With state and federal agencies waiting for a plan, watching for any sign of a serious effort to reverse the deterioration of the lake that serves as the water supply for tens of thousands, the county showed they remain a bunch of cowards more afraid of offending "property rights" zealots than failing to protect Bellingham's reservoir.
So now the battle lines are drawn. Whatcom county emasculates growth regulation, disregards state law, and ignores state agencies demanding action to rehabilitate Lake Whatcom. Alone at the ramparts, is the city of Bellingham.
With Sam Crawford initiating a blitzkrieg on the watershed before his reign of terror comes to an end, an army of lawyers, representing land speculators around the lake and elsewhere, attack the county planning department to weaken enforcement of regulations on residential development.
Simultaneously Crawford mounts a campaign to cut the funding for water projects that could contribute to protecting the reservoir.
In a rear guard action, predictably, Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District's plan is in place to assist development all along the north shore by increasing withdrawals from two wells and expanding the delivery system, allegedly put in place just to serve the Lake Whatcom Residential Treatment Center.
And the coupe de grace; the council, with the exception of Carl Weimer, voted against prohibiting further sub-division of the watershed and left the moratorium on the same to expire at the end of August.
If things go as I expect, LWW&SD will claim to have water for any of the new lots, clusters and subdivisions that can't rely on unpermitted wells, though their own sources are closed to new withdrawals. And the county will allow developers to vest alleged "rights" after the moratorium expires.
Opposing them we have little more than a scrappy mayor and a dedicated council, all quite aware of what's at stake.
They have few allies on the county side, and the council members not for out and out development in the watershed are either confused by flaks or push naive proposals to compensate speculators for rights they don't even possess.
While councilwoman Brenner makes sounds like she would put the lake ahead of private interests, given the opportunity, she could not bring herself to vote to protect the watershed because she isn't sure of it's boundaries. Apparently she's only for protecting the lake if its watershed boundaries fall in the right place.
And Ken Mann, when push came to shove, voted with Crawford, ostensibly planning to lead an effort to create development rights for landowners who, in fact, lack a source of water to develop. Given that similar programs to protect farm lands largely rely on taxing the public, this approach promises to be little more than a transfer from the many to enrich a few.
And Bellingham has no allies in the administration or county attorney's office. The county executive and legal officer refuse to respect state laws and rules that would prevent more development in the lake's surrounding watershed. They turn a blind eye to allow the landed gentry to build and subdivide where they know water is unavailable.
At this point the city stands pretty much alone in the effort to address the demands of the state to protect the lake. It was unfortunate that county residents dedicated to the stewardship of our resources relaxed prematurely, and allowed the county council to be captured by a group in the service of special interests.
Now Crawford's council takes its direction from attorneys representing property owners anxious to cash in while they can; land speculators hoping to expand urban growth areas, maximize areas allowing denser development outside urban centers, and in particular, developers interested in vesting rights around Lake Whatcom and escaping regulations intended to stop and reverse degradation of the water supply.
So egregious and mistaken is the thinking of these newly elected council-members, they actually believe the taxpayers should pay people who are prevented from damaging the water supply; compensate them for infringement of some inalienable property right to pollute and build even where water is unavailable for new development.
The rush is on to create new rights for a clever few that the rest of us will be required to purchase simply to have safe water to drink. Ultimately, we will have to choose between more lakeside McMansions and the water supply. If they can't build, at least they'll be able to pass off their losses on us.
It is indeed time for conscientious citizens to get involved and add their voices to the mayor's and the city council-members who fight this travesty. Above all else, it's time to fix county government and stop the machine.
