The Bellingham City Council will host a Town Hall Meeting on Housing Affordability from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15, 2017, at the Mount Baker Theatre's Encore Room, 104 N. Commercial Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The event is an opportunity for people in the community to share their ideas with their elected councilmembers in the form of both comments and questions related to the evening's topic.
Housing affordability has become a growing challenge for many cities in Western Washington, including Bellingham.
According to the recent Bellingham Residential Survey conducted by WWU's Center for Economic and Business Research, housing affordability is rated as the second most important challenge facing Bellingham; 43 percent of respondents listed it as either their first or second concern. The issue of homelessness is rated the leading issue for people who were polled.
“The Town Hall format is an historically important venue for hearing the public's voice on issues that affect them directly,” said City Council President Michael Lilliquist. “The City Council wants to reintroduce the Town Hall to help reinvigorate democracy locally and encourage people to get involved in the political process.”
The Town Hall venue has limited capacity with seating for 80 and standing room for an additional 20 people. The event will be recorded and broadcast later on BTV Comcast Channel 10 and also made available online at www.cob.org/meetings.
There will be a two-minute time limit for speaking, and sign-up sheets will be made available when doors open at 6:30 p.m. The City Council always welcomes feedback from the public. Contact the Council by emailing ccmail@cob.org, or calling 360-778-8200. Visit the City Council at www.cob.org/council and www.facebook.com/bellinghamcitycouncil.
