The Port of Bellingham and
City of Bellingham have the parameters of a deal in place for a swap of waterfront
acreage.
The transaction, which still
requires approval by both the port commission and Bellingham City Council, would
result in the port receiving city-owned industrial land in the Marine Trades Area
of the Waterfront District.
In return, the city would
gain full ownership in the Cornwall Beach area, an old landfill site that’s undergoing
environmental remediation. The port currently owns 51 percent of the land.
The agreement is proposed
as a land swap, with no money being exchanged.
“It simplifies a jigsaw
puzzle of land ownership, allowing each government to focus on its areas of strength
and interest,” according to an Oct. 3 statement by the city. “While this land exchange
is separate from the joint Waterfront District master planning effort, if approved
it will resolve land use and ownership issues that were unnecessarily complicating
planning efforts.”
The proposed property exchange
also calls for the port granting the city access to the breakwater surrounding the
former Georgia Pacific treatment lagoon, as well as access to adjacent property
for public parking.
Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville
and port Interim Executive Director Rob Fix said the property exchange meets multiple
community goals, particularly strengthening the area’s potential to attract additional
maritime economic development on the waterfront and meet commitments to public access.
“Having a single owner for
this section of shoreline will allow the port to manage the property so that multiple
businesses can make use of the public investment in the shoreline improvements,”
Fix said. “We anticipate this land swap will result in a more efficient use of public
lands and will create new jobs within the next year.”
Linville said the Cornwall
Beach area has long been envisioned as an area for waterfront public access with
parks, trails and mixed-use development, and consolidating city properties simplifies
planning for development of that area.
Public hearings on the land
swap are scheduled for Oct. 16 at the port’s Harbor Center Conference Room and Oct.
22 at Bellingham City Council Chambers.
