Please join us at our next Puget Neighborhood Association Meeting!

Tuesday, February 18, 7:00 p.m. (Pizza & Social - 6:30 p.m.)

Community Room at Moles Funeral Home, 2465 Lakeway Drive

• Roxanne Murphy, Bellingham City Council Member At-Large, will give a brief presentation on how she sees her new role as a Council member and what she hopes to accomplish. Roxanne will also allow time for Q&A's from the group.
• We will be voting for new and returning board members to represent the PNA in 2014. If you know someone who would like to serve on the board, please nominate them!
• Updates on University Ridge and Lincoln Street Development will be provided based on information available at that time.

Many thanks to our sponsors Copy Source, Ivie Construction Company, Moles Funeral Home and Papa Murphy's Pizza!

Public hearing regarding proposals in Puget Neighborhood

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014, 10:00 AM

City Council Chambers

City Hall, 210 Lottie Street

The City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner will hold a public hearing to take testimony on a couple of proposals (Public Works Variance Requests) in the Puget Neighborhood.

1.     This request relates to the Lincoln Street mixed development near Fred Meyer. The Applicant has requested to reduce the width of Maple Street to 11' (for each directional lane) with parking/curbs/gutters/sidewalk, and to reduce the width of the existing sidewalk on the east side of Lincoln Street from 8' to 5' 8" although City Planning Staff recommends this remain 8’ and further related plans are to be provided at the hearing. 

This item may be of interest to those desiring good city wide bicycle commuting, those with concerns about traffic and development along Lincoln, as well as those specifically interested in the Lincoln St./Maple St. area.  Additionally, Neighbors may wish to take the opportunity to comment about hearing processes, deadlines for public comments, and availability of plans and information.  Although written comments are required before or at the hearing, and verbal testimony should be possible at the hearing, apparently full plans and information won’t be available until the time of the hearing, making thoughtful consideration of the proposals by the public difficult.

2.     Here the Applicants wish to build a single-family home and improve the alley from Whatcom Street to access the lot. Although the lot abuts the private road part of Whatcom Street within the gated development between Puget Street and Nevada Street, apparently the Condo Association, owner of the road and the north and south adjacent properties, are not interested in allowing the Applicants to join the association at this time. The proposed alley improvement will run in an alley easement behind 4 existing homes where no visible alley or pathway exists. Currently, the easement contains established fences and an outbuilding. 
This item may be of interest to anyone concerned about city zoning and development issues, in-fill development strategies, development in an alley or alley easement bordering their property and those Neighbors in the Nevada Street/Whatcom Street area.

For more information, click here: http://www.cob.org/cob/HElog.nsf/$vAllByUnid/099A8B6E557C9FB288257C6F0075841F?OpenDocument

It's the first PNA newsletter of 2014! 

Click here to read it online: Puget Neighborhood News or download it from Document Center of the PNA Website: pugetneighborhood.org.

Final Public Hearing for Bellingham’s 2014 PRO Plan Update

Date: Monday January 13, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Council Chambers, City Hall, 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, Washington.

At Monday's City Council Meeting members of the public can comment on the 2014 update of the 2008 Park Recreation and Open Space Plan (PRO Plan)/Chapter 7 of the Bellingham Comprehensive Plan.

MNAC Meeting Notes

July 17, 2013
from Diana McKinney, Puget Neighborhood Representative on the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee (MNAC)

1. Waterfront /ASB public Walks
2. Downtown Planning
3. University Ridge Development 
4. Infill Toolkit
5. Neighborhood Announcements

Waterfront District proposals - Public Events this week

From City of Bellingham

Next week’s Waterfront Information Fair at City Hall and a City Council overview presentation kick off several weeks of opportunities for people to learn more about proposed plans to redevelop Bellingham’s downtown waterfront.

Fred Meyer parking lot resurface & pollution control

One of the ways in which we can improve our neighborhood is by serving as "eyes and ears" to alert city government officials of items of possible concern.

Fred Meyer plans to resurface the asphalt parking lot in July. This is being done in conjunction with their interior remodeling work.

"Milky" water reported in Padden Creek

From City of Bellingham

A citizen walking through Fairhaven Park reported seeing discolored water in Padden Creek at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, 2013. City stormwater and Fire crews responded and spent most of the night attempting to find the source and type of material.

Voluntary watering schedule encouraged

From City of Bellingham

From June 1 to September 15, the City of Bellingham and other Whatcom Water Alliance members request:

• Residents with odd-numbered street addresses to limit outdoor watering to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. 
• Residents with even-numbered street addresses water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 
• Mondays are non-watering days to allow reservoirs to recharge after the weekend. 

Happy 4th of July -- How to be patriotic in your neighborhood

Democracy inspires & requires us to roll up our sleeves.  While world-wide issues get all the media coverage, very often it is the local issues that make a difference in our daily lives.  We invite you to make a difference & join us in the community work of the Puget Neighborhood Association.

University Ridge public comments received & posted

Many comments (some with photos) have been sent in to the City regarding the proposal.  They are posted on the City website.  See below for more information about the process & how you can provide further input at the public hearing.

From the summer of 1787

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Bellingham Parks Volunteer Summer Work Parties!‏

From Bellingham Parks & Recreation

Summer is just around the corner and we are excited about our summer work parties! Michelle Baragona, our wonderful AmeriCorps member, will be leading the summer work parties and has selected two special parks to focus on for the summer.

Library survey for DIY'ers

From Bellingham Public Library newsletter

New Library DIY Collection Community Survey

As part of Bellingham Public Library's goal to inspirecommunity discovery and collaboration, we are  working to develop a unique do-it-yourself (DIY) collection at our Central Library, and would greatly appreciate your support.

University Ridge application "complete" -- Comment Period begins

Click here for the link to the city website for the University Ridge application, documents, plans and public comments.

Park, recreation and open space plan update - public workshop

From City of Bellingham Parks & Rec

The public is invited to help shape the update of the Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan (PRO Plan), a six-year plan that analyzes the supply and demand for park and recreation services and facilities within Bellingham city limits and the urban growth area.

The workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 20 at the Bloedel Donovan Park Multi-Purpose Room, 2214 Electric Ave. It is an opportunity to provide input on priorities for parks and recreation in the coming years.

PNA Meeting Added - Water Meters & University Ridge

Tuesday, June 18 - 7:00pm
Community Room at Moles Funeral Home
Pizza & Social - 6:30

Agenda
*Due to the timeliness of these topics, this meeting has been added to the schedule to provide Puget neighbors with more information.

1) Water Meter Installation - Public Works staff will present a brief overview of the water metering program and answer questions.  Meter installation will begin in the Puget neighborhood in mid-July. (Scroll down to next post for more info)

2) University Ridge Updates

Water Meters -- Coming to your residence in July

Water Meters are now being installed for single-family homes in Bellingham (unless you already had one installed during the pilot project several years ago).  Also, businesses & multi-family residences are already metered.

The PNA will hold an additional meeting in June to provide further information for you.  Also, the City will soon be sending you a letter and page of "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers" document in the mail.  Metering crews will be in the Puget neighborhood starting meter assembly box installations in mid-July.

I-5 Bridge Info & Links

From City of Bellingham

Detours are in place around the collapsed Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River to help handle the more than 70,000 vehicles who use that stretch of freeway each day.

University Ridge variance request

From the City of Bellingham website: 

"Ambling University Development Group has submitted a variance request from Bellingham Municipal Code 20.38.050 B.4 (a) to increase the 35-foot height requirement for structures located within 200 feet of the proposal's site plan boundary adjacent to residential single zoned land.