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A. Uses Permitted Outright. No building or land shall be used within an area designated with an industrial general use type except as permitted below, corresponding to the use qualifier designated for such property.

The following uses shall be permitted outright; corresponding to the designated use qualifier:

Use Qualifier

Permitted Use

Light

1.

Warehousing and wholesaling establishments: excluding the storage and handling of explosives, ammonia, chlorine, and any other similarly dangerous or toxic substances.

2.

Manufacturing and assembly of any product or material, not prohibited hereunder, is permitted. The manufacture, compounding, processing, refining, and treatment of significant quantities of the following materials, products or operations is prohibited. For the purpose of this section, “significant quantities” consists of a barrel or more at a single time.

a.

Acetylene.

b.

Distillation of alcohol.

c.

Asphalt and tar.

d.

Brick, tile, terra cotta.

e.

Concrete, cement, lime, gypsum, and plaster of paris.

f.

Fats, oils and soap.

g.

Fertilizer, garbage, offal, bones, and the reduction of dead animals.

h.

Forging or smelting of metal.

i.

Lampblack, stove and shoe polish.

j.

Lumber and planing mills.

k.

Oilcloth and linoleum.

l.

Paint, shellac, turpentine, lacquer and varnish.

m.

Paper and pulp.

n.

Petroleum processing and storage.

o.

Any explosive or highly inflammable material.

p.

Slaughtering and processing of meat or fish products.

q.

Tannery and curing of raw hides.

r.

Chemicals such as acid, ammonia, bleach, chlorine, dye stuff, glue, gelatin and size.

s.

Automotive wrecking, or junkyards.

3.

Retail sales of all types except those listed in the conditional use section.

4.

Offices.

5.

Eating and/or drinking establishments.

6.

Service establishments dealing with the following:

a.

Personal services (such as beauty and barber shops, shoe repair shops and laundry facilities).

b.

Business services (such as advertising agencies, collection agencies, janitorial services, computer service and consulting).

c.

Automotive repair, services and garages.

d.

Miscellaneous repair services (such as radio, TV, watch, clock, and furniture repair).

e.

Commercial recreation.

f.

Medical and dental laboratories.

g.

Institutions of higher education.

h.

Membership organizations.

i.

Small animal care shops (keeping of three or fewer animals overnight is permitted as an accessory use if animals are kept in an enclosed structure).

j.

Miscellaneous services (such as engineering, architectural and surveying services).

7.

Agricultural nurseries.

8.

Advertising devices.

9.

Animal hospitals, small.

10.

Transportation and public utilities (such as freight operations, terminals, communication services, utility transmission systems, and utility generation systems only as provided in BMC 20.36.030(C)).

11.

Construction businesses (such as construction offices and storage yards).

12.

Uses similar to the above; however, adult entertainment uses shall be prohibited in the light industrial district.

13.

Billboards, subject to the provisions of this chapter, and only within the billboard overlay zones delineated by BMC 20.08.020, Figure 15.

14.

Wireless communication facilities, subject to the provisions of Chapter 20.13 BMC.

15.

Community public facilities.

16.

Art schools.

17.

Temporary homeless shelters, per Chapter 20.15 BMC.

18.

Recycling collection and processing center, subject to additional standards per BMC 20.16.020(L)(2).

19.

Certain interim housing, per Chapter 20.15A BMC.

Heavy

1.

Warehousing and wholesaling establishments.

2.

Manufacturing and assembly of any product or material not prohibited hereunder is permitted. The operation and manufacturing, compounding, processing, refining, treatment and assembly of significant quantities of the following materials is prohibited. For the purpose of this section, “significant quantity” consists of a barrel or more at a single time.

a.

Explosives.

b.

Distillation of bones, rendering of inedible fat, and disposal of dead animals.

c.

Glue, ammonia, chlorine, and bleaching powder.

d.

Slaughterhouses and stockyards.

e.

Petroleum or gas refining.

3.

Retail trade limited to the following:

a.

Lumber and other building materials dealers.

b.

Paint, glass and wallpaper stores.

c.

Hardware.

d.

Motor vehicle and heavy equipment dealers (new and used).

e.

Boat dealers.

f.

Eating and drinking establishments.

g.

Fuel and ice dealers.

h.

Farm supplies.

i.

Industrial equipment and supplies.

4.

Advertising devices; however, such devices shall not be located within 500 feet of a designated scenic route.

5.

Transportation and public utilities (such as freight operations, terminals, communication services, utility transmission systems, and utility generation systems only as provided in BMC 20.36.030(C)).

6.

Construction businesses (such as construction offices and storage yards).

7.

Uses similar to the above; however, adult entertainment uses shall be prohibited in the heavy industrial district.

8.

Billboards, subject to the provisions of this chapter, and only within the billboard overlay zones delineated by BMC 20.08.020, Figure 15.

9.

Wireless communication facilities, subject to the provisions of Chapter 20.13 BMC.

10.

Community public facilities, with the exception of branch libraries.

11.

Temporary homeless shelters, per Chapter 20.15 BMC.

12.

Recycling collection and processing center, subject to additional standards per BMC 20.16.020(L)(2).

13.

Certain interim housing, per Chapter 20.15A BMC.

Marine

1.

Manufacturing of water related goods such as:

a.

Ship and boat building and repair.

b.

Canned and cured fish and seafoods.

c.

Fresh or frozen packaged fish and seafoods.

2.

Transportation and public utilities including:

a.

Motor freight transportation and warehousing.

b.

Water transportation (includes marinas).

c.

Utility transmission systems and utility generation systems only as provided in BMC 20.36.030(C).

3.

Other uses pertaining to the storage, manufacture or construction of any product which requires or is functionally dependent upon water transport.

4.

Eating and/or drinking establishments.

5.

Public parks, beaches or aquariums, museums, art galleries, botanical and zoological gardens.

6.

Uses similar to the above; however, adult entertainment uses shall be prohibited in the marine industrial district.

7.

Wireless communication facilities, subject to the provisions of Chapter 20.13 BMC.

8.

Community public facilities, with the exception of branch libraries.

9.

Temporary homeless shelters, per Chapter 20.15 BMC.

10.

Certain interim housing, per Chapter 20.15A BMC.

Planned

1.

See Chapter 20.38 BMC.

B. Conditional Uses within Light, Heavy, and Marine Use Qualifier Areas.

1. Adaptive uses for historic register buildings as defined in BMC 20.16.020(A)(1).

2. Churches.

3. Within light use qualifier areas only:

a. Monument and stone works.

b. Crematories.

c. Schools.

4. Hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities, subject to the requirements of BMC 20.16.020(G)(1).

5. Wireless communication facilities, subject to the provisions of Chapter 20.13 BMC.

C. Electrical Power Generating Facilities.

1. Electrical Power Generating Facilities Permitted Outright.

a. The establishment of any new permanent natural gas fired electrical power generating facility, provided the combined total output of all systems is not greater than 5.0 megawatts of energy at peak output, and: (i) provisions are made to minimize noise impacts to adjacent areas zoned or developed for residential uses, and (ii) the power generated shall be for use by an on-site or adjacent industrial use only and not for sale on the open power market, and (iii) the project complies with all other industrial designation requirements.

b. The establishment of any alternative energy power generating facility which utilizes solar, wind, tidal, fuel cell or other noncombustive energy source, provided the combined total output of all systems is not greater than 5.0 megawatts of energy at peak output, and (i) provisions are made to minimize noise impacts to adjacent areas zoned or developed for residential uses, and (ii) the project complies with all other applicable industrial designation requirements.

c. The establishment of any emergency back-up electrical power generation system which is not intended for primary continuous use, but rather for use during power supply interruption due to extreme weather events, earthquake, collision, unanticipated accident or related power failure.

2. Electrical Power Generating Facilities Restricted.

a. All types of permanent electrical power generating facilities that utilize any form of nuclear, coal, diesel, heavy bunker oil, wood, wood residuals or other waste material fuels, except steam, shall be prohibited.

b. All new electrical power generating facilities, and expansion of existing lawfully established natural gas fired electrical power generating facilities, producing more than 5.0 megawatts may be considered via the planned development process provided in BMC 20.38.010 subject to the following requirements and considerations:

i. All applications for new power facilities or expansion of existing power facilities shall be required to submit a SEPA checklist and be reviewed for potential environmental impacts and receive an appropriate threshold determination as provided in WAC 197-11-330 and Chapter 16.20 BMC as current or amended by ordinance.

ii. Consideration should be made for siting such systems at a single or limited location(s) in order to limit the impacts attributable to installation or operation of such systems within the city.

iii. Minimize impacts to the Bellingham waterfront.

iv. Minimize impacts to hospitals and health care facilities.

v. Minimize impacts to urban residential concentrations.

vi. Preference should be given to areas adjacent to or with reasonable access to existing corridors for energy transmission systems such as natural gas pipelines and electric power lines.

vii. Facilities should be sized to meet city energy needs.

c. Any planned development application made for any new electrical power generating facility or expansion of any existing power generating facility regulated under this subsection (C)(2) may be denied by the planning director if found to be inconsistent and/or incompatible with the criteria in subsections (C)(2)(b)(i) through (vii) of this section.

d. Normal maintenance, repair, replacement or modification of equipment for lawfully established electrical power generating facilities may occur without requirement for a new planned development application, provided: (i) there is no net increase in air, water or solid waste emission or discharge, and (ii) all other SEPA and industrial requirements are met. This provisional determination shall be made by the planning director and provided in writing prior to any generator equipment replacement or modification.

3. Application and Public Process Expenses. With regard to applications for siting permanent gas fired electrical power generating facilities only, as a condition to acceptance of any such application, an applicant must agree to reimburse the city of Bellingham for the reasonable, actual costs of processing and evaluating the application, including but not limited to the cost of consultants and experts retained by the city.

4. Appeal. Any aggrieved party may appeal any administrative decision of the planning director as provided herein upon submittal of a notice of appeal to the hearing examiner’s office within 14 days of the date of the director’s decision. There is a fee for this appeal process. Review of the determination of the hearing examiner shall be by judicial challenge before the Whatcom County superior court. [Ord. 2020-02-002 § 8; Ord. 2019-09-029 § 6; Ord. 2018-10-019 § 8; Ord. 2014-09-049 § 47; Ord. 2013-12-090 § 8; Ord. 2005-12-094; Ord. 2002-10-070; Ord. 2002-06-045 §§ 5, 9, 19; Ord. 2002-05-036 § 1, 2; Ord. 1998-11-088 §§ 9 – 11; Ord. 1998-07-057; Ord. 10674 § 26, 1995; Ord. 10528 § 6, 1994; Ord. 9814 § 3, 1988; Ord. 9698 § 4, 1987; Ord. 9173 § 4, 1983; Ord. 9024, 1982].