BLAINE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MUST START ANEW

November 3 letter to city and county:

As I noted at the September 30 open house on the Blaine Comprehensive Plan, this community orientation to the plan (which the city has been working on for two years) was by law to have taken place at the outset, not at the end. Three of the land use rezones in the comprehensive plan were the result of ordinances passed by the city council in 2024-25 that financially benefitted Blaine officials, who failed to recuse themselves when voting. Unenforced Shoreline Management Plan violations, that include new unlawful reductions by the city in shoreline setbacks and critical area protections, threaten the Drayton Harbor oyster industry, salmon and orcas.

Under the mandatory Clean Water Act 303/TMDL Drayton Harbor Cleanup protocol, managed by the WA Department of Ecology on behalf of the EPA, the City of Blaine is required to clean up its act. The more harm the city does to the environment in the interim, by not complying with state and federal environmental protection laws, the more Blaine taxpayers will be on the hook for restoration. (Of note, Seattle purchased its drinking watershed, allowing no development. Bellingham developed its municipal reservoir, and recently built a second plant to remove urban pollution from its tap water. It is not unusual for these plants to cost $100 million.)

After Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward's September 8 incitement of violence against Blaine Water Coalition for holding her administration accountable under the Clean Water Act, Ethics in Public Service Act, and Public Records Act, it is impossible to trust the city will treat public participation and civic engagement by the community with respect. To the contrary, the public now knows that to hold the city accountable is to invite retaliation. 

Planned Unit Developments--unlawfully approved using outdated maps and studies, and avoiding review of cumulative impacts that would be discovered with an Environmental Impact Study--must be reevaluated. The three self-dealing rezone ordinances must be repealed. The Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) designations must be revised to meet county and state requirements. The draft plan must thus be withdrawn and started anew. 

Learn how the City of Blaine Community Development Services operates in Blaine Case Study.
Leave a comment on the Drayton Harbor Cleanup Plan here.
 
Jay Taber, Blaine Water Coalition

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