Bellingham’s Health and Safety
Our community, especially our downtown core, is experiencing a public health and safety crisis:
The most recent Downtown Bellingham Partnership business survey shows a significant number of respondents are planning to relocate away from the downtown core if public safety issues do not improve. Business owners and their patrons report feeling uncertain and unsafe downtown.
My husband was in a downtown bank last month as firefighters and EMTs were resuscitating an overdose victim in the alley outside. The teller reported multiple similar occurrences that same week. They said they no longer leave the building during work breaks. This story reflects Chief Mertzig’s reports to the City Council of dramatically rising overdose rates in Bellingham.
This is not the picture of a safe, thriving downtown Bellingham. As Mayor, I will work with urgency to provide immediate relief for business and property owners downtown, as well as for the people who are suffering unhoused and overdosing on our streets. We need compassion, alongside accountability. Our problem is worsening – we have more people overdosing than ever and we have small local businesses struggling and feeling unheard. I am clear-eyed about what a mayor and city government can and cannot achieve when it comes to such a complex problem that so many communities are struggling with. But I absolutely believe there are steps that executive leadership can take
Stabilize the Downtown to make it safe and inviting. Pathways to doing this include:
Implementation of a commercial protection zone designation and school protection zones and/or other vital administrative tools.
Increasing capacity and the service hours for existing, effective, and compassionate alternative response programs such as GRACE and LEAD and/or investing in new evidence-based programs with lower barriers to entry.
Coordinate efforts to shut down open drug markets, hold top repeat offenders responsible for crimes and rehabilitate users.
Work with partner agencies to create safe and secure parking and additional shelters for people living in vehicles or on city streets. We must work within the legal framework of Martin v. Boise to create this capacity. Let’s connect people who want services to more good options so we can return to enforcing our camping and parking laws.
Expand successful tiny home models. Double down on pathways that keep people housed – we can’t just take people off of the streets, we need to prevent them from getting there in the first place.
Expand the City’s investment in novel security solutions and the Downtown Safety Ambassador program.
Commit to adequate first responder staffing levels and renew lapsed efforts to retain experienced personnel eligible for retirement. Return bicycle safety patrols – these officers can build relationships and see needs currently going unseen.
Define an effective data collection and response process to objectively understand the crisis and measure our progress. This data should be easily accessible to the public and transparent. We must be able to adapt our plans based on outcomes.
Look outside of Bellingham to other communities for case studies that demonstrate successful outcomes and employ those strategies here.
Provide regular and reliable communication to citizens about the coordinated efforts to create a Bellingham that works for all.
In parallel, we must assess the long-term structural impediments to advancing a vibrant downtown:
Adopt a clear vision and a Downtown Activation Plan for economic vibrancy to transform the heart of the city into a place that creates jobs, drives innovation, brings people together, advances progress, and uplifts ALL.
It is vital that this plan complement our existing waterfront, arts district, and climate action planning. I will employ intentional place-making in our public spaces to strengthen our connections to one another.
Drive impactful solutions to scale by bringing together policymakers, community members, and funders to make change.
Adopt a cultural shift towards “YES” – along with actionable responses and accountability – to create the healthy and robust downtown that Bellingham deserves.