Digital Subscription

tool name

close
tool goes here

Council to hold one more public hearing on Lake Whatcom land transfer

RALPH SCHWARTZ; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: Feb. 12, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. PST
0 comments

Five months and many hours of information-gathering meetings later, the votes haven't changed on the transfer of land around Lake Whatcom.

The Whatcom County Council appears as ready as ever to approve a transfer of 8,844 acres around the lake from state to county control, so a low-impact park of trails and primitive campsites can be developed. The vote on the transfer, or reconveyance, was initially expected on Sept. 11, 2012, but was postponed after an hours-long public hearing.

As clear as the outcome may be, council members will let the public have its say one more time. Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday, Feb. 12, to hold a second public hearing on the land transfer. It is scheduled for March 12.

Council member Carl Weimer, a park supporter, voted against another public hearing.

The council is likely to take a final vote on the reconveyance the night of the hearing, or early the next morning.

"I'm sure it'll be an all-nighter, and that's fine with me," said council member Barbara Brenner, who requested the public hearing.

In Tuesday's informational meeting, the third of three scheduled after the delayed vote, the discussion seemed to be more about when the park would be approved, not if. Brenner, a park opponent, wanted to know if some of the 55 miles of proposed trails would definitely be set aside for downhill mountain bikers. The answer was "no."

Council member Kathy Kershner, a skeptic about the proposal, was concerned how much of the park's expenses would need to be covered by public money.

Pete Kremen and Ken Mann were eager to take a vote.

"We need to move forward on this," Kremen said. "After receiving the information (Tuesday), I'm even more convinced that this is such an opportunity."

Kremen said a public hearing was unnecessary and reminded council that the first hearing was not required but was held as a courtesy to the public.

"I'm ready to vote," Mann said. "I think we've studied it and presented it over and over again, and I'm ready."

"I haven't heard anything tremendously new," Weimer said, "so I'm ready to vote on this, too."

JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.

SPORTS
SOUTH SOUND
BLOGS
CONTESTS

Similar stories

  • Long-awaited vote on 8,844-acre Lake Whatcom park expected Tuesday

    Barring a delay, the "reconveyance," an issue that has dogged the Whatcom County Council for six years, will be decided at the council meeting Tuesday, March 12.

  • Large land transfer for Lake Whatcom park faces appeal

    Land set aside for commercial forestry must be protected, and last month's vote by the Whatcom County Council to transfer state timberland to the county for use as a park violates state law, according to an appeal filed Tuesday, April 9.

    Jack Petree, a private citizen who has written about the timber industry for decades, so far is the sole petitioner challenging the council's March 12 vote to transfer, or reconvey, 8,844 acres of forest around Lake Whatcom to the county. The Parks and Recreation Department plans to develop a low-impact park with areas of old-growth forest and trails for hiking, horseback riding and biking.

    The petition for review, filed with the state Growth Management Hearings Board, was not a surprise. Petree said last year that he might file a challenge.

  • Whatcom County Council to consider park costs of reconveying state land around Lake Whatcom

    BELLINGHAM - Whatcom County Council members will hold another information-gathering meeting on a proposal to transfer 8,844 acres of land around Lake Whatcom from state control to the county for a park.

    The focus of the meeting, at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, will be the cost of maintaining the park. The meeting will be held in council chambers, 311 Grand Ave.

    The low-impact park, which would likely consist of little more than trails, parking lots and campsites, would cost about $150,000 a year to operate, Parks and Recreation Director Mike McFarlane has said. About half of that could be recouped from leases on a telecommunications tower on the west side of the lake, he said.

  • County's plan still unclear for proposed park on Lake Whatcom

    BELLINGHAM - Some on the Whatcom County Council had more questions than answers after a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15, about a county park that would be developed on nearly 9,000 acres of what is now state timberland around Lake Whatcom.

    The council's preferences for recreation on the slopes west and east of the lake remain unclear, and county Executive Jack Louws asked that the topic be addressed at the beginning of a second meeting on the proposed park, on Jan. 29, when council is scheduled to talk about forest management.

    A third informational meeting, on the park budget, will be held in February, before a final council vote on transferring 8,844 acres of timberland from the state to the county. That vote is likely two or three months away, Louws said.

  • County council still divided on Lake Whatcom land transfer

    BELLINGHAM - Judging from past votes and statements by Whatcom County Council members, there are probably enough votes to approve the transfer of 8,844 acres of state-managed timberland around Lake Whatcom to the county, for use as a park.

    But council member Barbara Brenner, who opposed the land transfer in a key preliminary vote in May 2012, continued to fight the proposed park at a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, coming up with alternative plans and urging that park opposition receive a hearing.

    In any case, a vote on the land transfer, or reconveyance, isn't imminent. Council member Bill Knutzen, another opponent, is likely to call for a fourth park planning meeting before the vote. Initially, three meetings were scheduled.