Whatcom County planners propose controversial 'rural centers'

The Whatcom County Planning Commission will continue reviewing a controversial proposal to draw lines around certain rural centers and trim development potential outside those lines. The proposal by county planners would designate areas throughout rural Whatcom County as rural centers, where either housing or business development has been clustered historically and is higher in density than state law now considers "rural." Planners have drawn boundaries around these areas. They're proposing to change zoning inside the boundaries to allow development to continue with the same uses, sizes and densities as was there in 1990. Outside of the boundaries, zoning would be changed to allow only rural growth. In many cases, that means land currently zoned to allow one or two houses per acre, as examples, would be rezoned to allow only one house per 10 acres. Also, some areas outside the boundaries zoned for commercial or industrial development would be rezoned to one house per 10 acres. The proposal has been met with fierce opposition by some county residents, who are calling it a government land grab, while others support protecting rural farmland...BellinghamHerald