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Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
May 9, 2013, Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by Secretary Abell sitting in for President Carpenter.
Board members present: Kevin Probasco, Junga Subedar, Tom Roehl, Steve Abell, Garey Vodopich, Dick Conoboy, Christopher Morrison. Quorum present.
Board members absent: Joe Carpenter (excused), Don Hale, Suneeta Eisenberg (excused), Brian Benjamin (excused)
Guests: Nikki Long
Public Comments: none.
President’s Announcements: The date for our Fall picnic, September 8, has been reserved. The Parks & Recreation Dept. added a note to our reservation approving the use of the gravel driveway leading from the parking lot to the Playground Picnic Shelter only for unloading and loading rented equipment. Parking is allowed only in the parking lots.
Old business:
Board meeting minutes from April were approved.
Treasurer’s report: May 9 ending balance in checking account is $2,130.79. Total of all accounts is $2,135.79. After meeting room rent ($10) is paid and $42 in deposits clears, total available funds will be $2,167.79.
Ambling University Ridge development update: The developer submitted a revised proposal that includes three variance requests, two more than the first proposal. Dick scanned the documentation in the Planning Department offices. After the Department conferences with the developer and deems the proposal complete, the documents will be available on the city website, cob.org, and the public approval process will begin. The developer requested, and was granted, consolidated process, which means that after SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) compliance is reviewed, the Hearing Examiner will have the full proposal package to inform her decision on the variances. The date for the Hearing Examiner public meeting is not set, but is likely to be in mid-June or later, possibly as early as June 12. The city will give public notice of the date. As a reminder, because multi-family zoning is already in place for the development site, the decision to proceed with or without proposal modifications is entirely up to the Planning Director and Hearing Examiner. City Council approval is not required.
Dick stated his intention to oppose the Ambling student housing development as proposed and suggested we re-examine the proposal from a Samish Neighborhood point of view. An informal poll taken by Steve of some Samish residents whose property on South 41st, 42nd, 43rd, and 44th streets is close to the development site indicates considerable opposition based on traffic, parking, and drainage concerns. We note that the Puget Neighborhood Board has decided not to take a specific position on the development, but is encouraging Puget residents who will be affected to voice their concerns to the city.
Tom suggested three ideas we should incorporate into our thinking. First, respect the property rights of the landowners and their developers to do what current zoning allows. Tom sees this as a major difference from the situation that existed last year in Padden Trails where the owners had to request a rezone to allow them to execute their plans for development. Second, communicate our concerns regarding drainage, parking, and traffic cut-through problems for Samish residents and link these to broader future issues all along Samish Hill as development occurs near the top of the hill. Third, push for mitigation of these problems as a requirement of approval. Approval of University Ridge without mitigation is likely to set a bad precedent for future development in Samish. The concerns of property owners downhill from development must be respected at least as much as the plans of builders and developers. It’s clear from experience that development uphill can lead to problems downhill, particularly drainage and run-off problems. Several board members expressed their feeling that trying to stop all multi-family development on the site is inappropriate given the fact that current zoning permits it. A more appropriate goal may be to re-shape whatever development is ultimately approved in a way that mitigates problems for Samish neighbors.
A motion was made, seconded, and passed for the team of Junga, Dick, and Tom to draft a letter to the city that includes issues we identify as important to Samish. They will distribute the draft via email to board members, and unless we need to submit the letter sooner, we will discuss it at the June 13 board meeting.
MNAC update from Dick: the April meeting featured a talk from a local attorney, Karen Funston. about forming and maintaining a non-profit organization. Dick expects to receive a copy of a handout from this meeting that he will email to board members.
Joe needs to write a letter to Mayor Linville requesting that she appoint Kevin Probasco as the Samish alternate to MNAC meetings.
New business:
Garey updated the board on proposed revisions to our by-laws to include a provision to discharge a board member for cause. Current by-laws provide termination only for excessive unexcused absences. Garey drew from by-laws of other neighborhoods to model what we need in Samish by-laws. We had a brief discussion of board members’ responsibilities. They include abiding by board majority decisions, maintaining integrity of board deliberations, and speaking as an individual, not a board member, if a board member holds a dissenting opinion and speaks publicly. Failure to fulfill any of these responsibilities can be cause for removal from the board. Removal requires a majority vote from board members. Garey will send by-law revisions to Steve, who will forward them to board members for review. Ultimately, a change to by-laws requires a vote of the full membership. We hope to take this vote at the September picnic.
Brian Benjamin was nominated for the office of Treasurer. The nomination was seconded and Brian was elected by unanimous vote (7-0).
By unanimous vote the following signature authority changes are made to the North Coast Credit Union Account #xxxxxxxx:
Added to signature authority for the account is Brian Benjamin.
Removed from signature authority with the thanks of the board for faithful service is Donald T. Wynn.
Steven Abell continues as a signature authority for the same account.
Tim Wynn’s resignation from the board before the expiration of his term left a vacancy in board membership. Association by-laws allow the board to elect a new member to finish out the unexpired term. Edward Alexander was nominated, seconded, and elected by unanimous vote to finish out the remaining 1-year term. Edward’s term will therefore expire in March 2014.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell
Secretary
Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
Thursday, April 10, 2013 Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order at 7:02 PM by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Joe Carpenter, Tom Roehl, Steve Abell, Garey Vodopich, Dick Conoboy, Don Hale, Christopher Morrison, Tim Wynn, Brian Benjamin, Junga Subedar, Kevin Probasco
Board members absent: Suneeta Eisenberg (on leave)
Guests: Al & Carol Quimby, Ellen Easterbrook, Mozelle Green, David Bruner, Edward Alexander, Alexis Miller, Kathleen Brooks, Officer Jeremy Harper (Bham Police)
This is the first Board meeting for three new Board members, Brian, Junga, and Kevin. At Joe’s suggestion all board members and guests introduced themselves.
Public Comments: Al Quimby thanked the Board and city for the new gravel road improvement along 40th St between Broad and Wilkin.
Officer Harper outlined the mission and current activities of the Neighborhood Anti-crime Team. The Police Department is transitioning to a stronger community orientation. (We heard about this change from Chief Cook at last month’s general meeting.) This team was started to keep citizen’s complaints from losing priority to more urgent situations and not being addressed at all. A call to 911 is still available for true emergencies, but the Anti-crime Team will focus on non-emergency neighborhood issues such as gang activity, prostitution, drugs, noise, burglary, and traffic problems. Sergeant Don Almer, commander of the unit, is the main point of contact for citizens. His contact information is:
Don Almer, Sergeant, Bellingham Police Department
(360) 778-8641 office (360) 815-1735 cell
dalmer@cob.org
Officer Harper can also be contacted directly if Sergeant Almer is not available. His contact information is:
Jeremy Harper, Patrol Officer, Bellingham Police Department
(360) 778-8677 direct (360) 410-0069 cell
jharper@cob.org
The main phone number for non-emergency calls to the Police Department is (360) 778-8800 M-F 9-4.
President’s Announcements: The March General Meeting went well. The speakers were well received, attendance was good, and several attendees gave positive feedback. Our thanks go to the Elk’s Club for being good neighbors and generously allowing us to use their lodge at no charge.
Old business:
Amblin University Ridge student housing project update: not a lot to report. Joe briefly reviewed the overall plans for the development. The developer will apply on about April 29 for a variance for building height to accommodate a revised building arrangement. Because the proper zoning is already in place, the city Planning Department can directly approve final plans. There may or may not be a formal opportunity for public comment, although concerned residents can always submit a letter to the city for consideration. The Puget Neighborhood Board seems uninterested in officially weighing in on this, although they are offering to assist any Puget neighbors who wish to submit comments to the city. Our concerns for Samish residents who live close by the site are traffic, noise, and parking. The developer must submit a Traffic Impact Analysis as part of the approval process, and the city will do a Transportation Concurrency Assessment. Both of these documents will speak to whether or not this area can handle the increased load of cars, bikes, bus demand, and pedestrian access.
Meeting minutes from February and March were approved.
Treasurer’s report: the Spring Newsletter costs for printing and mailing were $839.03. $681 in dues was deposited with another $168 received but not deposited yet. As of April 11, available funds totaled $2,006.79. This alleviates concern that we might not have enough money to continue two newsletters per year.
MNAC update: A new ordinance proposed by Mayor Linville to end direct MNAC input into the city planning process was passed unanimously by the City Council. In Dick’s opinion, echoed by several board members, this is not helpful, although after MNAC approved the change the Council vote was a foregone conclusion. The letter we submitted opposing the change did not have any visible effect on the Council.
Garey gave an update on the gravel road improvement along 40th St. It’s completed, thanks to Garey’s persuasive efforts with Ted Carlson, Director of Public Works. Tom suggested we might follow up by approaching the city to do something similar along the level sections of the Steps. He believes the steeply sloped sections would be prohibitively expensive. We’ll approach the people who live along the Steps to see if there is interest in doing this.
New business:
We set Sunday, September 8, as the date for the annual neighborhood picnic/potluck at Lake Padden Park. Steve will reserve the date at the Parks & Recreation Dept.
Election of new officers: Joe and Steve were re-elected to their respective offices of president and secretary. No candidate for Treasurer or Vice President was nominated, so these offices remain open. Tim is leaving the board, but Brian offered to work with him as a possible candidate for treasurer. Tom respectfully declined to run for re-election as V.P. Kevin will be our alternate MNAC representative.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell, Secretary
Samish Neighborhood General Meeting
Bellingham Elk’s Club
March 14, 2013
Attendance: 61 residents plus 3 guests.
The Samish Neighborhood Spring General Meeting was called to order by President Carpenter at 7:07 PM. He welcomed everyone by noting that March 14 was Pi (as in π, 3.1415926535…) Day, to be celebrated by the young members of our families with pie for dessert. Unfortunately only cookies were available at our meeting, but the cookies were excellent and the significance of the day did not go unobserved.
Joe asked all current board members present to stand and be recognized, and then asked former board members to stand for recognition. He thanked Greg McCracken for his efforts to edit and format the Spring Newsletter, and invited anyone who did not receive a copy to pick one up on the way out. Joe also commented briefly on the Ambling University Development Group’s plans for new student housing on Consolidation Avenue, which lies along the northern border of Samish Neighborhood. Although the housing site is in Puget Neighborhood, it is expected to impact Samish neighbors living close by. He also commented on the planned new gravel path along the east shoulder of 40th Street from Broad to Wilkin that the city will undertake later this year. Several neighbors who walk along this route welcomed the addition of an off-road path that will make walking safer on this stretch at the top of the “Samish Steps”. A number of neighbors pointed out that the entire length of the Steps has the same safety issue, but there is no current plan, beyond this new gravel path, to improve the situation. Joe reminded the audience about the Fall picnic in September and encouraged all to attend.
Our first guest speaker was Mr. John Moon, the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County. He described some of the current Habitat activities, including home construction and a new program of home repair and maintenance available to families who qualify.
Mr. Cliff Cook, our new police chief, was the second guest speaker. The Chief gave us some background on his law enforcement career, and shared with us his enthusiasm about leading what he sees as a fine police force. He answered a number of questions from the audience about some current law enforcement issues in Bellingham. One of his areas of emphasis will be outreach to the community and he mentioned a new team led by Don Almer to address neighborhood crime concerns. He is interested in getting input from residents, and would much prefer to hear from us what the community’s needs are rather than try to tell the community what he thinks our needs are.
Our third guest speaker was Mayor Kelli Linville. She spoke at length about her vision of current conditions and the future of Bellingham and answered many questions from us about zoning, the city planning process, city finances, value of maintaining Bellingham neighborhood character during city growth, use of the Infill Toolkit, plans for new waterfront development, and the upcoming revision of the city’s Comprehensive Plan due in 2016. As part of the new Comp Plan she would like to see better definition of what type of housing is appropriate for which neighborhoods, thus avoiding the piecemeal approach like what happened with Padden Trails. By spelling out more clearly what the city would accept in each neighborhood area, developers would have a better idea of what they can ask for and neighborhoods would have a better idea of what they can expect from growth and new construction. Members of the audience pointed out that home buyers who choose to buy in a single family residence neighborhood need to have some assurance that it will stay that way and not be subject to spot zoning changes.
Three new board members, including Brian Benjamin, Junga Subedar, and Kevin Probasco, were nominated, seconded, and elected to office by vote of attending residents. Four current board members whose terms are expiring, Dick Conoboy, Garey Vodopich, Joe Carpenter, and Tom Roehl, were nominated, seconded, and re-elected for another term. The Association now has 11 board members. Tim Wynn is leaving the board and we thank him for many years of service as officer and board member. David Gilbertson is leaving the board and we thank him for his service.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell, Secretary
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Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
February 12, 2013 Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Joe Carpenter, Tom Roehl, Steve Abell, Garey Vodopich, Dick Conoboy, Don Hale, Tim Wynn
Board members absent: David Gilbertson, Christopher Morrison, Suneeta Eisenberg (all excused)
Guests: David Bruner (church), Louise Bjornson
Public Comments: none
President’s Announcements: Joe introduced Louise Bjornson, former member of the Bellingham Planning Commission and City Council (22 years). She presented verbal and written information on the value of the Bellingham neighborhood system and her concerns about possible adverse impacts to it by misuse of the Infill Toolkit. She believes that maintaining the integrity of the neighborhood system is critical to the health of the city. Citing her experience on the Council while the Infill Toolkit was being developed, she expressed her strong feeling that the current city Planning Department is misinterpreting what was the original intent of the Infill Toolkit. Original intent specifically included protection and preservation of existing single-family housing and neighborhood character. This protection was even mandated in Washington State’s Growth Management Act. During the Council’s review process, members and residents were assured that Toolkit homes would be approved only in multifamily zones, urban villages, and new developments. Infill housing types would be prohibited in areas zoned single-family residential. People who buy homes and move into these neighborhoods need long-term predictability. Use of rezoning procedures to allow multifamily housing in established single family areas – and therefore opening the Toolkit to use by developers – has the potential to “put small houses in peoples’ back yards” and detract from single-family character, especially for those residents that end up adjacent to high density Toolkit homes. The apparent determination of the Planning Department to find some way to utilize the Infill Toolkit may spill over into rezoning areas in which it was not originally intended to be used. In Louise’s opinion it is up to the neighborhoods to fight this battle, and she wants to help. Her summary of her thoughts and experiences is in Attachment 1.
Old business:
Meeting minutes from January 2013 were approved.
Treasurer’s report: $2,006.82 available funds as of Feb 12, 2013
Ambling University Development proposal update: Dick met with Ron Jepson of Jepson Associates, the local engineering firm working with Ambling. He learned that the site design has been re-configured as a result of input from the public meeting at Cozier School in December. This new configuration of the proposed buildings will require a height variance, and as a result a public meeting with the Hearing Examiner will occur. The date of application for this overall project is February 27. Dick also expressed to Mr. Jepson his strong belief that the parking and traffic problems will far exceed Jepson’s and Ambling’s expectations, given the nature of local streets and planned undercapacity (estimated 432 spaces for 576 residents) of on-site parking. The board felt that there would be enough Samish residents along our northern border affected by these problems that we need to make our concerns known independently of Puget Neighborhood. Dick will attend a Puget meeting next week to coordinate efforts.
Our Spring General Meeting is March 14, 7:00 PM at the Elk’s Club. We have invited Mayor Linville and our new police chief to speak, and invited Habitat for Humanity and Ambling to have tabletop displays and answer questions. Joe will confirm the speakers. Joe suggested we do another phone bank effort a week in advance of the meeting to invite neighbors and try to pick up a few more active members. We also need to recruit some new board members since we have five expiring terms and one resignation to deal with, although at least three board members intend to run again.
Garey updated the board on the status of the Wilkin/40th St streetside path project. Although we offered to do this ourselves, city Public Works (Ted Carlson, Director) insisted that it should be the one to take this project on. That’s fine with us. Work is tentatively set for Spring.
Putting a revised set of neighborhood by-laws up for a full Association vote of approval will have to wait until the Fall picnic. Meeting the 30-day advance notice cannot occur in time for the upcoming March 14 meeting.
We will get a newsletter out to the neighborhood about a week prior to the March meeting. We will ask Greg McCracken to do his usual first class editing job. Writing assignments were made by Joe: Dick will write up the Ambling issues; Steve will write up the address list update project; Tim will write an article about membership and board participation; Garey will write up the Wilkin/40th street path; Joe will write up an article about small neighborhood sub-area support groups. Some of these already exist informally and are judged useful by the participants.
Dick updated us on the MNAC code change. The Council passed the change ordinance unanimously. Several board members believe this effectively neuters MNAC as a meaningful voice in neighborhood and city affairs, but time will tell.
Officer elections: we will definitely need a new Treasurer because Tim is resigning and leaving the board. Tim submitted a summary of the duties and responsibilities of Treasurer.
We have approval from Community Baptist Church to change our monthly meeting night from second Tuesday to second Thursday. This will be effective April 11.
New business:
Steve has updated the Samish phone, street address, and email database. Some of the records went back to 2005, and many undeliverable email addresses were removed and/or updated. We currently have 136 paid members and roughly 326 valid email addresses. Continuing validation of additional records may add another 150 or so.
Garey suggested creating a simple “welcome to Samish” letter that would be given by a board member to new residents. The letter would introduce the board member, provide some basic information about Samish, and invite the new arrival to join the Association. The idea was heartily approved by the board. Garey will put his thoughts together regarding specific content.
Suneeta told us via email that she will be unable to attend meetings for several months. We wish her well in her philanthropic work and will keep her informed via email during her absence.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell, Secretary
Attachment 1 from Louise Bjornson
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Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
January 8, 2013, Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Joe Carpenter, Tom Roehl, Steve Abell, Garey Vodopich, Dick Conoboy, Tim Wynn
Board members absent: Don Hale, David Gilbertson, Christopher Morrison, Suneeta Eisenberg (all excused)
Guests: David Bruner (church)
Public Comments: None
President’s Announcements: None
Old business:
Meeting minutes from December 2012 were approved.
Treasurer’s December and annual 2012 reports were approved: (see copy of calendar year 2012 report ATTACHMENT 1). We noted the impressive uptick in dues collection and membership. We’ve received notice that the $500 neighborhood grant from the city will be available again in 2013. The Treasurer will submit our application.
Ambling University Development Group student housing project in Puget Neighborhood:
Board members Carpenter, Vodopich, Hale, Eisenberg, and Abell attended the public meeting at Cozier Elementary School on January 3. The overall audience tone at this meeting was negative, sometimes strongly so. Items of concern to current Puget and Samish residents included traffic, parking, drainage & runoff, trails & pedestrian traffic, and noise. There was also concern regarding a possible future sale of the property: would a change in ownership or management lead to a worsening of conditions? It would appear that Ambling sold a few of its properties (maybe about 20 out of 50 already built and occupied) in other parts of the country so this question is relevant.
There was also some confusion as to whether WWU had encouraged Ambling to build in Bellingham. The president of Ambling said at this meeting that he had been contacted by “an individual” at WWU, although he would not reveal the name. Joe received a note from Steve Swan, WWU-VP for University Relations, saying that Swan was unaware of who might have made the contact. Mr. Swan was a bit upset that Ambling was using WWU as a reference, and offered to talk with us at our next board meeting. Joe will invite Mr. Swan to the February meeting. There are no other Ambling properties in the Northwest. Most are in the East, and the closest are in California and South Dakota.
Kathy Bell, from the Bellingham Planning Department, detailed the process by which an application from Ambling can be approved. The only project approval required is from the Planning Director since the proper zoning is already in place. There is no legal requirement to formally accept public comment or get approval from either the Planning Commission or the City Council.
The board decided that even though this development is not within Samish, we have concern for Samish residents who live close enough to the development location to be impacted by it. On that basis, the board decided to support Puget and take our cue from the Puget Board as to what contribution they might need or want us to make. A joint meeting might be appropriate if they desire it. Joe will also invite Ambling to attend our general meeting in March.
MNAC update: Joe will sign and deliver the letter (ATTACHMENT 2) stating our concerns with the revision to Bellingham Municipal Code that cuts off the direct unfiltered input MNAC currently has to the Planning Commission and City Council. It’s not clear what impact, if any, our letter will have – this may be a “done deal” – but we’ll send it anyway.
New business:
Modification of by-laws: Joe will draft two additions, one to add a procedure for removal of officers (using text from other neighborhood’s by-laws), the second to include more monitoring and control over the treasurer’s activities and responsibilities. (This is not a reflection on Tim’s stewardship of the office – in fact he encouraged these changes.) These revisions must be communicated to the membership 30 days prior to the March general meeting so they can be voted on at the meeting.
The March general meeting is set for Thursday, March 14, 7:00 PM, at the Elks Club on Samish Way. Joe will invite Mayor Linville and the new Bellingham Police Chief to speak. Habitat for Humanity of Whatcom County and Ambling Development will be invited to offer table displays. We received a letter from the city Parks Department concerning a new program they are offering to enhance the parks experience for city residents. We will invite them to speak also. We’ll also elect new officers. Tim advised that he would not run for another term as Treasurer. Abell will run to extend his term as Secretary. Joe and Tom are undecided. We may need to do another telephone campaign prior to this meeting to recruit new members and new board members.
A change to our monthly meeting date from second Tuesday to second Thursday was discussed as maybe more compatible with everyone’s personal schedules. We’ll need approval from the church before we can make this change, and no decision was made. David Bruner (our church contact, present at this meeting) will need to confirm this for us.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell
Secretary
2 attachments
ATTACHMENT 1
Annual Treasurer’s Report for 2012
| Savings |
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| Beginning Balance |
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$5.00
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| Ending Balance |
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$5.00
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| Checking |
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| Beginning Balance 2012 |
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$1,422.17
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| Revenue – SNA dues (incl $50 cash from annual mtg) |
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$2,233.00
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| Revenue – City grant |
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$500.00
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| Revenue – misc donations |
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$11.72
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| Revenue – Transfer from Petty Cash |
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$100.00
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| Expenses – Newsletters (spring, fall) |
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-$1,694.07
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| Expense – Picnic |
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-$348.60
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| Expense – office (mailbox) |
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|
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-$76.00
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| Expense – Mtg Room (some expenses deferred to 2013) |
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-$50.00
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| Expense – Licenses/registration |
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-$93.40
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| Expenses – Cash for Annual Mtg |
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-$50.00
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| Ending Balance |
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$1,954.82
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| Petty Cash |
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| Beginning Balance – MC cash card |
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$100.00
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| expense – transferred to checking account |
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-$100.00
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| Total all Funds |
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$1,959.82
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| Commitments |
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| Room Rental for Aug, Oct(?), Nov, Dec 2012 |
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-$80.00
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| Pending Revenue |
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| SNA Dues deposited not reflected on statement |
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$97.00
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| Available Funds as of January 2013 |
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$1,976.82
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| 131 paid members as of 09Oct2012 |
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===========================================================
ATTACHMENT 2
January 8, 2013
Bellingham City Council
210 Lottie Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Dear Members of the City Council,
During the November meeting of MNAC, a vote was taken regarding proposed modification of MNAC BMC 2.33.040 – FUNCTIONS – MEETINGS AND MINUTES. We understand that this change, proposed by Mayor Linville, was approved at this meeting by a vote of 11-3 with 1 abstention. The Samish Neighborhood representative to MNAC, Mr. Dick Conoboy, voted to disapprove the proposal consistent with the opinion of our Board of Directors. After considerable discussion in our December board meeting, I wish to elaborate on our concern about this change in the scope of MNAC.
We are concerned that the change in the code may silence an important voice that the Planning Commission, and therefore the City Council, should hear. Current code grants MNAC the opportunity to formulate or review changes to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and to neighborhood plans, and to present recommendations to both the Mayor and the Planning Commission. The proposed revisions to the code would require MNAC to elect to perform this formulation/review process and then present their comments only to the Mayor for his/her consideration. This dissolves the unfiltered communication link between MNAC and the Planning Commission and City Council. It gives the Mayor, at his/her discretion, the power to decide what, if any, comments or recommendations from MNAC will be forwarded to the Planning Commission and City Council. We see this as a potential loss of significant neighborhood input into the planning process and loss of information that the city agencies need in order to give full consideration to changes in city and neighborhood plans.
It is not difficult to envision a situation in which MNAC opinion differs markedly from either the Mayor’s opinion or the Planning Commission’s position. This has, in fact, happened. The York Neighborhood cited recent (2005 and 2009) examples of conflicting recommendations in its letter to the Mayor dated November 13, 2012. From its letter:
“In both cases the Planning Commission rejected York’s proposals despite MNAC’s approval. But, City Council unanimously voted to approve our recommended change . . . we also think that without the MNAC review and recommendation, that the Council might have thought otherwise.”
A more recent example involving Samish Neighborhood occurred during the deliberations on the Padden Trails amendment and rezone requests. Both the Planning Department and Planning Commission approved these requests in spite of MNAC’s vote to reject. The Council finally rejected the Padden Trails proposal. We feel that MNAC’s input was an important part of reinforcing the overall public input into this process. Under the proposed revision of MNAC code, none of these amendment or rezone deliberations would have received official MNAC input had the Mayor chosen not to forward it.
We ask that as you consider an ordinance to alter MNAC’s scope that you preserve the ability of MNAC to provide direct, unfiltered (by the Mayor or anyone else) input into the city and neighborhood planning processes. This input can be an important neighborhood voice that deserves a right to be heard. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Joseph Carpenter, President
Samish Neighborhood Association
copies to: Mayor Linville, MNAC
[NOTE: (Jan 16) At the City Council meeting Jan 14 the ordinance to modify this MNAC code passed unanimously. See the minutes from Nov 2012 for a copy of the changed code.]
Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, December 11, 2012, Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Joe Carpenter, Steve Abell, Garey Vodopich, Tom Roehl, Dick Conoboy, Don Hale, David Gilbertson, Christopher Morrison
Board members absent: Tim Wynn (excused), Suneeta Eisenberg
Guests: David Bruner (Community Baptist Church)
Public Comments: None
President’s Announcements: None
Old business:
Meeting minutes from November were approved.
Treasurer is out of town, so no Treasurer’s Report was available.
Dick Conoboy updated the board on the MNAC meeting November 14. The meeting was not well attended. Absent were most of the representatives from neighborhoods that have had major issues with the city and felt that they were helped by MNAC input into the city process. The revised code proposed by the mayor for the scope of MNAC, which effectively eliminates direct, unfiltered access of MNAC to the City Council, was approved 11-3 with one abstention. To become effective, the proposed code changes would require passage of an ordinance by the Council. It was not clear what formal neighborhood or public input could be made when the ordinance comes up for a vote, but at least the Council’s public comment agenda item would be available.
Dick had previously emailed to the SNA Board a copy of a letter from the York Neighborhood to the Council clearly stating its opposition to the code change. After a discussion in our meeting, a motion was made by Morrison to draft a letter to the City Council stating Samish’s objections to the code change based on our belief that Bellingham neighborhoods need direct access to the Council regarding review of proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments. The motion was seconded and passed 8-0. Abell will draft a letter to be signed by Carpenter as President of SNA.
During the discussion Tom Roehl envisioned that MNAC might take on a more meaningful role than simply reacting to events. It could unite neighborhoods and share ideas in a way that would allow it to be more proactive. If MNAC representatives would be willing to take on the responsibility (might be a big “if”), MNAC could provide leadership to the city and its agencies. This would make it even more important to preserve the direct, unfiltered access of MNAC to the City Council.
Vodopich described an idea for creating a gravel pathway along 40th St between Broad and Wilkin Sts, a project suggested by Dianne Pfundt at our October meeting. The objective would be to improve safety for pedestrians. His thought is that the city might supply the materials and the neighborhood could supply the labor. It would involve leveling with fill and then applying a layer of gravel to a 500-ft strip of uneven shoulder. Board members were supportive of the idea but not sure what the city’s response to this idea might be. Another thought is that the neighborhood might undertake this project on our own. No firm decision was made and no activity is envisioned until summer.
Our by-laws still need to be updated. SNA membership will vote on proposed changes at the General Meeting in March, so we need to get any drafts of changed articles to the full membership at least thirty days before the meeting. That means we need to finalize proposed changes by early February. Abell will contact the Elks Club and try to reserve 13Mar2013 for this meeting. [Update on 12Dec: club not available on Wednesday 13Mar, but Thursday 14Mar will be reserved for us.]
New business:
Carpenter and Conoboy attended a meeting at Jepson & Associates in which the plans proposed by Ambling University Development Group for a new student housing complex were outlined. The steeply sloped 11-acre parcel of land involved, between Puget and Nevada Streets, is currently zoned for multifamily. It is in Puget Neighborhood, not in Samish, but it borders on Samish and some Samish residents may feel its effect. The plans include 164 units (40 2-br/2-ba 856 ft2, 124 4-br/4-ba 1371 ft2) with a total capacity of 576 residents (restricted to upperclassmen students only, no freshmen), approx. 432 parking places, and a clubhouse at the main entrance on Consolidation Avenue. Emergency access would be available from Nevada St. Completion is targeted for Fall 2014. Further details will be presented by AUDG at an official meeting for Puget and Samish neighborhoods at Carl Cozier Elementary School, 1330 Lincoln St., on 3Jan2013 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Carpenter pointed out that AUDG has a substantial track record in doing projects like this and a good reputation.
Abell reviewed a new program from Habitat for Humanity of Whatcom County to repair and rehab existing houses. He will ask HfH to have a table display at the March meeting and make a brief presentation of program details. Some Samish residents may qualify.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell, Secretary
Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, November 13, 2012, Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Carpenter, Abell, Vodopich, Eisenberg, Conoboy, Hale, Gilbertson
Board members absent: Wynn (excused), Morrison (excused), Roehl
Guests: Neil & Dianne Pfundt, Millard Shires, Robin Dexter, Kimber Langton, Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville, Torhil Ramsay (Assistant to the Mayor)
Public Comments:
Dianne Pfundt (2814 40th St) commented on the need for walking paths, even if they are simply gravel, in the vicinity of 40th & Wilkin. Walking on the street is hazardous in this area.
Kimber Langton (716 Cedar Creek Lane) commented about access for walkers near Lake Padden Park. The crosswalk is helpful, but more walker access is needed along Samish Way, especially for children going to Padden Park.
Robin Dexter commented on the need for better access to Padden Park, and mentioned that drainage culverts along the trails in and entering Padden Park need to be cleaned periodically to prevent washouts. She mentioned that the city is usually responsive to this need.
Millard Shires (2100 Samish Way) commented on the adverse impact of a large radio tower recently built near his home on views and surrounding property values. He asked if this tower would have required a city permit and, if so, why was there no public input. [Torhil Ramsay said that this issue has already been brought to the city’s attention.]
We were pleased to have Mayor Linville attend our meeting. She offered a number of comments on life as our Mayor and on city issues in general.
Our Mayor is completing a cycle of attending meetings of all Bellingham neighborhood associations and has found this to be highly informative. She expressed her preference for hearing directly from city residents. She is enthusiastic and active in waterfront development planning, and expects a proposal to be sent to the Planning Commission in early 2013. She reported that the city budget has been out of balance for the last five years and is working with department heads to get it under control. There was no feasible way to balance it in one year. The shortfall is expected to be just over $1 million for 2012, but she believes there is a good chance to get the shortfall under $400,000 by 2013 and fully balanced in 2014.
The mayor has breathed new life into the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission (MNAC). She is chairing the monthly meetings now and wondered why this hasn’t been done all along. Several board members pointed out that in their opinion previous mayors seemed to have only a casual interest in what MNAC was doing. She felt that MNAC’s main thrust and value should be to enhance neighborhoods, and to that end she is proposing a change to MNAC BMC 2.33.040 – FUNCTIONS – MEETINGS AND MINUTES. She pointed out what she viewed in the current code as duplication of effort between MNAC and the Planning Commission. She does not feel a need for MNAC to review Comprehensive Plan amendments and provide its recommendations to either the Planning Commission or the City Council. The change in the new code would allow MNAC to elect to review Comp Plan amendments but report their recommendations to the mayor only. Board members expressed serious concern that valuable neighborhood input, which may be quite different from that of city agencies, may be lost if the direct interface between Council and MNAC is no longer available. The next MNAC meeting is November 14, at which time the change will be discussed.
We had a long discussion of the Padden Trails Comp Plan Amendment and rezone proposal issues that surfaced earlier this year. The Mayor expressed her disappointment with the review process, as she felt it was chaotic, inefficient, and involved too much public negotiation of aspects like what type and how many housing units were appropriate for the Padden site. She would have preferred to have the city Planning Department develop a clearer picture of what is appropriate for any specific parcel of land, and she would like the Infill Toolkit to be applied only where it fits. She is generally in favor of infill, but also wants to preserve neighborhood character. There should be a balance between the city Comp Plan and individual neighborhood plans in which neither trumps the other. She also sees great value to future planning if the city creates a better framework from which neighborhoods, city agencies, and developers/builders can work.
We discussed the idea that both new and existing city infrastructure needs to be taken into account. Spending city dollars on creating new infrastructure at the expense of letting our existing infrastructure deteriorate is not acceptable to the Mayor. Finding this balance is difficult given the relatively low budget for any infrastructure projects.
Old business:
No President’s announcements
Meeting minutes from October were approved.
Treasurer is out of town, so no Treasurer’s Report was available.
New business:
Dick Conoboy will attend the MNAC meeting November 14. He will bring up the issues we identified in our discussions with the Mayor.
Our by-laws still need to be updated. Joe suggested setting a schedule for preparing draft changes by working backwards in time from the Spring general meeting coming up next March. The Association will vote on proposed changes at that meeting, so we need to get any drafts of changed articles to the full membership at least thirty days before the meeting. That means we need to finalize proposed changes by the end of January. A separate working group may be needed to get this done.
The Board thanked Mayor Linville for spending time with us and wished her well in her future endeavors as Mayor.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell
Secretary
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, October 9, Tim Wynn’s house
Community Baptist Church doors were locked, so thanks to Tim Wynn for offering his house for the meeting.
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter.
Board members present: Carpenter, Abell, Vodopich, Wynn, Hale, Roehl, Gilbertson
Board members absent: Eisenberg, Conoboy, Morrison (all excused)
Public Comment Period: no comments
We received a presentation on disaster preparedness from Nicole Small and Kyle Monroe of the Mt. Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross. Three key issues in case of a disaster are (1) have an emergency kit suitable for all members of the family; (2) develop and communicate an emergency plan for entire family; (3) stay informed on what’s happening by emergency radio, TV, or whatever is available. The Red Cross representatives distributed some useful documentation on how to prepare for emergencies.
Meeting minutes from August were approved.
Treasurer Tim’s report: Savings account balance $5.00. Checking account balance $2,148.06. Deposited $1,094 in dues, plus another $54 to be deposited. We have a bill for picnic equipment, $262.24, plus church room rental for August meeting, $10, to be paid. Total available funds as of this date $1,944.82. Report approved by the board. We now have 131 paid members. Tim will be unavailable from Oct 20 thru Dec 10. Steve Abell will be able to sign checks if needed.
We had about 85 people at the September picnic, and the event was judged a success by consensus of the Board. The survey feedback regarding future communications to neighborhood membership was mixed among internet, newsletter, and postcard.
New business: Bellingham mayor Kelli Linville is expected to attend our November meeting. A proposal for a new park district to generate tax revenue to cover the city’s purchase of Chuckanut Ridge will be voted on by several southern neighborhoods west of I-5. This does not include Samish. Garey Vodopich discussed a possible issue with a real estate ad for an empty lot up for sale on 34th Street. He spoke with a member of the realtor’s office staff to tell her that zoning should be reviewed before suggestions are made on what might be built on the lot.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell
Secretary
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
The annual Samish Neighborhood Fall Picnic and membership drive was held at Lake Padden Park on September 9 from noon to 3:00. About 85 people attended. The Board thanks Ginny and Kin Davidson for their help in setting up, and especially in cooking the burgers, dogs, and chicken. Thanks also to everyone who brought a potluck dish.The weather could have been better – we almost blew away – but a good time was had by all. Michael Lilliquist, the city councilman from our ward, attended and we thank him for coming.
Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Samish Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, August 21, 2012, Community Baptist Church
Meeting called to order by President Carpenter
Board members present: Carpenter, Abell, Vodopich, Wynn, Hale, Roehl
Board members absent: Gilbertson, Eisenberg, Conoboy, Morrison
Public Comment Period: no comments
Meeting minutes from March and July approved
Treasurer Tim’s report: Savings account balance $5.00. Checking account balance $1,381.12. $100 Key Bank award deposited; annual mail box ($76) and web site ($83.40) fees paid. Dues received $15. City of Bellingham annual $500 grant received but not yet deposited. Sec of State annual renewal ($10) to be paid. Total available funds as of this date $1,976.12. Report approved by the board.
Newsletter: The Board thanks Greg McCracken for his work in preparing the newsletter. It is ready to send out to about 1350 neighborhood recipients.
Picnic plans: picnic on for 9 Sep., noon-3:00. Joe and Garey will pick up tables, chairs, and grill on Saturday 8Sep. Kin and Ginny Davidson will cook chicken, hot dogs, and burgers. Joe will invite city and other local officials, candidates, etc. Tim will man the check-in table to collect membership dues.
Martin Carter is removed from the Board due to excessive absences. He is still eligible for neighborhood association membership assuming he meets the usual criteria. We now have ten active Board members. Our by-laws require a minimum roster of nine members for the Board.
New business: Finalized plans for a membership drive phone call party at Joe’s house 7:00 PM 28Aug. All available Board members encouraged to participate. Tim will update list of current and recent members to work from. We will divide up the list and make calls. Objective is to extend personal invitation to come to the picnic and encourage attendance. Joe noted that if we can pick up about 25-30 new members (and their dues) we solve the newsletter cost problem for next year. Getting more neighbors involved in neighborhood issues is also an objective – we need to capture their interest as well as their dues.
Meeting adjourned.
Steve Abell, Secretary
Posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment