Birch Bay residents learned shortly before County Council action that a stop sign was being added for uphill traffic at the intersection of Birch Bay Drive and Birch Point Road. The community showed up in force to object, but the decision still moved forward. A city would put decisions about local streets in the hands of representatives elected specifically by Birch Bay residents.

Birch Bay has waited years for planned improvements to its community beach park. What may be a major priority for Birch Bay is only one of many competing priorities in a countywide budget. A city could decide locally how important parks, trails, sidewalks and other community improvements should be.

Birch Bay has become a thriving residential community, but tourism is also an important part of our local economy. Hundreds of short term rentals, along with restaurants, other businesses, beaches and parks, bring thousands of visitors into Birch Bay and generate tax revenue. Visitors also increase demand on roads, parks, public safety and other local services. A city could make local decisions about how eligible revenues are reinvested in the community generating them.

Insurance and administrative requirements have made it increasingly difficult for local organizations to hold community events at places like Birch Bay Beach Park or permit activities as simple as community parades. Those requirements might make sense when managing facilities across an entire county, but they can create unnecessary barriers locally. A smaller government focused on Birch Bay could choose to actively partner with community organizations and make community building easier.

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District, Birch Bay Watershed and Aquatic Resources Management, Blaine Birch Bay Park and Recreation District, Blaine School District, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, Whatcom County Library System, and community organizations such as the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce already serve Birch Bay well. When one of these organizations identifies a need, a city could become another local partner, helping coordinate improvements, pursue grants and move projects forward. Incorporation would not replace these organizations. It could give them a municipal partner focused on the same community.

Today, law enforcement resources are allocated as part of a Sheriff’s Office responsible for the entire unincorporated county. As a city, Birch Bay could decide what level of law enforcement it wants and is willing to fund.

That would not require immediately creating a standalone Birch Bay police department. A future city could contract with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office or, where an appropriate interlocal agreement is available, another nearby city police department. A contract could be structured around dedicated staffing and 24/7 coverage, subject to the cost, staffing and terms negotiated by the future city.

Local control could also allow Birch Bay to set priorities for community policing, traffic enforcement, neighborhood patrols, response expectations, code and nuisance enforcement coordination, emergency planning and other public-safety needs that are especially important to this community. Instead of accepting a service level determined within a countywide system, Birch Bay voters and their elected council could decide what level of public safety they want, how it should be delivered and what they are willing to pay for it.

Birch Bay is already an Urban Growth Area, and Whatcom County is planning for significant additional population growth to occur here. In other words, Birch Bay is expected to keep growing and becoming more urban whether we incorporate or not. As a city, decisions about local land use, neighborhoods, transportation and development would increasingly be made by a government accountable specifically to Birch Bay.

As a city, Birch Bay residents would elect representatives whose responsibility is specifically to this community. Those officials would make decisions in public meetings here and adopt a budget focused on Birch Bay. If residents disagree with the direction of their city, they can elect different representatives. The people making Birch Bay decisions would answer directly to Birch Bay voters.