City of Blaine sets 2024 legislative priorities

The city of Blaine’s legislative priorities for the 2024 session include the Bell Road intersection, advocating for a mixed-use library and affordable housing project, increasing its property tax levy and building infrastructure for industrial development.

Blaine City Council unanimously approved the city’s four priorities for the 2024 state legislature and approved a $36,200 contract with Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Relations to lobby those priorities during its November 27 meeting.

The city’s first priority is for lawmakers to continue their commitment to the design of the Bell Road Grade Separation Project for an overpass above the railway tracks at the Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive intersection. Travelers, including emergency vehicles, often experience significant delays at the intersection as the U.S. CBP’s vehicle and cargo inspection system scans trains crossing the U.S./Canada border.

The project, decades in the making, received a $9.5 million boost earlier this year from the U.S. Department of Transportation and has received financial support locally as well as from the state and BNSF Railway.

The city’s second legislative priority is to obtain state support for a mixed-use library and affordable housing project during the 2025-27 biennium. The Kulshan Community Land Trust is currently conducting a feasibility study on the project, which would create a larger library, affordable housing and potentially a childcare facility at the Blaine Public Library site.

The city is asking the state legislature to increase the annual one percent property tax levy that local jurisdictions are allowed without voter approval, and authorize a new formula that factors inflation and population growth. The levy cap would be limited to 3 percent under the new formula.

Blaine officials are also asking the state to invest in infrastructure on industrial land within the city. According to the city, Vancouver, B.C. is experiencing an industrial land shortage, and Blaine could be an ideal location for those industries, but lacks infrastructure needed to attract businesses.

The city also supported the legislative priorities of the Association of Washington Cities to invest in infrastructure, provide behavioral health resources and recruit and retain police officers.