Homes ...

From page 1 tured home parks in planned unit developments (PUDs), which are required for manufactured home parks that are five acres or larger. Skip Jansen has said the inconsis- tencies originate from several code changes in the early 2000s.

“You have a series of internal conflicts that make some of these a nullity, which raises the question, if it’s a nullity, why do you even have a manufactured home park code section?” Sitkin said during the council meeting. “It’s a confusing code you have regarding manufactured home parks.”

The moratorium will allow city staff to develop new regulations for manufactured home parks and consult community members and developers about what those regulations could look like and where they could be allowed, Sitkin said.

Sitkin added council could vote to rescind the moratorium before the six-month mark.

Council approved the moratorium 5-1, with councilmember Mike Hill opposed and councilmember Garth Baldwin absent.

“My hope is that we can push our city staff to do it in a shorter period of time because it is on us, and by us, I mean the last 15 years of council, to have not fixed this in the first place,” councilmember Eric Davidson said.

Council’s decision comes after Skip Jansen sent a May 19 letter to council and city staff threatening to sue the city if JIJ Corporation was denied the opportunity to make a manufactured home park application. Skip Jansen explained in the letter that the developers had followed staff’s recommendation to not apply for a PUD application and instead apply for the text amendment at the beginning of 2022. Jansen requested in the letter that staff make an administrative interpretation on whether it would accept a PUD application with a manufactured home park.

“We feel if we are again denied the opportunity to make an application, especially after more than a year and a half of following the city’s direction, we will be financially harmed and will have little recourse but to seek damages against the city,” Jansen wrote.

After the meeting, Jansen said he didn’t agree with council’s decision to enact the moratorium and stood by his letter.

Nature’s Path offering community garden grants

Nature’s Path Organic Foods is giving away $7,500 grants through its annual Gardens For Good contest to grow community gardens across North America. Applications close Sunday, June 11.

Nature’s Path, an organic cereal manufacturer in Blaine, will select 15 community gardens to receive $7,500 each this year. Garden projects must be registered nonprofits and grow organic food.

The program was established in 2010 and has since donated over $615,000 to nearly 75 gardens. Ten gardens in the U.S. and five gardens in Canada will receive grants this year.

to all the event sponsors and incredible volunteers who gave their time and resources to make the a huge success!

Their contributions are invaluable, and we cannot thank them enough for their unwavering support.

Last year’s grant recipients include the Maple Alley Inn Community Garden in Bellingham and Downtown Eastside Urban Farm in Vancouver, B.C.

The public will vote on the applicants in June, and winners will be announced in July.

To apply for the grant, visit bit. ly/435wYmy

City hall ...

From page 1

In February 2020, city council authorized city staff to pursue $2.5 million for a police station expansion but reversed its decision to pursue the funding that summer because of Covid-19’s financial impact on the city. City council then discussed several options for the future of the police station in 2022 that included finding a new location in east Blaine.

In January, city council considered purchasing the vacant UPS building on Peace Portal Drive for a justice center to house the police department, municipal court and other city offices. Harmon said the city made an offer on the UPS building this spring but the owners weren’t interested.

“It’s a very smart financial choice for the city that will lead to better customer service in the short run and the long run,” Harmon said of the city hall decision.

Blaine police lieutenant Michael Munden said the change will allow the department to improve its space for a training room and interview room. Currently, it’s difficult for the department to train at the station because the only open room is used by officers on shift. The room used for interviewing crime victims has no insulation, meaning victims need to be quieted if someone walks into the lobby while they are giving their statement.

Munden said moving part of the department into city hall and potential modifications, such as soundproofing the interview room, would be a good temporary measure, but added that the building won’t work as the city and police department grow.

“This is going to be a pressure valve being released for us,” Munden said. “We are at the max of what we can do right now.”