Petition to Blaine City Council
&
Whatcom County Council

We, as taxpayers in the City of Blaine and/or Whatcom County, oppose the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development and demand that Blaine City Council and Whatcom County Council deny any approvals for the Semiahmoo Highlands development to proceed in any way until the following minimum requirements have been met.  For clarity, these requirements must be met in advance of any approvals.  Providing approvals based on promises to meet these requirements in the future is not acceptable.

• A comprehensive regional storm water strategy with defined standards and requirements has been established for the City of Blaine and Whatcom County, after which a storm water plan for the entire proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development is established that meets those standards and requirements, as well as the standards of Washington State.

 

• A comprehensive waste water strategy has been completed, including a study on the impact of the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development, in addition to Horizon, Muirfield, Woodberry and overall projected population growth, on current and future waste water and sewer system capacity for treatment and disposal.

 

• A traffic study has been completed to determine the impact of the increased population from the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development, in addition to Horizon, Muirfield and Woodberry and overall projected population growth, on the safety and security of the taxpayers and residents of the City of Blaine and Whatcom County, including impacts on access to emergency services such as ambulance and fire services that are already under-resourced and restricted by two railway crossings.

 

• An Environmental Impact Study has been completed in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act (“SEPA”) to identify any negative impacts of the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development on the environment along with any compensatory mitigation measures.  The completion of a SEPA environmental checklist is not sufficient as it does not adequately identify and measure the environmental impacts of the proposed development.

There are many other negative impacts of the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development that are not listed here.  The elected officials of the City of Blaine and Whatcom County have been elected to represent the interests of their constituencies.  We ask that the elected officials listen to their constituents.