The Zoom meeting was attended by Sandie Koplowitz, Terry Montoyne, Curt Thor, Bob McCarthy, Larry Horowitz, Bill Wright and Paul Scott.
Curt mentioned he had other names of individuals who wanted to attend the meeting, but we forgot to invite them. Sandie suggested we start a Google sheet to add names of people who would like to attend meetings in the future.
Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved without the need for corrections. Sandie will post the minutes on Edgemoor Connections.
Treasurer’s Report: Sandie reported for Diane MacLean. There is $1590 in our checking account. Diane MacLean is outgoing Treasurer. She has filed the annual reports with the State and IRS as well as the reports required by the City of Bellingham for reimbursement of expenses. Bob McCarthy has agreed to take over the position of ENA Treasurer.
Communications: Sandie Koplowitz. Nextdoor has been easier to manage with the new addition of community helpers to review reported content. Things have settled down after many posts requiring monitoring the past year and we now are letting people talk and only removing the occasional post which crosses the line of Nextdoor’s standards. Sandie is the only Lead and we are always looking for additional Leads from Edgemoor.
Jones Development: Larry Horowitz reported he created a group on Nextdoor for the Jones Development which has about 150 members. The owners of the Jones property is proposing 44 new lots in Edgemoor off Viewcrest Road. Members in the Jones Development group will receive notifications when there is a new post to the group.
ENA sent a letter to the City of Bellingham asking for an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) which also lists concerns of Edgemoor residents. The letter was also accompanied by results from a neighborhood survey in 2017.
Below are links to key documents.
- ENA letter to the city re EIS requirement
- Edgemoor Plats Map
- ENA poll re: EIS requirement
- Edgemoor Pedestrian Safety Letter to Mayor Linville 2/15/17
- Edgemoor Pedestrian Safety Questionnaire 4/5/17
Currently we are waiting for the applicant to complete the preliminary plat application process, which includes the SEPA checklist, environmental checklist, and technical reports. The proposal presented at the neighborhood meeting is very likely to be changed. There are concerns by neighbors about the houses being close together, the steepness of the cliffs, the instability of the area shown by boulders on the beach and increased traffic through the neighborhood. Clarkwood and Briza are also concerned about the development. Several surrounding neighborhood associations and property owners associations have sent letters to the city requesting an EIS. Once the application is submitted there are only 14 days to comment. The difference between requiring an EIS and only technical reports is the EIS must be performed by a neutral party, whereas the technical reports are submitted by the applicant. An EIS also extends the time it takes to approve the application because it takes additional time for the EIS to be completed and there is a separate comment period for the EIS. Requirement of an EIS would allow for a neutral review and also includes commentary, which would give the City more information to base their decision.
Jones Development documents:
The applicant’s “Pre-Application Narrative” provides an introduction to the project
Aerial of the revised 44-lot site plan
Overlay of the site plan on a LIDAR map
In 2011 there was a Chuckanut Marsh Restoration Project, managed by Renee Lecroix, to renovate Chuckanut Bay Tidelands (formerly Chuckanut Mudflats). A few of the mitigation efforts where to stop allowing cars to drive on the beach, put a parking lot and improve a culvert for salmon habitat upstream.
Bill mentioned a post he put on the Jones Subdivision group on Nextdoor Edgemoor about viable alternatives for the Jones’ property. He mentioned Governor’s Point, which was originally proposed for 310 homes on 124 acres and now has 16 homes and 90 acres of wildlife reserve with public access on 2 miles of trails. Clark’s Point was originally surveyed for 105 homes on 71 acres and there are now 4 homes and 61 acres of private wildlife reserve with 2 trails on the north end with public access to 2 viewpoints. Proposed development on the 100 Acre Woods was to have a population equivalent to the size of Ferndale and the property is nearly paid for because of the formation of the Chuckanut Community Forest Park District. The City is currently developing a master plan for the Chuckanut Community Forest. More information is at https://engagebellingham.org/chuckanut-community-forest-master-plan. Bill suggests we keep talking about alternatives to see if the owners can turn to other viable plans for the property.
Larry suggested people reach out to the Jones family to talk to them directly about plans for the property.
MNAC: Curt Thor reported they talked about simple grants for neighborhood associations. Is there any place for an Edgemoor neighborhood sign? We have talked about this many times over the years at ENA meetings, but it has never seemed viable. The most likely location would be at the corner of Hawthorn and Chuckanut on the Fairhaven Middle School property, but almost anything discussed in the past would create a line-of-sight issue for traffic on Hawthorn.
Curt mentioned at the meeting that since there are so few sidewalks in Edgemoor, we walk on streets and there are lots of potholes and pits needing to be fixed.
Larry suggested Curt bring up the fact to Mayor Seth Fleetwood that the City has not delt with the issues brought up in the 2017 Edgemoor Neighborhood survey about traffic safety, vegetation mitigation due to line of sight concerns, and sidewalks needed on the blind curve on Bayside Road as well as on Viewcrest down the hill to Clark Road.
There was discussion about the vacant lot on the corner of Willow and Fieldston, which is owned by Bayside Swimming Club. Board members wondered if we should approach them to see if they might be interested in developing that property into a park space for Edgemoor Residents.
Election of Officers: Sandie moved we appoint Bob McCarthy as Treasurer. All attendees were in favor.
We still need a President.
Standing Rules: Proposed changes:
Dues will not be collected are not required while the association is being reimbursed by the city.
There will be one Annual ENA Meeting (Time/Place/Date TBD) each year in May.
Updated ENA Officers.
Sandie sent a Dropbox link to Board Members where historical ENA documents are located. It includes the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and other corporate/historical documents.