Bellingham Planning Board rejects affordable unit placement, approves revised housing permit

BELLINGHAM -- May 14, 2026, Bellingham's Planning Board rejected a developer's plan to designate both affordable units at a Blackstone Street townhouse project as center-position units, then approved a revised layout placing one end unit and one center unit on a 5-0 vote. The initial motion by developer Ernie Petera of Woodland Peak Development, LLC, failed 3-2, one short of the four-vote majority required for a special permit, after board member Bill argued the smaller, 1,850-square-foot center units, compared with 2,100-square-foot end units, would stigmatize occupants and conflict with the town's inclusionary housing bylaw requiring affordable units to be in "no less desirable locations" than market-rate units. The board also voted 5-0 to recommend Town Meeting pass over the street acceptance article for Layfew Estates after Town Administrator Joe Layton disclosed that peer reviewer TEC had identified multiple discrepancies between the developer Faford's as-built plans and infrastructure found on the ground, including uncharted catch basins and mismatched pipe dimensions, beyond the long-disputed drainage pipe under Candlelight Lane. The town holds roughly $220,000 in surety but cannot call the bond without documented engineering evidence, which requires Faford to first replenish a 53G account estimated at $15,000 to $20,000. A second street acceptance, for Duhamel Way, was also recommended for pass-over for lack of required legal documentation.