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City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner

BEL-HEX-2026-01-12 January 12, 2026 Public Hearing City of Bellingham
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The City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner commenced a five-day consolidated SEPA appeal and land use permit hearing for the controversial Woods at Viewcrest development. Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice presided over the first day of what promises to be an intensive quasi-judicial proceeding involving a citizens' group challenging the city's environmental review of a proposed 38-lot subdivision at 352 Viewcrest Road. The appellant, Protect Mud Bay Cliffs, is appealing the city's July 25, 2025 Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) issued under SEPA for the ANC Jones Family LP development proposal. The consolidated hearing also addresses five related land use permits including subdivision, variance, critical area, and shoreline development permits. The day's proceedings focused entirely on establishing procedural foundations and hearing the appellant's first expert witness. Dr. Richard Horner, an environmental engineer with over 50 years of experience in stormwater management, delivered extensive testimony criticizing the project's stormwater management plans as fundamentally inadequate to protect Mud Bay, which the city has characterized as "Bellingham's richest and most biologically diverse estuary." Horner's testimony painted a picture of a project rushing forward without essential technical analysis. He argued that both construction-phase and post-construction stormwater impacts would be "significant adverse impacts" to Mud Bay and Puget Sound, challenging the city's determination that impacts could be mitigated to non-significance. His critique focused on inadequate site characterization, missing hydrologic modeling, inappropriate best management practices, and failure to address the site's steep slopes and erosive soils. The hearing's formal structure reflects its high stakes, with parties represented by experienced land use attorneys and the hearing examiner emphasizing the quasi-judicial nature of the proceedings. Cross-examination of Dr. Horner by

No formal votes were taken during this first day of the hearing, as this was an evidentiary session rather than a decision-making proceeding. Key procedural determinations included: - **Exhibit Stipulations:** Parties stipulated to admission of numerous appellant exhibits (155 total offered, with specific exhibits 1-138 admitted by stipulation and others struck by agreement) - **Hearing Schedule:** Modified daily start time from 9:30 AM to 9:00 AM for remaining days (with one dissent) - **Decisi…

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The heart of today's proceedings centered on fundamental disagreements over environmental review adequacy and stormwater management standards for sensitive aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Horner's testimony articulated a comprehensive critique of the project's environmental analysis, arguing the city failed to take the required "hard look" under SEPA. **Construction Phase Stormwater Impacts:** Horner detailed multiple deficiencies in the proposed construction stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWIPP), emphasizing that steep slopes (up to 30% in work areas, 80% on adjacent cliffs) and erosive soils create extraordinary challenges. He testified that "one year of poor construction practices at a challenging site like Woods at Viewcrest can result in as much sediment discharge as occurred in decades or even centuries before the site was cleared and worked." The expert criticized the applicant's reliance on sediment ponds, calling them "very crude devices" that haven't been used on "sizable construction projects around Puget Sound" for years. Instead, he recommended advanced chemical treatment and filtration systems (BMPs C250 and C251) routinely used on sensitive sites. **Post-Construction Water Quality Protection:** Horner's testimony focused extens…
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**Appellant (Protect Mud Bay Cliffs)** - Represented by attorneys Michael Ray and Claudia Newman, with Dr. Richard Horner as lead technical expert. Their position frames this as a classic case of inadequate environmental review, arguing the city rushed to approve a project without requiring essential technical analysis. They emphasize Mud Bay's extraordinary ecological value and the project's potential for irreversible harm to this "richest and most biologically diverse estuary." **Applicant (ANC Jones Family LP)** - Represented by attorneys Megan Holmes and Tim Schermetzler, defending their preliminary stormwater management approach as appropriate for the project phase. During cross-examination, they emphasized the regulatory framework's multiple checkpoints, including NPDES permit requirements, weekly monitoring, and city oversight during construction. They positioned Horner's criticism…
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**Hearing Examiner Rice, on the proceeding's significance:** "Everyone has a lot of time and energy invested in being here today, and I want to assure everyone it is my intention to conduct these proceedings as fairly as possible." **Dr. Richard Horner, on construction phase risks:** "Because one year of poor construction practices at a challenging site, like Woods at Viewcrest, can result in as much sediment discharge as occurred in decades or even centuries before the site was cleared and …
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**Immediate Proceedings:** - January 13, 2026: Continuation of Dr. Horner cross-examination and redirect - January 14, 2026: Additional appellant witnesses and permit hearing begins at 5:00 PM - January 15-16, 2026: Permit hearing continuation and potential additional appeal testimony **Decision Timeline:** - March 31, 2026: Final written decision deadline (extended from original March 9 target) - Two business days post-hearing: Written public comment period for those with tec…

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This hearing represents a significant escalation in the Woods at Viewcrest controversy, moving from administrative review to quasi-judicial proceedings with formal rules of evidence and cross-examination. The appellant has now established on the record their fundamental challenge to the adequacy of the city's environmental review. Dr. Horner's extensive testimony created a detailed technical record questioning core assumptions in the city's MDNS determination. His identification of missing hydrologic modeling, inappropriate BMP selection, and failure to address site-specific conditions like erosive soils and steep slopes provides the evidentiary foundation for the appellant's case. The city and applicant responses during cross-examination revealed their d…
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## Meeting Overview On January 12, 2026, Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice convened the first day of an appeal hearing in the City of Bellingham Land Use Calendar, marking the beginning of what would be a complex multi-day proceeding involving a controversial development project known as the Woods at Viewcrest. The consolidated hearing addressed both a SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) appeal and permit applications for a 38-lot subdivision proposed by the ANC Jones Family LP on property at 352 Viewcrest Road. The appeal was filed by Protect Mud Bay Cliffs, a citizens group deeply concerned about environmental impacts to one of Bellingham's most sensitive aquatic ecosystems. The hearing brought together three parties: the appellant citizens group, the applicant Jones family, and the City of Bellingham, each with significant stakes in the outcome. This was no routine land use hearing — it involved a project that had generated over 500 public comments totaling 1,700 pages, reflecting intense community concern about development impacts on Mud Bay, described by the city as "Bellingham's richest and most biologically diverse estuary." ## Opening Procedures and Jurisdictional Framework Hearing Examiner Rice began with extensive opening remarks, establishing the legal framework and procedural rules that would govern the consolidated proceeding. The hearing addressed both a SEPA appeal of the city's Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) issued July 25, 2025, and permit applications including subdivision, variance, critical area permits, and shoreline development permits. Rice emphasized the hybrid nature of the proceedings, conducted both in-person and via Zoom, with strict protocols to protect the audio record that would be crucial for any potential appeals. She disclosed her contractual relationship with Bellingham and other jurisdictions, her lack of personal interests in the project, and the absence of any ex parte communications, satisfying the state's Appearance of Fairness requirements. The procedural complexity was significant: the appeal portion would involve only the three parties (appellant, applicant, and city) with opportunities for cross-examination but no public comment, while the permit portion scheduled for January 14th would include public testimony. Rice announced that rather than the standard 10 business days for a decision, she would need until March 31, 2026, reflecting the case's complexity a…
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Environmental Land Use & Planning Government Operations Anc Jones Family Lp Brooklyn Newman City Of Bellingham Csd Attorneys Department Of Ecology Planning Community Development Protect Mud Bay Cliffs Christina Bowker Claudia Newman James Erb Megan Holmes Michael Ray Richard Horner Sharon Rice Tim Schermetzler 6Ppdq Tire Pollutant Best Management Practices Bioretention Systems Construction Impacts Construction Stormwater Cross Examination Procedure Environmental Review Adequacy Expert Witness Testimony Hydrologic Modeling Modular Wetland Systems Mud Bay Ecosystem Puget Sound Recovery Quasi Judicial Hearing Salmon Protection Sediment Control Sepa Environmental Review Stormwater Management