opportunities. The chapter also prioritizes equity and inclusion in City processes, meaningful community engagement, and strengthened relationships with tribal nations and indigenous community members.

Community Wellbeing Social Safety Governance Economy

“Only 1 of 46 Community Wellbeing policies (2%) 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.

Goals (6 total)
  • CW-A: Health and Wellbeing – Confront systemic and regional community health and wellbeing issues through social services, a resilient food system and interactive programming
  • CW-B: Vitality and Belonging – Foster community vitality, reduce loneliness and promote a positive sense of belonging through safety and connection
  • CW-C: Arts and Culture – Promote and celebrate Bellingham's arts and culture
  • CW-D: Equity and Inclusion – Expand and strengthen equity and inclusion throughout the City's civic processes and practices
  • CW-E: Community Engagement – Foster a welcoming environment for outreach and engagement by inviting community members to be involved in City government
  • CW-F: Tribal Relations – Strengthen relationships and engagement processes with tribal nations and indigenous community members
Stronger Policy Language (21 policies in this chapter)
  • CW-24: Develop and implement a strategic plan to guide the City's work in building a more equitable and welcoming Bellingham for all.
  • CW-32: Continue implementing systems and strategies to inform the community of City processes and provide meaningful opportunities for public engagement.
  • CW-42: Uphold City government relationships and protocols with tribal governments, prioritizing early and ongoing consultation or communication about City plans, projects and processes.
  • CW-44: Standardize internal protocols, improving consistency and centralization of tribal engagement processes Citywide.
Show all 21 stronger policies
The four examples above are a representative sample. The remaining 17 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 (24 policies in this chapter)
  • CW-5: Consider the importance of local and regional food systems assets and infrastructure in policy decisions, encouraging locally-based food production, processing, distribution and consumption.
  • CW-6: Encourage access to a diversity of nutritious, affordable, and culturally-appropriate food by exploring opportunities to support, incentivize, or encourage the location of food purveyors.
  • CW-10: Further a culture of support and belonging within Bellingham that aspires to be more understanding, respectful and accountable to those who experience marginalization.
  • CW-21: Integrate indigenous culture and history into the community dialogue, art installations and event programming, recognizing and respecting its importance in the region.
Show all 24 aspirational / monitoring policies
The four examples above are a representative sample. The remaining 20 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 →

SAY vs DO: Where the Money Goes

Departments related to Community Wellbeing in Bellingham — what the city actually funds, year over year.

Budget analysis for this chapter is in progress. Real Record has mapped 2 Bellingham departments to this chapter, but the FY2006 / FY2025 line-item totals are not yet loaded into our civic data warehouse. In the meantime, browse the city-wide budget comparison on the index page.