Are you like CAITAC and Trillium? The Cities of Ferndale and Blaine? You know... the affected community?
Are you disappointed in the off-the-rack Comprehensive Plan from 2009?
Well, you are in luck then, because you can order your own custom-made, low-to-the-ground, pretty-fly-for-a-white-guy, Armani-or-your-life tailored Comprehensive Plan amendment.
Did you know that a person can file an application to amend the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan?
Comp. Plan amendments are not just for the County Council. Not just for the Planning Department. Any person can take a crack at it.
If you believe the UGAs should be modified in the County, then you can fill out a handy application and submit it to the Planning Department right at the counter.
The so-called affected community can just file their own Comp Plan amendments. Today.
Corporations are people, too. Just ask the Supreme Court.
Trillium or CAITAC or the municipal corporation of Blaine could just go ahead and file their own Comprehensive Plan amendments to settle this paltry matter of the UGAs.
So, why don’t they?
Well, there is the matter of the fees...
The fees start at $15,700 as of 2009...
It should be noted that $15,700 doesn’t buy a guarantee that the comp plan amendment will actually be adopted.
But it does pay for 55 hours of county staff time.
Every hour of staff time beyond that will cost the “person” an additional $100 per hour.
And why shouldn’t the affected community have to pay for the county staff time they consume on this matter? They are the ones that want to amend the Comp Plan to redefine the UGA boundaries to their specific benefit.
Since they see themselves as the affected community, maybe the cost of the staff time for this UGA settlement should affect their bank accounts first.
Someone has to pay for that staff time, and if the affected community doesn’t pay for it, then the rest of us in the County get to pay for it. You know, the un-affected community.
I’m not keen on having to subsidize the cost of adding an aftermarket spoiler to the Comp Plan, just because CAITAC, Trillium, the City of Ferndale, and the City of Blaine want one, and think it will improve how the Comp Plan handles corners.
But the affected community wants the County Council to apply for the Comp Plan amendment. This could be in part because County Council doesn’t have to pay these substantial fees when they initiate a comp plan.
The affected community are being generous with the hard earned money of the rest of us. Perhaps it is time they ponied up more of their own.
Any thoughts? Comments?
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