Blaine City Council denied a citizen activist group’s appeal for a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review of the planned Avista at Birch Point development in Semiahmoo during a special meeting held before council’s January 26 meeting.
The council’s 5-0 vote to deny a SEPA appeal came after a 90-minute, closed record hearing between Avista developer Wayne Schwandt; Geoffrey Baker, who leads Blaine Water Coalition, the activist group that fought for the SEPA hearing; and the city of Blaine. Baker, who goes by the alias Otto Pointer, represented himself, while the other parties had attorneys.
The closed-record meeting allowed only pre-submitted evidence to be discussed, and allowed only parties to the SEPA appeal to speak for five-minute oral arguments and brief rebuttals.
The development in question is a planned subdivision that has promised up to 490 residential units offering single-family, townhomes and multifamily units to be built over multiple phases. The property is located on the west side of Semiahmoo Parkway, neighboring the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club and abutting Blaine city limits to the southwest, according to city and developer documents. The first phase of the project will be a 33.5-acre development with 79 residential lots and 1.9 acres of retail space, according to city documents.
The planning for Avista, previously called Semiahmoo Highlands, was announced to the public in early 2022. Schwandt, who was also in charge of the Sea Smoke neighborhood in Semiahmoo, presented his plans in March 2022 to about 100 community members, many of whom were concerned about stormwater management after the November 2021 floods.
During the March 2022 presentation, Schwandt said he intended for the project to include development in unincorporated Whatcom County, according to previous reporting by The Northern Light.
Baker, speaking on behalf of Blaine Water Coalition, argued that Blaine city government did not properly investigate the subdivision’s environmental impact. He said the city did not do its due diligence in allowing adequate public comment, determining stormwater runoff and flood risks, and determining whether a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) exists under the land, among other complaints.
The city argued the Blaine Water Coalition, as the SEPA appellant, held the burden of proof for its claims and did not do enough to convince the city council that a mistake was made in the initial planning and public participation of the Avista development.
“The claimed deficiencies in the process have either been adequately considered by the city in making the SEPA MDNS decision or are irrelevant, unrelated or legally incorrect statements that have no bearing on the city’s decision,” said Tim Schermetzler, the city’s attorney. “Community dissatisfaction with a project is not a basis for the council to deny a project.”
Schermetzler cited a January 5 recommendation from the city hearing examiner, Phil Olbrechts, that recommended council deny the SEPA appeal. Throughout the 58-page report, Olbrechts said the city was adequate in its stormwater, drainage, environmental and traffic planning to go forward with the development without fear of legal repercussions.
“The SEPA appellants, most notably Mr. Pointer, exerted a monumental effort in representing the concerns of the surrounding community,” Olbrechts wrote in the report. “They had to absorb thousands of pages of technical information within the compressed timeframes of the appeal review process. Despite these efforts, they could not overcome the near bullet-proof permit record compiled by City planning staff and the Applicant.”
During rebuttals, Baker said the Blaine Water Coalition will continue to fight the planned development.
“We’re not finished yet,” Baker said. “There’s some significant deficiencies here. You’re voting on this. This is going to impact the lives of 1,300 homes south of us, our neighbors. These people are impacted, and you have to think about that on your conscience at some point.”
Baker also filed a public records lawsuit against the city last August that a Whatcom County Superior Court judge found to incorrectly cite the law. The judge, Robert E. Olson, warned practicing the law in such a way could potentially be a criminal act and could result in Baker being sanctioned by the city. Baker and the city later agreed to drop the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning the case could reopen in the future.
Council approved the preliminary plat application during the special meeting. Schwandt now has 180 days to submit a planned unit development master plan to the city, incorporating 95 conditions set by the city hearing examiner.
