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# Mapping Whatcom County's Growth Future
On a rainy Tuesday morning in February, six Whatcom County Council members gathered for what would become a revealing glimpse into the complex challenges of planning for the county's future. The special Committee of the Whole meeting, compressed into a tight 55-minute window, showcased the tensions between aspirational growth projections and practical realities that define modern land use planning.
Chair Kaylee Galloway called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m., with Council Members Barry Buchanan, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Jon Scanlon, and Mark Stremler present. Tyler Byrd was absent. The single agenda item — discussing population and employment projections for the county's 2025 comprehensive plan update — would prove far more contentious than its bureaucratic title suggested.
The meeting represented the first half of a two-part presentation series, with five more jurisdictions scheduled for the following week. What unfolded was not just a technical discussion about numbers, but a fundamental debate about how Whatcom County should grow and who gets to decide.
## The Framework Debate
Before any presentations could begin, Council Member Todd Donovan raised his hand with pointed questions that cut to the heart of the planning process. Reading from letters submitted by various cities, Donovan expressed confusion about the county's approach: "There is a sense that we're being asked to approve an interlocal agreement that at least the way PDS seems to be driving things has this above the medium goal for planning for the entire county."
Donovan's concerns reflected a deeper philosophical divide. Historically, Whatcom County had relied on the Office of Financial Management's (OFM) medium projections for planning purposes — a approach that had proven accurate over decades. But now, the county's Planning and Development Services (PDS) department was proposing to plan for s…
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### Meeting Overview
The Whatcom County Council held a special Committee of the Whole meeting on February 4, 2025, to discuss population and employment projections for the County's 2025 Comprehensive Plan update. The meeting featured presentations from the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County staff on proposed growth targets for various Urban Growth Areas (UGAs), with technical difficulties preventing the City of Blaine from presenting.
### Key Terms and Concepts
**Urban Growth Area (UGA):** Designated areas where urban development is planned and encouraged, while preserving rural and resource lands outside these boundaries.
**Office of Financial Management (OFM) Medium:** The state's middle-range population projection model, historically used as the baseline for comprehensive planning in Whatcom County.
**Housing for All Planning Tool:** State-mandated tool that calculates housing need based not just on population growth, but also factors like vacancy rates, unhoused residents, and cost-burdened households.
**Middle Housing:** Housing types between single-family homes and large apartments, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes.
**Non-binding Multi-jurisdictional Resolution:** A collaborative agreement between the county and cities to coordinate growth projections, used successfully in the 2016 comprehensive plan update.
**House Bill 1220:** State legislation requiring jurisdictions to allow middle housing types in areas previously zoned only for single-family homes.
**Land Capacity Analysis:** Technical study determining how much growth existing zoned areas can accommodate before requiring boundary expansions or zoning changes.
**Comprehensive Plan Update:** Required periodic review and update of long-term planning documents, guided by the state's Growth Management Act.
### Key People at This Meeting
| Name | Role / Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Kaylee Galloway | Council Chair |
| Todd Donovan | Council Member |
| Barry Buchanan | Council Member |
| Ben Elenbaas | Council Member |
| Jon Scanlon | Council Member |
| Mark Stremler | Council Member |
| Matt Aamot | Planning and Development Services Department |
| Chris Behee | City of Bellingham representative |
| Alex Wenger | City of Blaine representative |
### Background Context
This meeting represents a critical juncture in Whatcom County's long-range planning process. The Growth Management Act requires jurisdictions to coordinat…
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