DISMANTLING PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

 Blaine City Council Ordinance 26-3043 is


1) designed to eliminate public participation in land use decisions. 
2) designed to eliminate environmental appeal rights for citizens.
3) designed to eliminate environmental review of most developments.
4) designed to double Blaine's population in three years.
5) designed to unfairly burden low-income Blaine residents.

The proposed $5,000 barrier to appeal Critical Area Determinations and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) fraud violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

The proposed amendments do not arise in a jurisdiction with a clean administrative record: 

1) The City has not issued an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) developments despite multiple citizen requests and Department of Ecology guidelines. 
2) City planners knowingly issued false SEPA determinations for East Maple Ridge and Creekside at the Ridge planned unit developments (PUDs) to accelerate project approval for developer benefit. 
3) The City Council approved an illegal zoning change (no EIS) on October 23, 2023 due to not being informed by Blaine planner Alex Wenger, CDS Director Stacie Pratschner, or City Manager Mike Harmon that an EIS was legally required. 
4) The City has no published Code of Ethics and has refused repeated requests to adopt one. 
5) The City rejected a Blaine Water Coalition SEPA appeal in 2025 for inability to pay the $2,500 fee. 

If these code amendments are adopted at the April 13, 2026 city council meeting, only people with money, time, and lawyers can realistically challenge harmful decisions. To file an appeal will cost $5,000, with no low-income waiver for citizens on fixed incomes.

If you value civil rights, the rule of law, and public participation, please send an email to cdscomments@cityofblaine.com and to citycouncil@cityofblaine.com

Watch The Anatomy of Exclusion video from Water Planning Matters. Learn how Blaine's proposed municipal code changes undermine civic participation, public scrutiny, and government transparency.

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