Community Sign On Letter For Public Safety Solutions

We, the undersigned, are witnessing an untenable public health and criminal justice emergency in Downtown Bellingham. Our neighborhood has been inundated by public drug distribution, open drug use, and the associated victimization of the vulnerable. This has created an unfriendly, unhealthy, and unsafe environment for our community members, employees, and visitors to live, work, and play Downtown. 

We, along with many others, have worked with the Mayor’s office and Council members to encourage the City to fill gaps in police staffing and social services. We have and continue to support the County’s efforts to provide behavioral health facilities and programs. We have requested our State legislators fund more behavioral health facilities and programs. Despite some progress in all of the above, our neighborhood is less safe and less livable than just a few years ago.

As small business owners, workers, and residents, responsible for our own safety and that of our families, guests, visitors, and customers, we urge that City and County leaders continue to do more to provide short-term fixes as we all work on mid and long-term solutions.

We understand the Bellingham Police Department is understaffed and the criminal justice and mental health facilities currently in place are not adequate. We understand that passage of certain State laws and WA Supreme Court decisions have made the situation more difficult. Yet, it is the City and the County who have the power that comes with governing. We, the undersigned, only have the power of the vote and our voices, which we use here to plead with you:

Now is the time for inspired leadership. Now is the time for solutions. The safety and health of our neighborhood and its people are at stake. 

We ask the leaders of the City:

  • Increase current security personnel and the breadth of their duties in the Downtown

  • Work with Whatcom County to pursue interim solutions to ease booking restrictions for repeat offenders posing a danger to our community

  • Increase investment in personnel and programs dedicated to cleaning Downtown’s streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public right of ways

  • Continue identifying, implementing, and enforcing solutions to interrupt the public use and distribution of illegal drugs on the streets of Bellingham

All people deserve to feel safe in their neighborhood.  By digitally signing this letter, we support these statements and want to see solutions explored and implemented as soon as possible.

Signer Information

Your name and relationship to Downtown are required for signature and will be shared with the City Council and Mayor, as part of a public call-to-action. Optionally, you may choose to identify your contact information and provide support statements that may be shared with the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, City of Bellingham leaders, and/or City Council members.