PROTECT BELLINGHAM
More Information:
www.savethewaterfront.org
bellingham@
savethewaterfront.org
Metal Pile Location:
Bellingham Waterfront
(near the bike Pump Track)
Metal Shredder Location:
Marine Drive and Bennet
(the old cement factory)
• ABC Recycling is a Canadian Company
• 25 year lease with the Port for a heavy industrial
activity in a light industrial area
• Possibly toxic Scrap comes from Canada
• Piles are hundreds of feet long
• 3-4 stories tall
• Area is zoned Light Industrial
• Use should be Conditional due to the
Heavy Industrial nature of the activity
• Metal crashing noise, for thousands, until 3 am
• The Scrap Pile is a known fire hazard
• Rust Dust Plumes are blown toward
Mercy Housing Child Care, New Condos
and Hotels, Playground and Downtown
• ABC is in violation of its Wastewater Permit
• Limited employment from the project
Sign the petition to enclose the scrap pile and stop work at a reasonable hours!
Bellingham, Save the Waterfront
Calling on the Port and City
We call on the City to make the appropriate change to the use authorization of Metal Recycling Collection and Storage, at the Log Pond within the Bellingham Waterfront.
- This change would place the activity under further environmental review possibly saving the Bellingham Bay, and protected Eel Grass Beds from further pollution.
- The metal storage must be within an enclosed structure.
- Hours of operation shall be no longer than 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Waterfront Facts
ABC Recycling is storing recyclable metal, with a 15-25 year lease, in the Log Pond area of the Port of Bellingham’s Waterfront. The Log Pond is actually not a pond, but a dry land cement cap, covering mercury contaminated sediment from the GP era.
- the Log Pond is zoned Mixed Industrial -
- and is feet away from new hotel and condo developments -
The Log Pond’s industrial use is restricted by Bellingham Mucipal Code 20.37.420(A). Per the City Attorney’s office, the lease has been allowed under Subsection E10.
The choice for an E10 definition instead of an F11 –
Hint: Its important!
By considering ABC’s activities as a “Maritime Use” and categorizing their operation as Land Use category E10, the Port avoided the usual environmental review that would be expected for such heavy industry as metal processing, but the activity would have to be highly maritime related such as boat building or aquaculture. Metal Recycling Collection and Processing is not.
E.10 designation inappropriately allows:
- The activities and storage to be carried out outside without an enclosed structure
- The activity is not restricted by hours of operation, allowing work to continue until 3AM.
- As a maritime use, per the Senior Assistant City Attorney, “What is stored, staged or shipped from there is not subject to any additional shoreline permitting”. Thus further environmental review was not required. Although Dept. of Ecology has already found the project to be in violation of the Port’s waste water permits.
A more careful look at the Land Use categories would easily show that category F11 clearly describes ABC’s activities and even includes the possibility that the scrap metal stored on land will ultimately be “shipped” from the Shipping Terminal. This does not negate the fact that the primary relationship of the scrap metal to the Port is one of STORAGE as part of their overall activity which is Recycling And if this is an accurate description of what ABC Recycling is doing at the Port with respect to Land Use, then Category F11 fits them like a glove.
But note that under that heading they are subject to additional standards according to Bellingham Municipal Code (BMC) 20.16.020(L)(2) which specifies:
b. Conditional in the commercial neighborhood, auto, and WATERFRONT designations.
c. Special Requirements: The Planning Director or Hearing Examinor may change (...) to ensure compatibility with city goals, policies, standards, the surrounding areas, or to mitigate operational impacts including noise, odor, visual and health and sanitary impacts.
c.i. The operation must be carried on entirely within an enclosed structure (...)
c.iii. If the site plan boundary is within 500 feet of a residential zone, hours of operatiion shall not be longer than 6:30am to 7:00pm, except when all activities are conducted wholly within an enclosed structure.
Calling on the Port and City
We call on the City to make the appropriate change to the use authorization at the Log Pond within the Bellingham Waterfront.
- Place the activity under further environmental review possibly saving the Bellingham Bay, and protected Eel Grass Beds from further pollution.
- Enclose the metal storage within a dedicated structure, as required by the zoning.
- Establish hours of operation no longer than 6:30 am to 7:00 pm
Is this important?
Other than laws for public safety, zoning within a city may be one of our most important types of law. It keeps industry safe from residential development. On the flip side, it keeps industry out of our residential areas. It allows Urban Villages, a diverse community, and so much more.
In this case, where the success of the overall development of a billion dollar project such as the Bellingham Waterfront, zoning defines what our elected officials and staff from both the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham have agreed upon, with incredible input from the community.
There is a reason BMC 20.37.420 (E 10) does not state along with “aquaculture” and “seafood processing”, “massive large recyclable metal pile”.
What's possibly next from ABC Recycling?
A metal shredder just outside the city limits near the neighborhood of Birchwood.