Development continues ? was running at a frantic pace in our drinking-water watershed:---

More Development on Squalicum Mountain?

by Virginia Watson, President, SVCA

Comments about the risk of additional development on Squalicum Mountain, because of inadequate constraints on the proposed waterline said to serve "only" the LWRTC, yet not initiated by them, but by the developers. ...click to read Virginia Watson's comments...

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See what has been done just in the last three years on Squalicum Mountain (2005-2008):

Here is an annotated image of Squalicum Mountain, showing and telling what has been done by developers and owners in the last few years, and now what has been done by citizens, being concerned and watchful.



Read the background document that probably had some clout to suspend some of the urbanization there: Interlocal Agreement WD7 and City2.pdf

Water Districts - north shore service areas (click for large image)

Raw Earth fill for a new house: Site of the substantial earth fill shown above: This is a clip from the "2006" aerial photo, below.

Squalicum Mountain area Location Map: for large map just below.

Extract from the 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement, Bellingham UGA, Urban Fringe Area (*) Placement of earth fill may alter topography, compact subsurface soils, reduce infiltration of water, cause differential settling, alter subsurface and surface drainage patterns, destabilize hill slopes, result in methane gas production, create borrow pits, compress and damage vegetative root systems, create a safety hazard if left steeply sloped and unconsohdated, and accelerate erosion. Fill materials may also be subject to liquefaction during seismic events (*) http://www.cob.org/documents/planning/publications/COB_FEIS/6.FEIS%20Ch.3.Nat.Env.6.28.04.pdf

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These are the areas being considered for development in and near the watershed, on Squalicum Mountain. Note that County Executive Pete Kremen owns a nice little chunk of this land, squeezed in between the two very large segments under the control of logger Paul Isaacson and developers calling the project "Vineyard Development".
Here are the two individual aerial photo images, which alternate in the dynamic-display files below them. Academy Road is at the bottom; and the powerline route is the 45-deg diagonal swath at the upper right of each image. In 2004 & 2006: (Photos source: City of Bellingham) . If your system can display it, here is a slideshow which cycles the two images above: (presented in two versions:)
PowerPoint - Windows '97 2004-2006.ppt - download and open	Self-running executable file; probably just works on Windows. Automatically cycles - guaranteed not a virus or harmful. 2004-2006.exe - download and execute

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Other images - click to see enlargement:

Assessor's Map - 380323-mapNE.jpg Vineyard Drive sale sign

Big water-main pipes, before being buried Vineyard Drive new home, with huge blacktop gated entance.

(More images will be installed here.... and better arranged, as we have time.)
c: 994