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Land-Use & Water Compliance Briefings
We report on land-use rules, decisions and compliance issues affecting drinking water, aquifers, wetlands, stormwater and watersheds in Blaine and Birch Bay.
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How Planning Departments Skirt Compliance in Washington State (Part 1)
Part 1: A post-mortem covers front-end regulatory capture / compliance-skirting before and during the hearing process:
how planning departments use incomplete records, vesting, outdated standards, selective disclosure, and procedural narrowing to move risky projects forward;
how science gets constrained before the quasi-judicial appeal even starts;
why that matters for drinking water, flooding, wetlands, and downstream pollution.
Compliance Forensics: Why Blaine's Land Use Code Changes Undermine Civic Participation, Public Scrutiny Government Transparency, Water Resource Protections
The City of Blaine is rewiring its development and SEPA rules in BMC Title 17. The changes are branded as “streamlining,” but read together they create something closer to an administrative black box: applications go in, approvals come out and public oversight is marginalized.
DOH Water Source Protection: Defers Review of Potential Creekside Contamination Risks to 2028
On April 7, 2026, Water Planning Matters filed a formal Declaratory petition in response to DOH deferral until 2028 to take action on protecting City of Blaine Water Supply serving 17,000 people
State Auditor Asked to Review Blaine City Manager’s “Disregard and Delete” Directive Over Drinking Water Petition
On March 31, 2026, Water Planning Matters filed a formal petition with the Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water identifying 26 unresolved source-water protection concerns tied to the proposed Creekside at the Ridge development and asking regulators to verify safety conditions before clearing, grading, or fill near the municipal water supply serving about 17,000 people.
Vanishing Science, Vanishing Fairness, Judicial Bias
Hearing Examiner issues ruling, denies exhibit admissability, evidence excluded for arguments, serious procedural error
Part 2: Hearing Examiner Ruling: How Best Available Science Disappeared from the Avista Decision
Hearing Examiner issues ruling, denies exhibit admissability, evidence excluded for arguments, serious procedural error
Part 3: Hearing Examiner Ruling: How Best Available Science Disappeared from the Avista Decision
Hearing Examiner issues ruling, denies exhibit admissability, evidence excluded for arguments, serious procedural error
Hearing Examiner Ruling: How Best Available Science Disappeared from the Avista Decision (Part 1)
Hearing Examiner issues ruling, denies exhibit admissability, evidence excluded for arguments, serious procedural error
Avista Development: Why Semiahmoo and Birch Bay's Future Depends on What Happens Next
The City of Blaine is about to lock in a 181‑acre housing project above Birch Bay using old data, unverified drainage ponds, and “fix it later” conditions. Once this framework is approved, most future phases will move forward with almost no public say, even as flooding, shellfish pollution, and traffic impacts grow. If you care about clean water, safe roads, and accountable government, the next few weeks are your only real chance to shape what happens on this site for decades
WPM Files SEPA Appeal Brief - Round 1
Water Planning Matters (WPM – formerly Blaine Water Coalition) filed its closing brief in the largest SEPA appeal in the City of Blaine’s history, following five unprecedented days of hearings on the proposed 490-unit Avista at Birch Point project — one of the largest developments ever proposed in Whatcom County.
Top 10 Rules Playbook: A Blaine, WA Planning Department Case Study
A City of Blaine case study on how planning departments use regulatory capture to deflect scrutiny through procedural hurdles, selectively limit data and scopes to rush approvals and obfuscate facts via complex code interpretations.
This practice sidelines public input, skirts environmental protections, endangers marine habitat, shellfish food and has raised serious alarms for the health of Blaine, Birch Bay and surrounding communities that depend on clean water resources.
Planning Department Case Study - Regulatory Capture
Learn how the City of Blaine's planning department, officially known as the Community Development Services Department, uses its "Top 10 Rules Playbook" to influence land-use decisions. This article, from Whatcom Watch, details how a group of volunteers believes regulatory capture, excessive fees, and a lack of transparency have sidelined public input and environmental compliance in the city.
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