My 14-year-old grandson was visiting last year, and we walked from my house on the “stairstep streets” to Lake Padden. He said, “It’s ironic that I live in (Los Angeles), and this is the most dangerous street I walk on.”
The proposed development across the street from Lake Padden proposes 29 units on 2.9 acres. There is no nearby public transportation, and this proposal could amount to 200 more car trips per day on the stairstep streets which lack sidewalks and, in some areas, have only ditches with running water as a shoulder.
This development proposal brings up a larger question for all of us. Should neighborhoods be allowed to retain their character, or do we need to allow helter-skelter development on every empty lot?
Most people on this hill would likely be fine with neighbors having ADUs. This would increase density but retain neighborhood character.
Our neighborhood does not regard this proposal as a nonstarter. We are looking for something that fits in and feels appropriate for a property in the Lake Padden and Padden Creek watersheds — that has a creek and large (possibly heritage) trees on the property.
How about leaving two-thirds of the property natural with a trail for walkers and bikers cutting across it to Lake Padden? Eight to 12 units feels about right to me.
The developer has asked the city to vacate a city right of way to create middle housing. The developers’ Sunset Commons on Sunset Drive has 35 units of similar size and are selling for between $650,000 and $700,000. Some units went for slightly under $600,000.
Is this middle housing? Should the city relax regulations for this? What do we want Bellingham to look like? These are questions I am presenting.
—Harvey Schwartz, Bellingham; July 8, 2026