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Real Briefings

City Council Committee of the Whole

BEL-CON-SPC-2025-06-02 June 02, 2025 Committee of the Whole City of Bellingham
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The Bellingham City Council held an intensive three-hour work session to refine two landmark ordinances restricting rental fees, with the manufactured home ordinance receiving full consideration while the residential rental ordinance was deferred to a future meeting. Council members made numerous amendments to the manufactured home ordinance (AB 24502), addressing application fees, late fees, pet deposits, and enforcement mechanisms in what Chair Hollie Huthman acknowledged was "a fairly straightforward process" that proved more complex than anticipated. The most significant debate centered on city enforcement authority, with Mayor Lund and staff strongly opposing the enforcement provisions, citing resource constraints and philosophical concerns about the planning director arbitrating private contract disputes. After extended discussion, Council voted 4-3 to strike both the city enforcement section and penalty provisions, effectively removing the city's ability to directly enforce the ordinance and leaving civil remedies as the primary enforcement mechanism. Council also grappled with application fee structures, ultimately settling on a $50 cap adjusted annually by CPI-U for the Seattle/Tacoma region rather than an "actual cost" model Council Member Anderson had advocated. A contentious debate over refund requirements for declined applicants ended with Council voting 5-2 to remove the refund provision, with concerns raised about potential discrimination in application acceptance. The session demonstrated both the technical complexity of rental regulation and deeper philosophical divisions about the city's role in private contract enforcement, with Council Member Cotton emphasizing tenant protection while others prioritized administrative feasibility and resource constraints.

**AB 24502 (Manufactured Home Ordinance):** - **WHEREAS statements adopted 7-0** with amendment adding public engagement reference - **Fee definition added 7-0** establishing comprehensive definition excluding rent and damage charges - **Move-in fees structure adopted 7-0** replacing security deposit language with total movein fees capped at one month's rent - **Application fee structure adopted 5-2** setting $50 base plus annual CPI-U adjustment, removing refund requirement (5-2), changing from "per tenant" to "per application" - **Month-to-month fee prohibition adopted 7-0** striking additional fees for lease type changes - **Pet fee prohibition maintai…

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**Application Fee Debate:** Council Member Anderson led extensive discussion on replacing the $50 flat fee with an "actual cost" model requiring landlord documentation of third-party screening expenses. She argued annual CPI adjustments would create ongoing administrative burden for staff and that actual costs would prevent abuse while reflecting real market conditions. Council Member Cotton countered that dollar caps protect vulnerable tenants from excessive fees, noting families might pay $150 for three applicants across five different properties. The debate revealed tension between administrative simplicity and tenant protection, ultimately resolved through CPI adjustment compromise. **Enforcement Authority Controversy:** Mayor Lund and staff presented forceful opposition to city enforcement, with the mayor stating this would create "massive unintended consequences for staff time" and questioning whether the planning director should arbitrate "private party contracts." Staff estimated 40 hours already spent on related enforcement issues. Council Member Anderson shared a painful conver…
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**Mayor Kimberley Lund:** Strongly opposed city enforcement provisions, emphasizing resource constraints and philosophical objections to municipal involvement in private contract disputes. Supported civil legal aid alternatives and educational approaches. **Council Member Jace Cotton:** Led efforts to align ordinances with state law while providing additional tenant protections. Advocated for maintaining enforcement authority and comprehensive fee restrictions, particularly for manufactured home residents. **Council Member Lisa Anderson:** Championed "actual cost" application fee model and opposed flat fees…
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**Mayor Lund, on enforcement authority:** "This is an additional burden on staff that we do not have the resources to... You're putting this burden on our planning director to make these distinctions between private parties. I think this is going to have massive unintended consequences for staff time." **Council Member Anderson, on community equity concerns:** "I personally had a conversation with an individual as to why the city was not jumping into action and representing them. And their fi…
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**Immediate Actions:** - Residential rental ordinance (AB 24501) work session to be scheduled - Effective date determination for manufactured home ordinance upon final passage - Staff to explore partnerships with civil legal aid organizations **Follow-up Commitments:** - Council committed to investigating Law Advocates funding and civil legal aid resources - Development of educational materials and website resources for tenants - Potential template development for attorney dema…

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The manufactured home ordinance now includes comprehensive fee restrictions with several key modifications from the original proposal: **Application fees** shifted from simple $50 cap to $50 plus annual CPI-U adjustments, removing refund requirements for declined applicants while changing from "per tenant" to "per application" charging structure. **City enforcement authority** completely eliminated, removing municipal investigation powers, penalty structures, and the planning director's enforcement role, leaving only civil remedies available to tenants. **Move-in fee structure** now explicitly caps to…
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# Manufacturing Home Ordinance Work Session — Bellingham City Council Special Meeting ## Meeting Overview On a Monday morning in early June, the Bellingham City Council convened for a special work session to tackle two controversial ordinances aimed at limiting "junk fees" charged to tenants. What began as a scheduled three-hour session became an intensive negotiation over the details of regulating landlord-tenant relationships in one of Washington's fastest-growing rental markets. Council President Hollie Huthman opened the meeting at 10:13 AM in the Mayor's Boardroom with all seven council members present. The agenda included two related ordinances — one covering manufactured home communities and another for residential rentals. However, at Council Member Skip Williams' motion, they decided to tackle the manufactured home ordinance first, setting the stage for what would become a detailed line-by-line examination of municipal housing policy. This wasn't just routine legislative housekeeping. The ordinances represented the culmination of months of public engagement, including surveys and focus groups with landlords, tenants, and service providers. As Council Member Jace Cotton noted, they were attempting to align Bellingham's local protections with new state laws while addressing the unique vulnerabilities of manufactured home residents — some of the city's most economically precarious residents. ## Navigating the Document Maze Before any substantive discussion could begin, the council had to sort through multiple versions of the ordinance. Council Member Hannah Stone expressed visible frustration as she examined different drafts. "I'm actually confused as to which one of these to pick to start with because I see differences I don't understand," she said, pointing to inconsistencies between redlined versions and supposedly final documents. The confusion stemmed from having multiple drafts circulating — some showing Council Member Cotton's proposed amendments, others reflecting previously adopted changes. Council Member Stone noted specific underlining that appeared to contradict claims that certain sections had already been approved. "Is that red line adopted or not adopted?" she asked, highlighting the procedural complexity that often accompanies municipal lawmaking. Planning Director Jackie Weller clarified that they should work from the "Manufactured Home Ordinance as Amended on May…
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### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council held a work session on June 2, 2025, focusing on two ordinances related to landlord-tenant relations. The session specifically addressed the manufactured/mobile home ordinance (Bill 24502), establishing new rules for fees that landlords can charge to manufactured home park tenants. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Work Session:** A less formal meeting format where council members can discuss items extensively before formal votes, with more conversational discussion allowed. **Manufactured/Mobile Home Park:** A property where people own their homes but rent the land underneath them. These parks provide affordable housing for many residents. **Junk Fees:** Excessive or unfair fees charged by landlords beyond basic rent, such as application fees, pet deposits, or administrative charges. **Application Screening Fee:** A fee charged to potential tenants to cover background checks and credit reports when applying for housing. **Move-in Fees:** The total amount a tenant pays upfront, including application fees and security deposits, now limited to one month's rent under House Bill 1217. **CPI-U:** Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, used to adjust fees annually based on inflation for the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue region. **Rebuttable Presumption:** A legal concept where certain actions within 120 days of a tenant exercising their rights are presumed to be retaliation unless proven otherwise. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Hollie Huthman | Council President, Second Ward | | Jace Cotton | Council Member At-Large | | Lisa Anderson | Council Member, Fifth Ward | | Daniel Hammill | Council Member, Third Ward | | Michael Lilliquist | Council Member, Sixth Ward | | Hannah Stone | Council Member, First Ward | | Edwin "Skip" Williams | Council Member, Fourth Ward | | Jackie Weller | Legislative Office Manager…
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Housing Budget & Finance Government Operations HB 1217 Bellingham City Council City Attorney Office Law Advocates Manufactured Homeowners Association Planning Department Washington State Legislature Alan Marriner Daniel Hammill Edwin Skip Williams Hannah Stone Hollie Huthman Jace Cotton Jackie Weller Kimberley Lund Lisa Anderson Michael Lilliquist Application Fees Budget Finance City Enforcement Civil Remedies Cpi Adjustments Fee Definitions Late Fees Legal Aid Manufactured Homeowners Manufactured Housing Pet Fees Rental Housing Retaliation Security Deposits State Law Alignment Tenant Protections