| City of Bellingham Growth Forum Leads Plan Update |
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When growth projections topped 40% in advance of their comp plan updates, the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County faced a major crisis: how to handle the influx within the current UGA? The two agencies, joined by the Whatcom Transportation Authority, asked Studio Cascade to deliver viable, community-tested strategies that dealt with growth, and could easily be incorporated into both the City and County comprehensive plans. More than 1,000 participants took part in the process, and helped craft a report calling for the creation of 23 "urban villages" distributed within City limits. The recommendations promoted "form-based" urban design - providing, in detail, how such infill development could occur and included specific policy recommendations and action items supporting its creation. The plan proved so well-grounded and considered that the report was accepted unanimously at a joint meeting of the City and County planning commissions (and received a 2005 Washington State APA/PAW Award!) |
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Particpants in the project's charette session produced map overlays like this one, incorporating projected growth into their own neighborhood areas. |
The Bellingham Community Forum on Growth Management featured a fully-developed project website, including a photo gallery filled with images taken by participants.
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