Posts Tagged ‘real estate’
Urban Growth Areas – Drawing Boundaries Between Urban and Rural Areas
UGA stands for “urban growth area.” Under the State’s growth management act (here we go with another acronym – “GMA”) all counties must designate areas in which urban growth is to occur. Areas outside of UGAs are to be reserved for rural and resource uses. All cities by definition are included within urban growth areas. Bellingham, for example is part of the Bellingham UGA. The Bellingham UGA extends past the city limits and encompasses that area in which Bellingham’s future growth is to be located. A map of the City of Bellingham and its UGA can be found here.
Residential zoning in Bellingham’s UGA generally allows for densities of 6 to 12 units per acre. In contrast residential zoning outside of urban growth areas is generally encouraged to be more rural in nature in the range of 1 house per every 5 acres or 1 house per every ten acres. Similarly, the size and character of commercial and industrial uses are limited to rural types of uses outside of an urban growth area. In contrast, within urban growth areas retail and more intensive commercial and industrial uses are encouraged to develop to serve the urban area.
Ideally under the GMA, the only type of development that would occur in a UGA, would be the type normally found in an urbanized area. Similarly, in an ideally planned county only rural types of development would occur outside of the UGA. Planning is not an exact science and as discussed in my prior post about LAMIRDs, urban levels of development do in fact exist in Whatcom County outside of its UGAs.
Every ten years, a County must examine whether its UGA boundaries meet the GMA’s requirement that a UGA be sized to accommodate the population growth that is projected to occur in the UGA over the next twenty years. Whatcom County is currently reviewing population growth projections in order to determine whether any of the UGA boundaries in the County need to be modified.
Watch for my next blog post, which will address how these population projections are generated and how they affect county and city wide planning.
What is a LAMIRD and How it Could Affect You
A LAMIRD is a “limited area of more intensive rural development” that is used to contain areas outside of cities and urban growth areas that already contain intensive levels of development. Generally, under Washington’s Growth Management Act (“GMA”), more intensive levels of development are to be located within cities and urban growth areas. When the GMA took effect in 1990, however, there were areas already developed with intensive commercial and residential uses that were located outside of cities and urban growth areas.
Whatcom County is currently reviewing whether to designate these areas with preexisting development as LAMIRDs. Within a LAMIRD, only limited infill and redevelopment of existing uses can occur. When the County designates a LAMIRD, it basically draws a boundary around development that existed as of 1990. Thus, if you own property that is designated within a LAMIRD, you may be limited in the ways in which you may expand or redevelop your property.
Alternatively, Whatcom County is considering whether to revise the existing zoning designations of these areas to a more rural land use designation. For example, land currently zoned to allow for development of 2 houses per acre would be rezoned to allow for one house per 5 acres.
Examples of areas currently under consideration for LAMIRD designation or a change in zoning are Point Roberts, Fort Bellingham, Lake Samish, portions of the Guide Meridian, Chuckanut, and a number of other areas. The full list of areas under consideration as well as additional information on this issue can be found on the County’s website. The Whatcom County Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing on this issue on Thursday, April 16th. The meeting agenda and materials can be found on the Planning Commission’s website.
Bellingham’s Urban Infill Toolkit
On Thursday April 16th, the Bellingham Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing with regard to the City’s “Urban Infill Toolkit.” The Toolkit would add provisions to the City’s zoning code to allow the development of special housing forms, including carriage houses, townhouses, detached accessory dwelling units, and smaller lot single family homes.
The Planning Commission will also consider how and whether these special types of housing should be allowed in all zoning districts including single family zones. The purpose of the Toolkit is to promote infill development in Bellingham and to create opportunities for more affordable and diverse housing options. These new zoning provisions may affect you if you plan to build one of the proposed special housing types or live in a neighborhood where these new housing types will be allowed.
The agenda and staff report for the Planning Commission meeting can be found at the City’s website.