Having lived in Edgemoor Neighborhood for almost 40 years, 20 years on Clark Road and 19 & ½ years on Middlefield Road, I have come to know and appreciate the various areas of the neighborhood. In the past, when someone mentioned Edgemoor, it was commonly considered to refer to homes on Bayside, Briar, Middlefield or Fieldston with views of Bellingham Bay. Many of these homes are large residences situated on up to an acre of land. A little more than 10 years ago, a group of residents discovered the City of Bellingham had designated 22 neighborhoods in the city and Edgemoor Neighborhood itself included more than 800 homes…many more than we originally thought were in the area known as Edgemoor. A map on the City of Bellingham’s website at http://www.cob.org/documents/gis/maps/COB_Nhoodmap.pdf shows the Edgemoor neighborhood is bordered by Cowgill Road on the north, Chuckanut on the east, Bellingham Bay on the west, and Chuckanut Bay on the south. It also includes the development known as Briza. At the time, many of the other 22 neighborhoods were forming neighborhood associations, so we decided the time was right to set up the Edgemoor Neighborhood Association, commonly referred to as ENA.
During the past 10 years, ENA has hosted monthly meetings which were open to the public. Some meetings had a large attendance, where issues of concern to residents were lively topics of discussion. More often the meetings were attended by less than 20 people. We feel this is most likely due the newsletter, blog and other resources utilized to keep residents informed about local issues and events. This is also due to residents’ busy schedules and the fact that Edgemoor Neighborhood is a fairly quiet community. Many residents don’t feel the need to attend meetings unless a controversial issue arises. Many topics were addressed during the first 10 years, ranging from traffic and safety concerns to protecting views, security concerns due to robberies and malicious mischief, updating the Neighborhood Plan, and noisy trains and coal trains…just to name a few. The most controversial issue during that 10-year period was undoubtedly the 100 Acre Woods/Chuckanut Ridge Development. That issue culminated in the formation of the Chuckanut Community Forest.
We maintain the neighborhood website at www.edgemoorneighborhood.com and send a monthly newsletter to those individuals who have signed up to receive it by email. All past issues of the newsletter are available online at http://www.edgemoorneighborhood.com/News.html where you can also sign up to receive news, if you are not already on the list. There is a blog, called Edgemoor Conversations, where articles are posted on a regular basis with news and information relevant to Edgemoor residents at https://edgemoorneighborhood.com/. A social network for the residents of Edgemoor, called Nextdoor Edgemoor, has become a great resource for sharing information about events, security concerns, asking for advice about property and home maintenance services, and selling household items. Check it out at https://edgemoor.nextdoor.com/login/?next=/news_feed/. ENA has a Twitter account @EdgemoorNews and a Facebook page, but these methods of communication are rarely used due to all of the other means of communication being utilized.
Times are changing and more and more people are using online resources to gather information and stay connected. For this reason, the ENA Board has decided to go to quarterly meetings, rather than monthly meetings. The meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month in December, March, June (Annual Meeting) and September. Meetings are most often held in the library of Fairhaven Middle School, with the Annual Meeting at Lairmont Manor. I encourage Edgemoor residents to attend meetings and get involved.
The Articles of Incorporation of Edgemoor Neighborhood Association states the purpose of the organization is:
- To represent the needs and concerns of residents in the Edgemoor Neighborhood, in the city of Bellingham, Washington
- To improve the quality of life in our neighborhood
- To monitor all civic issues in order to promote the best possible solutions for our neighborhood and the community at large
- To encourage the residents of Edgemoor to actively participate in achieving this purpose
In order to achieve the purposes stated in the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws of Edgemoor Neighborhood Association states that ENA shall:
- provide a structure for neighbors to come together, be informed, and talk about common concerns and issues
- provide a mechanism for creating neighborhood positions and to make these positions known to government, business and other entities
- provide a mechanism for linking with civic groups and other neighborhood associations on issues of wider interest
- disseminate information of civic interest and concern to the neighborhood
- foster a spirit of community among the people who live in Edgemoor
Through ENA I have met many residents of Edgemoor and surrounding neighborhoods and enjoy working with a great group of people who serve on the ENA Board. Just to name a few…Lauri has been Secretary since the organization was formed and does a wonderful job with minutes. You can access all of the past minutes from ENA meetings at http://www.edgemoorneighborhood.com/ENA.html. Diane has been treasurer for the past 5 years, and keeps us up-to-date with state and city requirements. John, who served as vice-president for many years, reported at most meetings about the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee meeting he attended regularly. Lylene has been president for over 5 years and does a great job running orderly neighborhood meetings and posts informative articles in the blog and newsletter. These are just a few of the great people who keep the neighborhood association running and work hard to keep Edgemoor residents informed.
It has been a great pleasure to be part of the formation and first 10 years of Edgemoor Neighborhood Association.
Please visit www.edgemoorneighborhood.com for more information and feel free to contact me at if you have any comments about his article or questions about ENA.
Sandie Koplowitz, ENA Vice-president and Communications Chair – sankop@comcast.net