By Jenny Hoang
The
Federal Aviation Administration seeks to find more community involvement in the
development of the Airport Master Plan, according to the Port of Bellingham Meeting
October 10 at Squalicum Harbor.
The delayed Master Plan has unknown effects on Bellingham’s northern
neighborhoods.
“This
is a complex issue, particularly with the growth (of the airport) being seen,”
said Daniel Zenk, Port of Bellingham’s Director of Aviation.
Because
of the growing demand of the use of the airport, reconstruction of the outdated
airport is a necessity, said Daniel Zenk, Director of Aviation, at the Port of
Bellingham meeting October 10. In
the past 10 years, the industry has seen a 25-30 percent growth of commerce in
the airport, said Zenk.
Birchwood
neighborhood resident and longtime former city councilwoman, Louise Bjornson,
sees the effects of the boost in commerce in her daily life.
“When
I first moved here many years ago, I did not even know that there was an
airport just north of town. There
has been a lot more noise from the airport in the last few years,” said
Bjornson. One of her friends sold her house and moved elsewhere in the small
neighborhood because the helicopters continued to fly directly over her house.
Daniel
Dunne, President of the Columbia Neighborhood Association, has not noticed any
change of frequency of noise from the airplanes flying overhead.
“We
are under the takeoff part of the airport, where the engines are going flat, so
the west side of the neighborhood gets a lot of noise already,” said
Dunne. He doesn’t believe that the
expansion of the airport will affect the Columbia Neighborhood, except for a slight
increase in tax revenue and perhaps more commerce for local restaurants and
hotels.
The
Columbia neighborhood is known as one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods with
nearly 4,000 residents. The
southern part of the neighborhood is known as the Eldridge Historic District,
with many large historic homes.
The majority of homes in the small neighborhood are single homes, with a
strip of commercial buildings on the eastern side and northern side, according
to the City of Bellingham website.
One of the more recent development projects in the area is the Fountain
District Urban Village in the eastern side of Columbia neighborhood. The urban village plan is to provide
amenities and necessities within walking distance while creating a focal point
for community activity, according to the 2010 Fountain District Urban Village
Subarea Plan.
The
Port of Bellingham’s Summary of Interviews, 14 residents and representatives of
various Bellingham neighborhoods and businesses, say that for those effected by
the aircraft noise, there is a desire to see the airport stay at the size it
was prior to 2004.
The
Federal Aviation Administration has delayed the deliberation of the Master Plan
through mid-2013 due to lack of sufficient community involvement in the
development plan, said Zenk.