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January 26 - February 1, 2023 Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Arts and Jazz fundraiser returns on Feb. 4, page 5
Petrogas pays $4 million in settlement, page 15
TouchStone receives grant for facility, page 5
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
School board appoints local business owner to vacant seat By Ian Haupt
(See School, page 2)
s The Ridge at Harbor Hills has over a dozen homes occupied in the east Blaine housing development. The development, expected to be completed in 2025, will have 353 houses between single-family homes and multi-family units. Photo by Grace McCarthy
Development projects throughout Blaine By Grace McCarthy Blaine saw a booming year for housing development in 2022. There was more than enough to keep city staff busy, from the announcement of the proposed Semiahmoo Highlands development that will bring up to 480 residential units to construction of The Ridge at Harbor Hills. The city received $376,000 in revenue from building permit fees in 2022, which is $100,000 more than 2021 and $200,000 more than 2020. Construction was valued
at nearly $45.6 million last year. The city permitted nearly three times as many residential building permits as its annual average over the past decade, at over 150 permits in 2022, said Stacie Pratschner, director of the city’s Community Development Services Department (CDS). Development of The Ridge at Harbor Hills significantly brought up the number of permits, which the city uses to gauge the number of new housing units being built. “It was quite a change from the averages we’ve seen for about a 10-year period,” Pratschner said. The closest the city’s
Federal government blocks BP Cherry Point north wing, limits crude oil volume By Ian Haupt The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will require BP to limit the volume of crude oil handled at its Cherry Point terminal to 191 million barrels per year and prohibit handling crude oil at its north wing dock unless authorized. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will modify its 1996 permit to comply with the Magnuson Amendment’s restrictions re-
garding the handling of crude oil at Puget Sound facilities, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other legal requirements, according to a January 23 Corps press release. The Corps are also requiring BP to report the number of vessel calls and the volume of crude oil handled at the terminal each year to ensure compliance. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Andrew Muñoz said BP will be required to report its vessel calls and crude
oil volume annually. “That is really the only way [the Corps] can ensure that the ESA and Magnuson Amendment restrictions are being followed,” Muñoz said. In 1996, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit to add a north wing to the already operational south wing of the Cherry Point dock, originally built (See Cherry Pt., page 2)
seen to these numbers was right before the 2008 recession when there were about 70 residential unit permits issued, she said. Last January, the city began using a hearing examiner, instead of planning commission, to review applications such as conditional use permits and preliminary plat applications before being considered by city council. The city also digitized its permit intake, which Pratschner said accommodated growth. CDS is projecting conservative reve(See Building, page 6)
INSIDE
The Blaine school board voted 4-0 to appoint Pacific Building Center and True Value Hardware co-owner Kimberly Akre as its fifth member at a special meeting January 23. Akre will be sworn in at the board’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, February 27. Akre will fill former board member Todd Nunamaker’s district 1 seat until November 7, when the seat is up for election. Nunamaker resigned from the board in October 2022 due to continued health challenges. The board was required to appoint a representative living in the district to fill the vacant seat as it had been 90 days since Nunamaker resigned. District 1 includes Point Roberts and western parts of downtown Blaine. Board members must also be a U.S. citizen and registered voter. The school board interviewed two candidates, Akre and Brandy Hawkins, in its special meeting on January 23. After about 35 minutes in executive session to discuss the candidates, the board unanimously appointed Akre. “I saw it as a good opportunity to give back to the community,” Akre said January 24. Akre said her family moved to the area in 1977. She attended Blaine schools, graduating in 1992. She and her family took over the Pacific Building Center in 1997. She owns it with her sister Stephanie Munden. Akre also has two boys who went to Blaine schools. Hawkins is a complex claims resolution specialist for Liberty Mutual and has two children in the district. During her interview with the board, Hawkins encouraged the district to solve issues through more communication and engagement with the community. She said she has volunteered in her children’s classrooms and is vice chair of the Salishan Neighborhood Association. Akre said as a business owner she is comfortable dealing with financial issues and could apply this to a role as an adviser on district finances and operations. “I think a lot of people don’t realize that the school is
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