Bellingham Conservation Commission halts piecemeal review of Prospect Hill Village project

BELLINGHAM -- April 9, 2025, Bellingham's Conservation Commission ordered the developer of the Prospect Hill Village townhouse project to submit a single consolidated plan before any further review, effectively halting more than a year of piecemeal deliberations. The commission, reviewing a proposal by applicant Leis Petrosi of Wall Street Development Corporation for a roughly 149-unit development off Prospect Street and Lake Street, heard from its own members that the succession of partial plans and alternative layouts had become "totally confusing", with one member saying she had spent more than four hours that day alone trying to make sense of competing submissions. Applicant's representative Paul McManus of Ecotech Inc. acknowledged the record was scattered and agreed to provide a complete consolidated package; the hearing was continued to May 14. Separately, the commission unanimously denied a waiver to skip a tree count within the 100-foot buffer zone on one of two Blackstone Street residential lots, and issued a negative determination with conditions for a first-time homeowner at 31 Iris Lane seeking to extend a foundation drain pipe and install a vegetable garden in the buffer zone.