University Ridge Dormitory, The Infill Tool Kit and Our Neighborhoods

Personally, I think a City should require every neighborhood to have some multi-family housing.  That would spread out the concentration so that no neighborhood becomes a ghetto.  Unfortunately, Cities do not seem to do that.  Bellingham would currently prefer that we pack the downtown with all the density that folks don’t want in their neighborhoods.  I wonder how that will turn out in 20 years.  I am always suspicious of arguments against multi-family housing projects (in somebodies neighborhood) ....always comes across as a little elitist to me.

I actually am pretty surprised that you, Mr. Conoboy are so opposed to this project.  We have been lead to believe, in several City Council work sessions, that WWU students live in such absolutely horrible conditions that the City must put in place a brand new rental housing inspection program.  Of course the program comes with huge fees to landlords who are evil and force WWU students to live in moldy houses.  This new dorm is a god send to these poor students. 

This area is zoned multi-family.  Folks who invested in property surrounding the site should have done their homework and looked at how the neighborhood was zoned before purchasing.  And if the zoning changed after they purchased…...well that sucks.  Happens to people all the time.  (I’m thinking of the zoning change in the once Yew Street Road UGA.  People are losing money on that deal too.)  The refrain usually is something like: “there is no guarantees when investing in property”.  I bet you have used that refrain yourself Mr. Conoboy. (perhaps on the Padden Trails project?)

Whether the project makes economic sense or not is not for any of us to decide.  That is for the owner/builder and their financing to decide.  If they build a mistake economically they will pay the price.  And then the public may actually win.  If they go bankrupt maybe Catholic Community Services can put a residential treatment center in the facility.  Hey whats good for downtown should be good for your neighborhood too right?  Or maybe the Whatcom Housing Authority will take it over with the money raised from the new tax levy.

When I attended WWU I lived in an rental on Wilson Avenue.  I walked to school daily, uphill, in the rain, snow, sleet….perhaps barefoot too:)  They are 18 year old college students,  I don’t think a 15 minute walk is an issue.  I’d say that is about standard for much of the housing around campus.

It seems to me that you have a general dislike for renters.  As an owner of several quality rentals in town I kindof take issue with that.  My renters do not operate on the 24/7 basis you describe.  I have had a variety of renters from HUD housing recipients, to college students, to lawyers.  99% of them good.  The 1% usually has a dog, which always seems to cause issues.  Bellingham reportedly is made up of about 50% rental households.  I think that is pretty huge and out of whack.  But that is not the fault of renters but rather may be an economic issue, whether it be cost of housing, limited supply of housing or lack of family wage jobs. In addition, we live in a college town which has it’s own quirky pluses and minuses.  There are plenty of options for not living in Bellingham…..Lynden perhaps?

Delaine,

Thanks for the substantial comment.  You can call me Dick.  I find Mr. Conoboy much too formal.  :-)

I agree that neighborhoods should have multi-family housing.  The area around Nevada, Puget and Consolidation is full of apartments.  Nobody is arguing that issue.  As for the city, it would like a denser core so that workers might reduce or eliminate commuting.  That makes sense to me.  Call me elitist if you wish, however, I am not sure that that includes asking the city to be coherent in its planning and development processes.  Were it not for the council, we would now have multi-family at Padden Trails in the form of the Infill Tool Kit at the edge of town and thousands more vehicle trips per day to boot.  The area around Lincoln and Lakeway is already very dense with a mobile home park and apartment buildings.  One more apartment building is slated for Lincoln St. just south of the Fred Meyer complex.  It would make sense to have a transitional area such as 11 acres in question where one might logically use the Infill Tool Kit to increase density in a gradual manner from the surrounding single family zone.  Four 5-story dormitories are not transitional in any way, shape or form.

It is not only WWU students who live in poor conditions.  We have plenty of young workers and families of modest means who have to play in the crap shoot of renting a home or an apartment. Where are these folks to go? They have little money to start with, so offering them a great, clean place for $650/mo. per bedroom is not exactly helpful except to those who have money in the first place.  As for the “huge fees” under a rental health and safety ordinance, no fee has been fixed.  The council is talking about $24 per year for a unit.  $2 a month.  But even that has not yet been set. Just where is the “huge”?

Just because the area is zoned mult-family does not mean that the city or the neighborhood has to accept any project that comes along.  We all have a voice and we have that voice all the time.  Padden Trails was just a dumb idea designed to make as much money for the developers as possible at the expense of not only those around it but the city as a whole.  University Ridge is a bad idea from many angles and the local residents there have every right to fight it.  By the way, my home is far enough away from this proposed monstrosity that it will effect me little just as you , who live in the county far away from the hustle and bustle & surrounded by trees, will experience no effect at all.  What I reject is seeing residents and homeowners railroaded.  I also reject the notion that people have to live in squalor or danger to afford a rental. 

“Whether the project makes economic sense or not is not for any of us to decide.”  Really?  We should have no concern about allowing a buildout that has problematic adaptive use?  It would cost millions of dollars a year to run those four buildings as a treatment center.  Where would those funds come from? 

Well, Delaine, i guess you got me on my dislike for renters.  I hate them so much that I have been working for ensuring their health and safety now for half a decade.  Perhaps you might have missed all the letters, newspaper articles and blog entries I have devoted to the topic.  I invite you to look at my blog at + Link and then judge for yourself the level at which I despise renters.

I am happy that you are such a good landlord.  We need good landlords.  Perhaps you can join with me in ensuring the quality of all the 17,000 rental units in Bellingham.

I have heard many different fees thrown out there.  It seems to change each time they meet…..

I stand corrected.  You like renters, you don’t like landlords:)  I will not help you in your charge as I don’t believe in your methods.  When I purchase a house, I am responsible for making sure it is liveable and safe.  It would not be suggested that the seller of the house: A)have a business license to sell his house B) pay an inspection fee to assure I am buying a safe house.  See?  I expect tenants to be offered what I am offered.  If they want to order an inspection of the house they are renting fine,  they are welcome to do so and are welcome to pay for it.

Personally, I just don’t think this project is that bad.  Where are the million of dollars coming from to put in the Catholic Community project downtown?  Where are the millions of dollars coming from for Whatcom Housing Authorities behemoth buildings downtown? 

Currently our clean, safe, mold free rentals with an awesome landlord:) go for $515 a month per bedroom…....they are never empty.  So I don’t think the $650 is out of line.  For that $650 they get a bedroom and don’t have to constantly find room mates.  They are responsible only for their $650 and not for the rest of the house.  Does that make sense?  There is value in not having to coordinate finding and keeping roommates in a four bedroom house.

Delaine,

I am miffed that you keep telling me whom I like and do not like. I neither like nor dislike landlords.  There are some specific landlords I dislike because of the filthy junk they offer to their tenants.  I think some tenants need to be more civil but I do not particularly dislike them either.  I want to see that each tenant has a safe place to live.  The city can ensure that that happens with an inspection program that will not devastate the rental industry.  These rental safety and health ordinances exist by the hundreds all over the country.  I have found only one that was repealed after it was passed.  Call Mitch Nickolds,the code enforcement officer in Pasco, and ask him how well their ordinance has been working for the last 15 years.  Guess what?  The rental industry has not collapsed there.

The canard that one should be responsible for making sure that a rental is safe before signing the lease is, just that, a canard. No renter could possibly be expected to know enough about plumbing, ventilation, electrical systems, structures, vermin, fire safety and mold to make a sufficient judgment.  The same goes for landlords whose ignorance and inattention has already displaced 13 student in the last 18-20 months almost killing several in fires that were preventable BY THE LANDLORDS.  Read my blog. Sheesh!

Mr. Conoboy,
So sorry that you are miffed.  I’m a bit miffed too.  I’m miffed because you seem to want to make me responsible for things I am not responsible for.  I have read your blog and it scares the living s*** out of me.  Really, I am to blame that a tenant blocks their exit from a house?  Really, I am to blame for no batteries in a smoke detector after a tenant has lived there for 8 months?

What we need in this country is some personal responsibility.  Unfortunately you can not legislate that.  What you also can not do is MAKE people follow the rules.  Sorry but you can’t.  For example, I have had CO detectors in my rentals with gas heat since I bought them in 1998.  In our personal residence we have had them since the beginning of time.  (In our rentals with electric heat and no gas on the premises I have had them since it was announced they would be required even if no gas heat, which is a stupid rule, but I digress)  I do not need the Government to tell me how to protect myself and my tenants.  However, City Councilmember Jack Weiss admitted that he did not have a CO monitor in his house and even though the State said he had to have one he did not install it by the deadline.  Get my point?

And as far as little problems like folks renting out accessory dwellings in your neighborhood, this will not solve that issue.  In fact, requiring landlords to register will likely cause some of them to go underground….and then they can be really bad to their tenants.  Want proof?  My family has rentals in other towns that require them to “register” their units for a nominal $5 fee.  Guess how many years they have not registered?  So yes Pasco may say their program is working.  And it probably is for the landlords who play by the rules.  But they can’t very well monitor the ones who don’t play by the rules can they?

Every tenant has a choice.  When they walk into a place and it is “filthy junk” they can decide not to rent that unit. 

“No renter could possibly be expected to know enough about plumbing…..”  I agree they don’t.  However, neither do I.  When I purchase a residence I hire an inspector at my expense to tell me what is wrong with the house.  And if something is wrong it is my prerogative to make a deal with the owner to fix it, fix it myself, or not buy the place.  Why should it be any different for tenants? (not suggesting they should have to fix anything)

But do you know what really miffes me Mr. Conoboy?  It’s this notion you seem to have that tenants somehow need your help.  Just because someone is a tenant does not mean they are stupid or less educated or less able to make decisions for themselves.  That is the feel I got from reading your blog.  YOU are wiser and smarter and YOU will help the lowly tenant.  First and foremost you should ask all tenants in town if they want your help.

I rest my case.