BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A development ban on certain housing units in one Bellingham neighborhood has been extended.

The Bellingham City Council voted to prohibit multi-family housing in four areas of the Silver Beach neighborhood during their regular meeting on Monday night, June 5th.

Those regions are zoned for multi-family housing, but the move would allow county planning officials to review the environmental impacts future development could cause.

The biggest concern is the impact new housing will have on Lake Whatcom, which provides drinking water for thousands of Whatcom County residents.

City officials have been acquiring land around the lake in recent years to prevent additional development and to preserve the region’s native biodiversity.

That ban is currently set to expire on July 11th, but the extension would implement the ban through January 11th.

A final vote authorizing the development ban is set for June 26.