Bellingham Planning Board closes Blackstone Street hearing, advances zoning articles

BELLINGHAM -- April 27, 2026, Bellingham Planning Board closes Blackstone Street hearing and continues two contested street acceptances to May 14. The four-member board voted 4-0 at its April 27 meeting to close the public hearing on the Blackstone Street stormwater and development plan applications and directed staff to prepare both positive and negative draft decisions ahead of a May 29 deadline, after the applicant's representative rejected an offer to withdraw and told the board, "Let the judge decide." The board also continued the public hearing on the 800-unit 180 Payne Street senior development to May 14, with TEC peer consultant Pete reporting that groundwater monitoring wells showed roughly 20-foot separation depths, largely resolving earlier design concerns, though a final data package and a consolidated waiver-and-conditions list from staff are still outstanding. Residents of the roughly 100-unit Lakeview Estates development, paying approximately $1,200 per year in homeowners association fees, testified at length about unresolved drainage problems and a private drain pipe crossing Northern Lights Way that town counsel has flagged as a barrier to street acceptance; the board continued both the Duhamel Way and Candlelight Lane cluster street acceptance hearings 4-0 to May 14. The board also voted unanimously to recommend three zoning bylaw amendments to Annual Town Meeting, including new drive-through facility regulations.