What Does Downtown Need?
Master Plan Outlines Ideas for Bellingham's City Center

 

As holiday shoppers descended upon downtown Bellingham like snowflakes on Christmas morning, local merchants await downtown improvements like children waited for Santa.

The final draft of the Bellingham City Center Master Plan was presented to the city Planning and Development Commission meeting Dec. 2. About 20 people were present in City Council chambers to hear the presentation given by project consultant and director Nore Winter of Boulder, Colo.

This is a multi-disciplinary, multi-team and multi-person effort,  Winter says of the final draft plan. The plan is the culmination of planning that began nearly two decades ago with the 1980 comprehensive plan.

The basic goal of the plan is to create an invigorating city center, alive with people, recreation and commerce. It strives to make the downtown area more pedestrian-friendly by improving walkways, trailheads and storefronts.

The draft states that an interesting city needs interesting businesses to attract people, so it contains specific strategies for enhancing investment, both in the public and private sectors. A “sense of relatedness  among buildings is recommended to promote a unified vision while still allowing for individuality.

The plan recommends a series of actions, to be phased in over the next 20 years, that will orient downtown outward with water becoming the unifying element of the downtown area.

The plan increases visibility of Bellingham Bay from intersections throughout the city and includes a comprehensive plan for trails and bicycle routes to pull it all together. Whatcom Creek will serve as the “recreation and circulation spin  of downtown by connecting the outlying neighborhoods with the city center.

This is the city's living room,  Winter declares, emphasizing the focus on comprehensive development. “It's a neighborhood plan and yet it's everybody's neighborhood. 

The plan addresses many issues downtown residents, visitors and business owners are very familiar with: accessibility, aesthetics and a painful lack of parking. Mixed-use development   buildings that combine retail space with apartments or condominiums – also figures prominently in the long-term plan.

Using criteria such as historical significance, topography and location, five downtown “character areas  are identified and targeted for improvement: the commercial core, Old Town, Railroad Avenue/State Street, the civic center/cultural district and the waterfront. Specific recommendations are made for each area.

 

Street-level attractions sought

The commercial core area is defined by Cornwall Street on the southeast, Flora to the north, Chestnut on the west and all the rail lines along the edge of Georgia-Pacific's property.

The plan, honoring the area's retail past, recommends the area's continued promotion of specialty retail shops as well as development of office and residential space.

As for developing the commercial area's character, the plan suggests maintaining the traditional row of commercial buildings while offering “visually interesting  activities at the street level. Interesting street-level activities could be anything from visually engaging storefront windows to interesting benches or artwork.

On-site parking would be de-emphasized by the use of parking decks or structures set back from the street.

Old Town – defined from Holly and Roeder streets to Bay Street on the southeast and Broadway on the northwest – would focus on Whatcom Creek and its history of water-related industry. The plan acknowledges Old Town's neglect in recent years and suggests a streetscape concept that would include decorative paving at intersections, benches, thematic guardposts, signs and street lamps. A nautical theme, highlighting the area's maritime history, would dominate the area. The plan also recommends a restoration of the Citizen''s Dock to emphasize Old Town's historical connection to the waterfront.

Southeast from Old Town lies the Railroad Avenue/State Street character area, defined by Whatcom Creek to the northeast and Ivy Street to the southwest. The city center master plan describes Railroad Avenue as a feature in itself because of its 130-foot right-of-way and its historical importance. State Street is the one transitional area, the link between Fairhaven and the rest of Bellingham. Both are considered “corridor  areas.

The plan recommends promotion of both places as mixed-use neighborhoods, an “eclectic mix of commercial, office and residential  areas with emphasis on specialty retail, dining and entertainment facilities.

 

Parking concerns remain

None of the proposals Winter outlined attracted as much attention as downtown parking. The possible expansion of the parking area adjacent to Boundary Bay Brewery, 1107 Railroad Ave., drew comments from several audience members. The plan would create a two-level parking deck and concerns many local residents who are involved with the Bellingham Farmers Market.

Local resident John Blethen says the garage puts the future home of the market “in limbo. 

Planning and Community Development Director Patricia Decker said in a later interview that the concerns of the market have not been overlooked.

We would like to provide a permanent home for the Farmers Market and provide an additional level of parking,  Decker states.

Winter responded that a parking deck would provide a shelter for the market and further reinforce its function as part of the community.

 Twelve potential parking sites have been identified in the plan. Of the 12, Decker says, the Railroad Avenue sites would most likely receive attention first.

Most of the focus right now seems to be on Railroad and Holly,  she notes.

The plan emphasizes the development of multi-use parking facilities, which benefit both developers and shoppers. Developers get extra revenue from on-site leases and shoppers get parking closer to certain shops. Under the plan, parking becomes a system rather than an individual solution. A systems approach, states the document, requires that all parking “structures, lots and on-street spaces be viewed together  to evaluate their service to the downtown area as a whole. Parking is viewed as a utility for customers, rather than a land use.

 

Civic Center idea presented

Along the northern edge of downtown spanning Whatcom Creek is the Civic Center area. Home to the majority of Bellingham's city and county government offices, the southeast portion of the Civic Center also links downtown's commercial core in a culturally rich area of art and history.

The plan recommends the development of the area as a “civic campus.  More art galleries and more emphasis on the creek would complement the area's major visitor attractions: the Mount Baker Theatre and the Whatcom Museum of History and Art.

Bellingham''s historic waterfront is the plan's last defined character area. Because it's under Port of Bellingham jurisdiction, any projects recommended by the city must be done with the cooperation of the port. Trails and scenic overlooks were suggested as ways to make the area more appealing to the public, and street elements – such as lights, benches and markers – should be designed similarly to elements in Old Town, the plan recommends. 

The plan also identified improvement projects for what it called “opportunity sites,  including redevelopment of Old Town, particularly the Holly Street block between C and D streets that formerly was occupied by Sash-n-Door, and the former Flame Tavern site.

More retail outlets, cafes and taverns are recommended for Old Town and the Sash-n-Door area was suggested as an anchor for Old Town development. The plan describes the area as a good location for a civic-related monument.

 

Flame Tavern dilemma

As for the vacant Flame Tavern site at the prominent downtown intersection of Holly Street and Railroad avenue, everything from building it up to tearing it down has been suggested.     Winter identified Holly Street as the major point of entry into downtown, and said the street, which serves as the city's “symbolic gateway,  should be designed accordingly.

The plan suggests major improvements in signage, particularly in outlying points of entry, so that people know they're heading in the right direction. Decorative benches and plantings are also emphasized.

Winter recommended the city start smaller projects right away to stimulate investment while working with private developers to implement other improvements. The plan emphasizes building on already established policies and reinforcing existing local traditions.

By 2020, according to the plan, the downtown park system would include Whatcom Creek, Maritime Heritage Park at Holly Street, a plaza between Lottie and Central streets, a string of art parks along Champion Street and a greenway along the middle of Railroad Avenue with parks at both ends.

Other proposed developments include a Northwest Discovery Center in Old Town, a new library between Central and Flora streets, a new senior center at Cornwall and Ohio streets and a community/youth center where the former Calvary Temple stands. (It's being renovated for city offices.) Holly Street would become a two-way boulevard and all other entry ways would serve to complement the overall “experience  of shopping and living in downtown Bellingham.

The Planning and Development Commission will continue to work with the Downtown Steering Committee as it reviews the plan, which should be submitted to the Bellingham City Council later this year. The next commission meeting is scheduled Jan. 13. For information about Planning and Development Commission meeting times, dates and locations, call 676-6982.

City planner Greg Aucott says approval of the plan is an ongoing process.

It just sort of evolves,  Aucott remarks. “People just sort of have to follow along. It's likely that the Planning Commission will complete its review of the plan and make their recommendations to the City Council in the February-March time frame.  He says a final plan could be adopted as early as next summer, but would not elaborate.

I've given up trying to predict how long this is going to take,  Aucott says.

Although final action on the plan remains in the hands of the City Council, Decker emphasizes that smaller projects are already in progress and many have already been completed.

Business owners can see the work that is happening right now in the Maritime Heritage Center, the Hillclimb stairway and the amphitheater,  Decker states.

 

But that's not all.

There's been a lot of planting along Whatcom Creek, especially from Dupont toward the bay and from Dupont toward Grand,  Decker says. She highlighted the landscaping, terracing and fall planting of 4,000 plants on the hillside below the Whatcom Museum as part of the ongoing beautification effort.

Merchants, however, remain anxious.

I think it's good that people are impatient,  Decker says. “Clearly the downtown area as a whole is something we all care about. 

Local business owner and chair of the downtown steering committee Mauri Ingram urged the Planning Commission to support the plan and said the citizens support the development. Our “goal is to improve and enhance downtown as it grows to its potential,  Ingram says. “I urge you to support not just the adop