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Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

BEL-PRB-2025-02-12 February 12, 2025 Parks & Recreation Committee City of Bellingham
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This Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting featured three significant presentations that collectively paint a picture of ambitious growth planning across Bellingham's parks, housing, and development landscape. Mayor Kim Lund opened the meeting by outlining a comprehensive reform initiative for the city's 20+ advisory boards, emphasizing diversity, consistency, and reduced barriers to participation. The Barkley Urban Village team presented their long-awaited development plans, showcasing extensive tree preservation efforts and connectivity improvements that will impact regional trail networks. Most substantially, city planners provided detailed updates on both the comprehensive Bellingham Plan update and the Parks Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan renewal process. The meeting highlighted the interconnected nature of these major planning efforts. The Barkley presentation demonstrated how private development can complement public infrastructure, with particular attention to preserving 903 catalogued trees and creating multi-use pathways. Mayor Lund's advisory board reform initiative signals a significant shift toward more inclusive civic engagement, including stipends for participation and mandatory reapplication processes. The Bellingham Plan update discussion revealed the complexity of state-mandated housing legislation and climate requirements that will reshape development patterns over the next 20 years. Staff presentations on PROS Plan accomplishments showcased impressive progress, including the acquisition of 236 acres of new parkland over the past six years and the completion of numerous capital projects. However, the presentations also revealed the challenge of translating ambitious planning documents into completed projects, with several initiatives delayed or requiring budget adjustments. The board's engagement with these presentations demonstrated their understanding of the intricate relationships between land use planning, transportation connect

No formal votes were taken during this meeting. All agenda items were informational presentations and updates: - **Advisory Board Reform Introduction:** Mayor Lund presented new guidelines requiring reapplication for all advisory board members and standardization across the city's 20+ advisory groups - **Barkley Urban Village Update:** Informational presentation on development framework and connectivity planning - **Bellingham…

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**Advisory Board Reform Initiative:** Mayor Lund detailed a comprehensive restructuring of the city's advisory board system, addressing long-standing concerns about accessibility and representation. The reform targets the problem of multi-decade service terms that limited fresh perspectives, with some members serving 18-19 years. The new system requires all current members to reapply when their terms expire, with broader community outreach for vacancies. The initiative includes plans for participation stipends modeled after the successful Bellingham Plan community work group program, aimed at removing barriers like childcare costs. Board members responded positively to the diversity goals while acknowledging the value of institutional knowledge from long-serving members. **Barkley Urban Village Development Framework:** The Talbot Group presented their long-awaited urban village plan, emphasizing preservation of 903 catalogued trees and creation of connected open space networks. The development will proceed in seven phases over multiple years, with road alignments designed around existing tree stands rather than following original grid patterns. Key connectivity challenges were discussed, particularly crossing Sunset Drive safely to connect with the newly acquired DNR parcels to the north. The presentation revealed ongoing collaboration wit…
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**Mayor Kim Lund** advocated strongly for advisory board reform, emphasizing the need to "widen our circles about who's aware of the city's business." She acknowledged the tension between valuing long-term institutional knowledge and creating opportunities for fresh perspectives. Lund expressed personal appreciation for parks services based on her childhood experiences and current use of recreational facilities. **Barkley Development Team (Ben Bestley and John)** positioned their project as a community asset focused on tree preservation and regional connectivity. They emphasized their role as "incubators" for testing new development approaches, citing the successful Scramble nature play park as an example. The team acknowledged ongoing challenges with transportation connectivity, particularly the Sunset Drive crossing. **City Planning Staff (…
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**Mayor Kim Lund, on advisory board reform:** "We want to widen our circles about who's aware of the city's business and how we're going about it." **Mayor Lund, on service tenure:** "We had members of the community serving 18, 19 years in their advisory seats, which is extraordinary that they were so devoted to that issue, but it also doesn't create space for a different voice or perspective to step into that work." **Ben Bestley, on development philosophy:** "We really want this place to …
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**February 2025:** Bellingham Plan land use and housing chapters go to Planning Commission for initial review. **March 2025:** Parks board will receive PROS Plan public survey results, inventory assessment findings, and draft goals for review. **May 2025:** Parks chapter of Bellingham Plan scheduled for Planning Commission review. **End of 2025:** Target adoption date for complete Bellingham Plan update. **2025-2026:** Master planning begins for Bakerview Neighb…

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**Advisory Board Structure:** Introduction of mandatory reapplication process for all advisory board members, ending the automatic renewal system that allowed multi-decade service terms. **Barkley Development Status:** Formal presentation of development framework moves the long-planned urban village closer to implementation after years of environmental review. **Samish Crest Access:** City Council approval of 66-acre acquisition provides complete trail connectivity from …
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## Meeting Overview The February 12, 2025 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting brought together board members for a wide-ranging discussion about ongoing developments in Bellingham's parks and planning landscape. The meeting featured three special presentations — including an appearance by Mayor Seth Lund — alongside updates on urban village development, comprehensive planning, and the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) plan update. Board members welcomed new member Austin Skipper, representing the Bellingham School District, while also hearing about upcoming changes to the city's advisory board structure. The morning session demonstrated the interconnected nature of parks planning with broader city initiatives, from housing development to climate adaptation. ## Advisory Board Structure Reform Initiative Mayor Seth Lund opened his presentation by acknowledging the service of all advisory board members before outlining a significant restructuring initiative affecting the city's more than 20 advisory groups. The goal, Lund explained, is to create consistency across boards that have operated with varying standards and approaches over the years. "Really, what we are endeavoring to do is try to standardize and create some consistency in our approach to our advisory groups," Lund said. "And that began last year with our guidelines document. And so we worked to create an expectations document that laid out some criteria and some expectations that you can have of city staff as you're in service on the advisory group." The most significant change involves ending automatic reappointments for long-serving members. Lund described situations where community members served 18 or 19 years in advisory roles — "which is extraordinary that they were so devoted to that issue. But it also doesn't create space for a different voice or perspective to step into that work." Under the new system, all current members across all boards will need to reapply as their terms near expiration. The city will communicate upcoming vacancies through different channels to give more people opportunities to participate in city governance. The initiative also focuses on lowering barriers to participation. Lund pointed to the Bellingham Plan team's use of stip…
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### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met on February 12, 2025, to receive updates on major planning initiatives affecting parks and recreation in the city. The meeting featured presentations on the Barkley Urban Village development, city advisory board reforms, the Bellingham Plan comprehensive plan update, and progress on the Parks Recreation and Open Space (PROS) plan update. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Urban Village:** A designated high-density development area designed to concentrate growth while preserving surrounding open spaces and natural areas. Barkley is one of seven urban villages planned for Bellingham. **Comprehensive Plan:** A state-mandated 20-year planning document that guides city development, updated every 10 years. It includes chapters on land use, housing, parks, environment, and other topics. **Growth Management Act (GMA):** Washington State legislation from 1990 requiring cities to plan for anticipated population growth and development in sustainable ways. **PROS Plan:** Parks, Recreation, and Open Space plan - Bellingham's implementation document for parks planning that identifies specific projects and improvements over a six-year period. **Type 6 Legislative Process:** A formal city process for amending comprehensive plans, limited to once per year and requiring Planning Commission and City Council review with public hearings. **Advisory Board Reappointment Process:** New city policy requiring all advisory board members to reapply when their terms end, rather than automatic continuation, designed to diversify participation. **Level of Service:** Parks planning metric measuring whether neighborhoods have adequate access to parkland and recreation facilities based on population and geographic distribution. **Greenways:** The voter-approved funding program supporting acquisition and development of parks, trails, and open spaces throughout Bellingham and Whatcom County. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Austin Skipper | New Board Member, Bellingham School District Representative | | Mayor Seth Lund | Mayor of Bellingham | | Anya Gedrich | City Planner, Long Range Planning Team | | Peter Willott | Parks Department Staff | | Lane Weinmann | Parks Department Staff | | Ben Beasley | CEO, Talbot Group (Barkley developers) | | John (last name not provided) | Talbot Group representative | | Bree Loewen | Board member/meeting facilitator | | Steve Janiszewski | Former Cornwall Memorial Park Task Force leader | ### Background Context This meeting occurred during a significant planning period for Bellingham, with multiple long-range plans being updated simultaneously. T…
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Parks & Recreation Government Operations Land Use & Planning Barkley Village Bellingham School District City Council Planning Commission Talbot Group Wsdot Ymca Anya Geidrath Austin Skipper Ben Bestley Bree John Kim Lund Lane Melissa Nicole Peter Steve Janiszewski Place Bakerview Neighborhood Park Place Northern Lights Park Place Samish Crest Advisory Board Reform Affordable Housing Budget Finance Civic Engagement Climate Action Community Gardens Comprehensive Planning Housing Policy Land Use Policy Parks Planning Trail Connectivity Transportation Policy Tree Preservation Urban Development