BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The decision to move forward with a new residential area in south Bellingham has been met with an appeal.

Protect Mud Bay Cliffs (PMBC) said they filed the appeal to the Bellingham City Council on Thursday, June 18.

At the beginning of this month, the Bellingham Hearing Examiner announced that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not be required for the new residential area, approving a consolidated permit for the new Woods at Viewcrest subdivision.

The Woods at Viewcrest is a proposed project for nearly 38 acres of forested area near the Edgemoor neighborhood.

The Woods at Viewcrest looks to move forward

Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice issued a 208-page decision, approving the Woods at Viewcrest consolidated permit with conditions. The decision also denied the Memorandum Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) appeal proposed by the city’s Planning and Community Development Department last July.

Rice’s reasoning outlined a lack of sufficient evidence to determine the proposal’s environmental impacts.

The newest appeal outlines the dangers of building in an area with erosion hazards and landslide activity. It also mentions the city’s obligation to protect shoreline ecological functions, seeing as the proposed subdivision is located immediately above a Habitat Conservation Area.

A date for the appeal hearing has not yet been scheduled.