Waterfront Futures Vision‘Connecting Bellingham with the Bay’

May 7, 2004

Waterfront Futures Project

Waterfront Vision

Guiding Principles Improve Waterfront Access Reinforce the Inherent Qualities of Each Place on the Waterfront Restore the Health of Land and Water Promote a Healthy & Dynamic Waterfront Economy

Improve Waterfront Access

Develop strong connections

between uplands and water. Provide multiple modes of access

to each area of the waterfront. Create and connect large and

small parks and open spaces. Enhance opportunities for visual

access to waterfront areas.

Reinforce the Inherent Qualities of Each Place on the Waterfront

Make the waterfront a regular part of the lives of more people.

Respect history, cultures,

and the arts. Make the waterfront inviting

to people on foot. Reinforce a unique ‘sense of

place’ at different waterfront

locations.

Restore the health of land and water

Enhance or reintroduce natural systems. Create and restore habitat wherever

possible. Remediate upland contamination. Protect existing natural shorelines. See opportunities to soften existing

hardened shorelines. Tailor environmental cleanup strategies and

remediation to planned use. Manage storm water to enhance estuarine habitats.

Promote a Healthy & Dynamic Waterfront Economy

Create new mixed-use areas on the waterfront

Support water-dependentactivities and uses.

Create an environment attractive

to jobs of the future. Strengthen the tie between local jobs

and resources. Provide public amenities and infrastructure to support

development. Improve permitting processes

Waterfront Vision

Six distinctive areas– Little Squalicum– Squalicum– City Center– South Hill & Boulevard– Fairhaven– Chuckanut and Edgemoor

Little Squalicum

En route to Old Fort Bellingham, the Nooksack River, and the Lummi Nation

Wild shoreline and bluff overlooking the vast landscape of the Nooksack River delta

Habitat and beach restoration the priority with some expanded public access and connections to existing open spaces

Industrial campus opportunity on the bluff supplying future technologies jobs

New facilities on this site designed and operated as models of sustainability

Squalicum

Center for marine related recreation and commerce Area that embraces habitat protection & a thriving maritime

economy Places to walk, sit and enjoy water views Significant marine habitat restoration potential at the mouth of

Squalicum Creek & along breakwaters Opportunity to improve connection to neighborhoods on bluff

at Broadway Overlook with a pedestrian bridge over the railroad

City Center

Characterized by working waterfront activities & receding heavy industries

Space for new employers, offices and institutional users, support services, retail activities and housing

Opportunity to restore the link between our waterfront and downtown

Offers expansion of Western Washington University onto the waterfront

Public access to marine transportation with public docks Deep-water moorage maintained for commercial and

institutional vesselsmore...

City Center continued....

Potential for public gathering spaces and community facilities

Site for a new marina in the Aerated Stabilization Basin Stronger linkages to Old Town as a gateway to the

waterfront Redeveloped Cornwall Avenue landfill site to include

housing in combination with open space, habitat restoration, public facilities

Numerous places for habitat restoration Potential to link Squalicum with Boulevard Park via over

water walkway from Cornwall landfill site

South Hill & Boulevard

Hillside residential and Sehome Hill provide green backdrop Major contributor to public access with its linear park, open

space, and the soon completed Taylor Street Dock connection

Strong linkages between the neighborhoods on the bluff, the water, Fairhaven and Downtown

Opportunity for improving public access to and along the water to the north and south

Additional small boat access Softened shorelines, habitat restoration, beach

enhancement

Fairhaven

Pedestrian scale, historic brick buildings and a rich mixture of activities

Working waterfront including ship and boat repair, fish processing and other marine related activities.

Major transportation facilities connect the community with other parts of the region

Better connections developed between Fairhaven village, Padden Lagoon, and Bellingham Bay.

Opportunity for new mixed-use areas with pedestrian linkages and access to the shore

Chuckanut and Edgemoor

South end transition, urban to non urban Rugged natural shoreline, evergreen landscape, craggy bluff Dramatic topography shift from water to mountains An area for retreat and return to nature Priority for conservation, habitat protection and connection to

cultural heritage

But look! Here come more crowds, pacing straight for the water, and seemingly bound for a dive. Strange! Nothing will content them but the extremist limit of the land; loitering under the shady lee of yonder warehouses will not suffice. No. They must get just as nigh the water as they possibly can without falling in. And there they stand – miles of them – leagues. Inlanders all, they come from lanes and alleys, streets and avenues – north, east, south, and west. Yet here they all unite.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

It’s all about... Connecting Bellingham with the Bay