Soundings (7/10/07)

Waterfront advisers give South Side ideas Advertisement FOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD E-mail | Print | Digg it del.icio.us AIM comment on this story (0) Editor's note: The Port of Bellingham and city of Bellingham have joined forces to redevelop 137 waterfront acres that the port acquired from Georgia-Pacific in 2005. This weekly update is provided by the port. Three new members joined the citizen-led Waterfront Advisory Group last week. Appointed by Port of Bellingham commissioners, they are: Elizabeth Grant, manager of Stewart Title; Ken Oplinger, president of the Bellingham Whatcom Chamber of Commerce; and Drew Schmidt, owner of Victoria San Juan Cruises. The group discussed the port's long-range plan for its Fairhaven property, which includes the Fairhaven Marine Industrial Park, the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the Fairhaven Shipyard, Marine Park, the Fairhaven Station that serves Amtrak and Greyhound, the boat launch and some additional parcels. They recommended: That Fairhaven Marine Industrial Park remain in industrial use and additional shoreline buffers and storm-water treatment be added where possible. An alternative would be changing it to mixed use. That the public boat launch in Fairhaven be maintained for hand-carry boats and small motorized boats. Sediment from Padden Creek has made the area shallow, and it can't be dredged because the area is valuable salmon habitat. The group suggested the port add more small boat storage adjacent to the boat launch and install a hydraulic hoist. The long-range plan will be the topic of another port commission work study session this summer and is scheduled for a public hearing and adoption in the fall. KINSHIP FELLOWS TOUR WATERFRONT As part of the international Kinship Conservation Fellows program held at Western Washington University this summer, participants from around the world got a tour of the waterfront redevelopment area on Saturday. Michael Medler, a faculty member of Huxley College of the Environment, and port environmental director Mike Stoner led the tour, which included participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hungary, Philippines, Australia, Indian, Belize, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. The month-long private midcareer summer educational program explores ways to use market-based planning tools to lead conservation programs.