Whatcom County Candidates

October/November 201010 Whatcom Watch

Whatcom County Candidates

Tony Larson

Jean Melious

Local citizens, with expertise in transportation, Lake Whatcom, biking and land use issues, provided these questions. Whatcom Watch conducted the survey.

Whatcom County Council — District 1, Position B

1. In 1998, Lake Whatcom was listed as an impaired water body for dissolved oxygen and phosphorus under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Twelve years have elapsed since then and the water quality has further deteriorated as evidenced by the ongoing monitoring studies by the Institute of Watershed Studies at West-ern Washington University. According to the draft Total Maximum Daily Load study by Paul Pickett and Steve Hood of the Washington State Department of Ecology, a 74 percent reduction in developed watershed land would be required to return Lake Whatcom’s phosphorus loadings to natural levels.

How should the county fund restoration proj-ects to meet both state and federal mandated requirements of the Total Maximum Daily Load?

2. Approximately 80 percent of Whatcom Trans-portation Authority’s ridership and revenue gen-eration is within or comes from Bellingham. A few months ago the proposed levy for WTA was turned down by a fairly narrow margin. The mea-sure passed by a large margin in Bellingham and failed by a large margin in the rest of Whatcom County’s cities and unincorporated areas whose representatives to WTA either did not vigorously support the measure or, in some cases, actively opposed it. In the wake of this defeat several dis-cussions and actions about transit and increased funding have been taking place. The Bellingham City Council enacted a Transportation Benefi t District (TBD) which voted to place a $.002 sales tax increase on the November ballot. Some of the revenues from the TBD may be directed to-wards a contract between the City of Bellingham and WTA to restore some Bellingham services that will likely be cut by WTA this fall, such as Sunday service.

Given the likelihood that the county voting pattern outside of Bellingham will probably remain the same for future WTA funding increases, where do you stand regarding the Bellingham Transportation Benefi t District?

3. Whatcom Smart Trips is an ongoing partner-ship between local government, public agencies, employers and schools. A Smart Trip is any walk-ing, bicycling, rideshare or bus trip that replaces a drive-alone vehicle trip.

Do you practice the philosophy of Smart Trips? If the answer is yes, how do you prac-tice it? If no, please explain why you don’t practice it.

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1. Restoration projects are an expensive part of providing safe, clean drinking water. When we don’t protect drinking water, we have to spend dearly to restore it.

Because Whatcom County is out of compliance with the Growth Management Act, we are ineli-gible for state Centennial Clean Water Program funding, which will provide about $15 million to other communities in 2011. Other state and federal funds may be available, although the pot is shrink-ing. Other possible funding sources, according to the County-approved Lake Whatcom Comprehen-sive Stormwater Plan (2008), include “formation of a sub-fl ood control zone district,” “loans and debts,” “taxes,” “new development fees,” and “ad-ditional funding from the existing county-wide fl ood control zone district” (which means there would be less money for fl ood control projects). To meet our obligation to provide safe drinking water to the 50 percent of County residents whose water comes from Lake Whatcom, the County Council will need to work with County residents to determine which approach or approaches will provide the necessary funding.

2. The Bellingham Transportation Benefi t District will do a number of good things, and I support it. It will help to shore up transit in Bellingham, and it will provide jobs for people who work in transit and construction. If the people of Bellingham decide that they want to support transit, street paving, and safer sidewalks and bike paths, the community will benefi t. I hope, however, that the underlying assumption in this question will turn out to be incorrect. In order to restore our transit system, all Whatcom County residents – inside and outside of Bellingham – will need to support transit. As our population grows, we may see that more people want to use transit, and County voting patterns may refl ect this.

3. I strongly support transit and planning for walkable communities. This is not, however, an outcome that we can expect to achieve overnight. I telecommute and carpool when I can, but on the other hand, I drive my kids to events just about every day of the week. If school district events could be localized at the students’ school, a signifi cant number of vehicle trips could be saved – but current budget restraints appear to be making that more, rather than less, likely. This is just one example of the planning challenges that we face in reducing car trips in Whatcom County. But overall, Smart Trips is a great incentive-based program that helps to raise awareness, and over time, I am sure that awareness will translate into increased transit and bicycling opportunities.

(360) 201-2491 [email protected] www.getwhatcomworking.com

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(360) 714-1459

[email protected]

www.voteforjean.com

1. Just like every family in our community that is struggling to meet all its obligations, the County must prioritize spending. Now that the County, City of Bellingham and Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District have all adopted the Lake Whatcom Watershed Plan, we must prioritize those projects based on which will have the most signifi cant and direct positive impact on improving the water qual-ity. Because of our limited resources, we must get the best Return on Investment. That means using scientifi c analysis to determine the actual results in reducing phosphorus loading from each project.

2. I’m not sure that I subscribe to the opinion that “the voting pattern outside Bellingham will prob-ably remain the same for future WTA funding increases.” Voters in all areas of the county have shown that they will support tax increases when they are convinced of the need. Take the recent tax increase to support the library, for example. Whatcom County voters approved that in 2009. Increasing a tax of any kind is a serious decision that requires thorough analysis and justifi cation. I wholeheartedly support voters’ right to express their support or rejection of tax increases of all types.

3. My wife, Danielle, and I work together as much as possible to reduce the number of car trips we have to take, and with two active kids, that’s not an easy task! As the publisher of Northwest Business Monthly magazine, I often need to visit multiple businesses in a day. While I’m not able to turn my work travel into a Smart Trip, I do plan my route to result in the fewest number of miles covered. Smart Trips is an admirable program that is good for our community. I support it and commend those who participate.

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11October/November 2010 Whatcom Watch

Tony Larson

Jean Melious

Whatcom County CandidatesLocal citizens, with expertise in transportation, Lake Whatcom, biking and land use issues, provided these questions. Whatcom Watch conducted the survey.

Whatcom County Council — District 1, Position B

4. The Growth Management Act is a state law that went into effect in 1990 with the intent of helping fast-growing counties and cities plan effectively for future growth. It contains 13 goals that are not prioritized in order of importance, so many of them can conflict at certain times. Goals range from focusing urban growth in urban areas and reducing sprawl, to encouraging affordable hous-ing, protecting property rights, protecting the en-vironment and encouraging citizen participation.Property rights and protecting the environment are often seen as conflicting interests.

As a Whatcom County Council member, how would you ensure that the goals of the Growth Management Act are achieved in a balanced and fair way?

5. Whatcom County has been working over the last two years on two major planning processes, to achieve compliance with the Growth Manage-ment Act: an Urban Growth Area Review and Revision (Whatcom 2031), and an update of the Rural Element of the Whatcom County Compre-hensive Plan. Part of the Rural Element Update will be establishing Limited Areas of More In-tense Rural Development boundaries around rural areas that have illegally been allowed to build to urban standards, so they cannot spread and sprawl onto farmland and rural lands.

If elected, would you work to protect agri-cultural lands from conversion to residential development? If yes, how would you do it? )

6. A “Complete Streets” policy ensures that road-ways are designed and operated to allow safe, attractive and comfortable access and travel for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists of all ages and abilities, as well as public transportation.

Do you support “Complete Streets” as a policy for all Whatcom County road construction and repair projects within one mile of schools and crossroad commercial areas? Please ex-plain your position.

4. Property rights are important because they create significant benefits for individuals and society. The right to use and improve the land not only provides individuals with income and employment, but it also provides society with important economic activity and fosters individual enterprise and stew-ardship. At the same time, the right to use land is subject to the understanding that your property rights can’t hurt your neighbor. The saying “Use your property in a way that does not harm others” has been part of our common law since the found-ing of our country.

As Whatcom County grows, and we have more neighbors and more intense use of the land, we have to be more careful not to harm our neighbors. The Growth Management Act focuses on two goals that I support. The first is fiscal responsibil-ity. The County should not grow in a way that makes taxpayers pay for roads and other services for sprawling new development. The second is environmental stewardship. Growth cannot take place at the expense of clean water and a healthy environment.

5. Yes. We have to comply with the Growth Man-agement Act, and we also have to make sure that farmers can make a living. I support the County’s goal of preserving 100,000 acres of agricultural land. This goal is based on the need for a “critical mass” of land for agriculture to remain viable into the future.

The people of Whatcom County have supported the long-term viability of farming by purchasing the development potential of farmland from will-ing sellers through the Purchase of Development Rights program. This is a win-win, but it is expen-sive. We need other tools.

The Agricultural Advisory Committee has rec-ommended a “toolbox” of approaches, including a transfer of development rights (TDR) program. Developers purchase the right to develop additional units from farmers, who can use this income to help keep farming. Although Whatcom County has had a TDR program for years, it is not working to preserve agricultural lands. I will work to help create the market needed for the TDR program and to implement other approaches that will keep farmers farming.

6. Complete Streets help to improve mobility for everyone and also can provide health benefits. The national Childhood Obesity Task Force recom-mends “Complete Streets” as a way to help children get exercise by providing safe walking routes. I think that it’s a great idea.

An important issue, of course, is funding. Some-times Complete Streets can actually be cheaper to design and install. Other times, the full realization of a Complete Streets design would exceed project budgets. In Seattle, when that occurs, they make sure that any Complete Streets elements that can’t be included are added to a future projects list. This allows local governments to make improvements as funding becomes available. Another approach is to invest in proportion to the context and expected use. For example, in more rural areas, install-ing wide, paved shoulders may be cheaper than purchasing additional right-of-way for a separate bike path, and it may work well in that context. Understanding that implementation needs to be flexible, I support the goal.

4. I don’t view property rights and protecting the environment as competing interests. As long as we base decisions on clear objectives that take into account what tradeoffs might be necessary and that create outcomes that are fair and equitable to everyone, we will get results that meet the goals of the Growth Management Act while balancing people’s individual rights with the needs of our community as a whole.

5. The health of our local economy is heavily depen-dent on the success of our agricultural community, both our farmers and the many businesses that serve them. For farmers to be successful and not succumb to financial pressure to convert their land to other uses, we must provide realistic regulations that support their ability to farm. We should be looking at visionary programs that create a win-win for our farmers and the environment. One such possible program is currently being explored by Farm Friends. It’s a new tool called Natural Resource Markets. Ideas like these are not perfect solutions, but they balance our goals and objectives with the impacts of those most affected by our decisions. As your County Councilman, I’ll seek the best ideas to solve our current challenges from wherever they may come.

6. Complete Streets is a concept that is particu-larly effective in more densely populated urban areas where we should be encouraging all forms of transportation to actively co-exist together. How-ever, our county is an expansive area with a wide variety of circumstances that makes implementing complete streets as a one-size-fits-all solution im-practical. Analyzing the costs and benefits of adding bike lanes, sidewalks, traffic calming devices, access to public transportation, etc., should be among the factors reviewed for every road project the county undertakes. I’ll work to ensure the safety of our community in all decisions I make.