Whatcom County Council funds Birch Bay incorporation study

Whatcom County Council approved up to $150,000 to fund a Birch Bay incorporation feasibility study that will provide more data, including costs, associated with the urban growth area becoming its own city.

The funding request was included in AB2024-463, an ordinance amending the 2024 Whatcom County budget with a list of other requests totaling $873,134, during the July 23 council meeting. The vote followed Birch Bay residents asking county council to fund the study earlier in the meeting.

The Birch Bay Incorporation Association, a grassroots group that began exploring the possibility of incorporation last year, requested the county fund the study with the goal of having data for residents to determine whether they want to further incorporation efforts. The study, an update of a 2008 incorporation study, will provide information on projected city operating costs and tax revenue.

The Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan, a guiding document for long-range planning, encourages the county support incorporation within the Birch Bay urban growth area when appropriate. The county designates urban growth areas as locations where development is encouraged.

A consultant will now need to be selected to prepare the study. The county aims to have the study finished by mid-2025 and hopes findings can be included in Whatcom County’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan, which must be updated by December 31, 2025.