OPPOSING BLAINE UGA PROPOSAL

October 1 letter to Whatcom County Planning Commission:

Water Planning Matters, formerly Blaine Water Coalition, will participate in the Whatcom County Planning Commission hearing to oppose the City of Blaine UGA/UGA Reserve Proposal.

Additionally, I wish to submit the following concern for the hearing record about the invalidity of the Blaine proposal due to direct financial conflicts of interest by three Blaine officials who used their office to engage in self-dealing--voting on rezone amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code on their own properties, a crime in Washington State under the Ethics in Public Service Act.

In section IV, UGA Growth Allocation Proposal, it states, "The City has already taken the first few actions, including increasing maximum building height in the Central Business Waterview District, adopting a residential parking relief program for the entire Central Business District, and creating a new Urban Mixed Use zoning to accommodate middle housing." Each of these three actions involved perjury, self-dealing, and fraud by city officials. 

On June 14, 2025, Blaine Water Coalition filed a Formal Complaint (see attached) with the U.S. Department of Justice against the City of Blaine for approving the Urban Mixed-Use rezones of properties in which Blaine Planning Commissioner Sam Randhawa stated he had no conflict of interest under oath, and proceeded to vote to approve unlawfully reduced shoreline setbacks on two properties for which he was the listed real estate agent at Freeman Real Estate. Blaine Community Development Services director Alex Wenger then altered the public record to remove Blaine Water Coalition comments--which is felony fraud.

The Central Business District building height and parking relief amendments were voted on and approved by Blaine City Councilman Mike Hill, who owns several commercial properties in the Central Business District, and failed to recuse himself. Likewise, Downtown Advisory Committee member and developer Gurdeep Bains (husband of Blaine City Councilwoman Sarbie Bains) benefitted financially from his vote to amend the Blaine Municipal Code for his properties.

The Growth Management Act is not a license to steal by realtors and developers. Whatcom County Planning Commission should seek an investigation by the Washington State Auditor and Attorney General, while rejecting the Blaine Comprehensive Plan for egregious violation of the public process and open government, something the Washington Coalition for Open Government recently brought to the attention of the City of Blaine.

 

Jay Taber, Water Planning Matters 

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