On April 8, 2024, Bellingham City Council approved the purchase of a property at 3300 Northwest Avenue in the Birchwood Neighborhood as a site for future affordable housing development. In the short term, the City intends to use this property as the new location for a tiny home village to replace two existing villages.
Swift Haven and Unity Village, both operated as a shelter solution by HomesNOW!, are currently located on City property in the Puget and Fairhaven neighborhoods, respectively. City leaders have worked with HomesNow! to identify a new location for the villages in light of pending relocation deadlines. In the year ahead, both tiny home villages will move to the Northwest Avenue location, pending permit approval.
“Our community has firsthand experience that tiny home villages work, and I’ve heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from both tiny home village guests and their neighbors. Our community needs diverse solutions to address our housing crisis. We’re proud to partner with organizations like HomesNOW! to create safe, welcoming places for people to stay while they seek housing.” Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said. “This purchase will enable a future affordable housing site while also serving an important immediate need.”
This purchase prepares us well for opportunities in the future, Lund continued.
“We’ve delivered a record number of subsidized housing units in Barkley Village, Samish Way, the Waterfront District, and downtown because land was available. The City is purchasing this property on Northwest Avenue because we don’t want lack of land to be a barrier to building affordable housing in the future. This property sets us up for future affordable housing investments and provides a place for people to call home right now.”
North Haven, as the new tiny home village on Northwest Avenue would be called, could be ready for guests in late 2024, pending approval of a Temporary Shelter Permit. The City intends for North Haven to be located on the Northwest Avenue property for up to five years, as allowed by current City code. HomesNOW! will apply for a permit after the property purchase is complete, likely later this spring.
“Over the last 5 years, HomesNOW! has been fortunate to be able to partner with the City of Bellingham to help multiple people out of homelessness and into stable long-term housing,” said Doug Gustafson, HomesNOW! chairman. “Over the past several years, homelessness has continued to increase, and having more sheltering options for people experiencing homelessness is crucial at this time to alleviate the housing emergency. This new village, ‘North Haven’, is an opportunity for HomesNOW! to continue our work on this vital issue. HomesNOW! is ready to do more and willing to partner with anyone who shares the goal of ending homelessness, one person at a time.”
Upcoming deadlines for relocations
Both Swift Haven and Unity Village are facing deadlines that require relocation of the tiny homes. Swift Haven is currently located in the City-owned parking lot at Frank Geri Sport Fields. Under terms of use specified by State of Washington grant funding the City received to develop the sports fields, the village cannot continue to operate at this location. The City has been granted multiple extensions to temporarily use the Geri Fields parking lot for a tiny home village – first granted during the COVID pandemic emergency – and is requesting a final extension through December 2024.
Unity Village is located on City-owned property adjacent to the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Facility. It also must be relocated to allow for soil clean-up needed ahead of planned expansions at Post Point. To comply with permitting deadlines for the Post Point expansions, Unity Village must relocate by March 2025.
The City previously explored a City-owned property on Meridian Street in North Bellingham as a potential location for Swift Haven and Unity Village but ultimately determined that the Meridian Street location wasn’t a suitable site due to the extensive wetlands on the property and the cost of street frontage development along State Route 539.
The new tiny home village’s permit review process will include a two-week opportunity for community members to provide comments and feedback to the City and HomesNOW!. As the permitting entity, the City will also host a neighborhood meeting to solicit input on the proposed village. The City will provide a public notice of the comment period for the permit and an announcement about the community meeting when details are available.
More information about this project is available on the City’s website at cob.org/north-haven-village.
