Sunnyland neighbors, developers divided over housing plans

DEAN KAHN

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BELLINGHAM - The next debate over housing infill starts Wednesday, Aug. 20, with a series of meetings about the vacant four acres next to St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church.

The property owners and Sunnyland Neighborhood Association have both filed rezone requests for the property on Sunset Drive. The group wants 28 houses on the site; the owners want 49.

City officials hope the two sides can reach agreement by attending the "design charette" meetings.

What: Meetings to discuss housing design and density for four acres on Sunset Drive.

Where: All meetings at Fountain Community Church, 2100 Broadway.

When: 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20. Groups discuss issues of access, circulation, building types and neighborhood transitions. Doors open at 5 p.m. to view materials; meeting starts at 5:30.

6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 21: Consultants report findings and preliminary recommendations, with chance for feedback.

6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9: Consultants present final report.

More: A Planning Commission hearing on rezone requests for the site is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at City Hall. City Council hearings could follow later this year.

Details: Chris Koch, city planner, 778-8349 or ckoch@cob.org.

But Patrick McKee, who represents Sunnyland on the Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission, complained that residents weren't allowed to help organize the sessions. And he's worried because the consultants leading the meetings will present a conceptual plan that calls for nearly the same number of houses as requested by the property owners.

Nicole Oliver, a spokeswoman for the city planning department, said she hopes the two sides can satisfy Bellingham's goal of adding housing inside the city while enhancing existing neighborhoods.

"The city is looking at it as a great infill opportunity," she said. "The goal is not to steamroll the neighborhood."

The land once housed offices and work space for the state Department of Transportation. When the property changed to private ownership, the zoning automatically reverted to low-density housing. The Sunnyland neighborhood plan envisions about 17 houses on the site.

Then the new owners, David Edelstein and Greg Hinton, asked the city to rezone the land to provide 49 housing units, with a mix of cottages, townhouses and carriage houses. Those are the sort of housing styles that city planners say can help Bellingham limit urban sprawl by fitting more residents into neighborhoods and growth areas.

The neighborhood association's rezone request for 28 houses included some townhouses.

Sunnyland residents and the owners held a series of earlier meetings. They agreed on some design ideas but stalemated over density.

The city-funded design meetings will be led by a Seattle consulting firm. Oliver said the consultants were given the two rezone proposals, plus other information about city goals, and they independently came up with their conceptual plan that suggests 14 houses, including bungalows, plus 34 townhouses.

Contact Dean Kahn at dean.kahn@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2291. Read his Now and Then blog at TheBellinghamHerald.com/blogs.