Public Comment Compels City to Issue 4th RFI; PMBC in the News – August Update
Congratulations: We did it! Driven by our comments, the city has just issued a fourth Request for Information (RFI), requiring the developer to address substantive concerns about their environmentally insensitive subdivision application.
In this issue:
Fourth RFI Issued – What happened; what it means; what happens next
PMBC in the News: KING5 story spotlights the community’s fight
Next Steps – How you can take action
1. Fourth RFI Issued
What Happened: Citing “a substantial amount of public comment” (yes, from all of us!), the city just issued a fourth Request for Information (RFI) to the developer. The RFI can be read in full here: https://cob.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-08-14-rfi.pdf.
In the five-page RFI, the city establishes specific Action Items the developer must address before the city will continue their application review. These action items range from several specific, detailed requirements, to a comprehensive requirement for the developer to “Submit a response to the public comment.”
What it means: Public comment from across the community, including detailed letters submitted by PMBC's highly regarded land use attorney and technical experts, successfully demonstrated the application's substantive deficiencies. In PMBC's 471-page public comment submittal, we called on the city to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – as did over 1,100 Petition signers, many members of the community, and ally organizations including RE Sources, Whatcom Million Trees Project, Mount Baker Sierra Club, and Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee.
By issuing this fourth RFI, the city stopped short of making a State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) Threshold Determination of Significance and thereby requiring an EIS. Instead, the city's RFI states that “the information is necessary to prepare a SEPA threshold determination.” With this fourth RFI, the city has placed the ball back in the developer’s court to address the multitude of application deficiencies raised by the community in our public comments.
What happens next: The city gave the developers a 120-day deadline to respond to this fourth RFI. The applicant can request extensions to that deadline, something they have done with previous RFIs. This fourth RFI requires a significant amount of work from the developer. When will their response be ready? We have no way to know. We can expect the developer’s response on or before the 120-day deadline of December 12, 2024 – or, if extension(s) are granted, sometime after that. As ever, you can rely on us to update you as soon as we become aware of any actions taken by the city or the developer.
For more information on public comments:
The city has posted all public comments received March 25 – July 31 on their project website, here: https://cob.org/project/the-woods-at-viewcrest (in “Public Comments Received” section)
PMBC’s last Update outlines the extraordinary public outcry from individuals and ally organizations, here: https://mudbaycliffs.org/updates/public-comment-highlights-next-steps-may-update
2. PMBC in the News: KING5 story spotlights the community’s fight
KING5 journalist Eric Wilkinson noticed PMBC's yard signs and the community's efforts to protect Mud Bay Cliffs, and he approached PMBC to help communicate what is at stake. On July 5th, a taped segment aired on KING5, and a web article was published: “Neighbors fight to protect delicate shoreline from luxury home development.” You can view both the video story and the written article here: https://bit.ly/PMBC-King5.
3. Next Steps – Take Action!
Comments Can Still Be Submitted! The city will continue to accept public comments until they are ready to take further action. We have no way of knowing when that will be, but it’s likely to occur in the coming months. Therefore, you can continue to submit letters or emails and to sign PMBC’s petition. After you read the documents that PMBC submitted (links below), you may have additional comments you’d like to let the city know about!
Sign/share the petition here: https://mudbaycliffs.org/petition
See a sample letter here: https://mudbaycliffs.org/updates/example-letter-public-comment
PMBC will continue to closely monitor developments as the developer and the city take next steps. We’ll alert you when more information becomes available.