# The Mayor's Bold Action Plan: A Committee of the Whole Session on Housing, Rules, and Rental Rights ## Meeting Overview On a crisp December afternoon, the Bellingham City Council's Committee of the Whole convened for a marathon session that would tackle some of the most consequential housing policy questions facing the city. With Council President Hammill excused, President Pro Tem Hollie Huthman shepherded six council members through eight agenda items across nearly three hours of deliberation. The meeting's centerpiece was Mayor Kim Lund's ambitious Executive Order 2024-02, dubbed "Expanding Housing Options in Bellingham," which proposes sweeping changes to how the city approaches development, parking, and housing supply. But the session also revealed deep philosophical divides among council members about the relationship between housing production and affordability, the proper role of city enforcement in tenant protection, and the pace of policy change in a housing crisis. What emerged was both consensus and conflict: unanimous support for technical measures like budget amendments and contract approvals, but spirited debate over whether eliminating parking minimums would create affordable housing or simply enrich developers. The meeting showcased both the promise and the peril of municipal policymaking in a housing emergency—the determination to act boldly tempered by concerns about unintended consequences and equity. ## The Housing Emergency Response: Executive Order 2024-02 Mayor Lund opened with a clarion call for urgency. "Quality affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods are a foundational part of factors of health, of well-being, for fostering sta…