“Dear Friends of Whatcom County” A Message from CAPR

LiveJournal Tags: Whatcom County,GMA,UGA,Property Rights,Home Occupations,Home Businesses,CAPR,Futurewise

At the regularly scheduled County Council meeting this coming Tuesday evening, July 13, Council will be holding a public hearing concerning proposed revisions to the most recent version of the UGA changes proposed by our current County Council. Council will also be discussing related matters during various meetings scheduled during the day preceding the evening meeting. Attached is Council's agenda for both the day and the evening, current as of today. The latest iteration of these agendas may always be obtained by visiting the county's website.

The ongoing debate regarding land use policy in our community, including complex topics such as UGA policy, LAMIRD's, the role of the "AG Protection Overlay", and many others continues. These issues have NOT gone away. Neither have the foes of your property rights, including entites such as Futurewise. As this year's election season continues, you will want to pay especially close attention to the special election being held to replace Ward Nelson who is serving an interim appointment in the wake of Bob Kelly's resignation from Council last year. Late this month, ballots will be mailed to those of you who vote in Council District 1 asking you to choose a nominee for the November ballot from a list of three candidates, one of whom has served for several years on the County Planning Commission and who generally favors more and tighter restrictions on your liberty and rights to use your property, within reason, as you see fit rather than as the bureaucracy would have it. You are urged to do your homework on this important race, the outcome of which will likely have significant impact on Whatcom County's future economic vitality.

Meanwhile, Whatcom CAPR thought you might be interested in viewing Futurwise's recent bulletin to their friends and supporters. Note the insertion of "talking points". Should you decide to attend Tuesday evening's meeting, be prepared to see a line-up of "the usual suspects" testifying (whining) before Council about how awful they (the "new" Council) is to be reviewing the policies the lame-duck council rammed through in haste on Thanksgiving eve last Fall.

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( If you do not wish to receive announcements, alerts, and occasional communications from Whatcom CAPR, and wish to be removed from our e-mail list, please reply to this message. We do not wish to spam anyone. )

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Whatcom County Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights

P.O. Box 28626; Bellingham, WA 98228; (360) 815-5914

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Tell County Council Not to Expand Urban Areas On Tuesday, July 13th, the Whatcom County Council will ask the public whether we think we should expand four cities' borders onto neighboring rural land around around Ferndale, Birch Bay, Sumas and Nooksack. Working farmland south of Ferndale, WA - photo by Buff Black, 2009 This proposal would UNDO the work carried out last year to reduce urban footprints, prevent sprawl, and bring Whatcom County into compliance with state law! July 13th is the public's first and ONLY opportunity to have a say in the decision. If you care about the livability of our great place, NOW is the time to tell County Council not to expand UGAs. 5 Things YOU Can Do to Stop Sprawl & Save Rural Land:  Help preserve livability in Whatcom County by emailing Councty Council NOT to expand UGAs. Talking points HERE. Call a County Council member and share personally with them your own views. Council numbers HERE.  Mark your calendars for Tuesday, July 13th @ 7pm to show up and speak up for a livable future in Whatcom County. Arrive early to sign up for comments Keep your eyes peeled for Op Eds in the Weekly and Bellingham Herald next week, and send your Letters to the Editor in support of them. Talking points HERE. Join Futurewise Whatcom today, to help us keep working locally to prevent sprawl and promote smart growth in Whatcom County! MARK YOUR CALENDARS: WHAT: A public hearing on the ordinance to expand Urban Growth Areas by amending the last ordinance that reduced them! WHEN: Tuesday, July 13th @ 7pm (arrive early!) WHERE: Whatcom Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue WHY: This will be our opportunity to speak up in defense of a livable future for Whatcom County that retains compact, efficient urban areas, and: Focus limited county resources on what needs to be fixed NOW Proposed expansions of UGA boundaries lack robust public process As UGA boundaries grow, so do costs to taxpayers DOWNLOAD COMPLETE TALKING POINTS HERE. We need to tell the County Council that we cannot afford to waste taxpayer money, degrade rural lands -- and that we mean it, the public doesn't support sprawl! Click here to email the County Council today! Thank you for caring about our livable future,  Cathy July 2nd, 2010 Click here to email County Council! DONATE TO FUTUREWISE Your donation from Whatcom County is directed specifically to fund our local efforts managing growth and stopping sprawl here in Whatcom County.  Donate today! JOIN OUR MAILING LIST! Privacy Policy About Futurewise Whatcom

(206) 343-0681 | info@futurewise.org