The Whatcom County Planning Commission will hold public hearings regarding the periodic update of the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan & development regulations and the urban growth area (UGA) review, which are required by the Growth Management Act under RCW 36.70A.130. The Comprehensive Plan update, development regulations update, and UGA review must be completed by June 2016. Specifically, the Planning Commission will hold public hearings and issue recommendations on the following:

Amendments to Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan (WCCP) Appendices, which are: Appendix A - Glossary, Appendix B - List of Acronyms, Appendix C – GMA Goals, County-Wide Planning Policies and Visioning Value Statements, Appendix D - Bibliography, Appendix E - Whatcom County 20-Year Capital Facilities Plan, Appendix F – Six Year Capital Improvement Program for Whatcom County Facilities, Appendix G - Transportation Impact Fee Background Information (proposed for deletion), Appendix H - Airport Overlay Zones, and Appendix I – Airport FAR Part-77 Imaginary Surfaces.


Amendments to Whatcom County Code (WCC) Title 20 (Zoning), Title 21 (Land Division Regulations), Title 22 (Guide Meridian Improvement Plan), and the official zoning map. Title 20 amendments include amending WCC Chapter 20.36 to require reclamation plans for surface mining uses in the Rural zone, amending Chapter 20.43 revising the maximum percentage of lot area that can be removed from production of forest products in the Commercial Forestry zone, amendments to WCC Chapter 20.72 and the Point Roberts Character Plan involving sign regulations in the Point Roberts Special District, amending WCC Chapter 20.82 concerning new sewer lines and amendments to WCC Chapters 20.24, 20.65, 20.66, 20.68, and 20.80.210 to update references to the Urban Fringe Subarea Plan. WCC 20.80.210 is adopted by reference in the WCCP and amendments to that section are also a WCCP amendment. The Point Roberts Character Plan is a part of the Point Roberts Subarea Plan, which is a subset of the WCCP, therefore the amendment is an amendment to the WCCP.

Title 21 amendments consist of amending WCC Chapters 21.03, 21.04, 21.06, and 21.08 to change standards for required disclosures for plats near significant pipelines.

Title 22 amendments consist of repealing Title 22, the Guide Meridian Improvement Plan. The plan is a component of the Urban Fringe Subarea Plan, which is a subset of the WCCP, therefore the amendment is also an amendment to the WCCP. The changes to the zoning maps consist of amending the zoning maps for all urban growth areas to reflect changes to urban growth area and urban growth area reserve boundaries, and rescinding the short term planning area zoning.

These hearings will be held Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Annex Conference Room, 5280 Northwest Drive, Bellingham.

The public is invited to submit written comments and/or attend this meeting to provide oral comments. Written comments may be submitted to:

Whatcom County Planning Commission
ATTN: Becky Boxx
5280 Northwest Drive
Bellingham, WA 98226
Email: [email protected]


Copyright 2015 Whatcom County, Washington. All Rights Reserved.
311 Grand Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225
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