Barkley plan lays groundwork for housing, jobs, and habitat preservation
August 26, 2025
While a full build out of Barkley Village is expected to take several decades to complete, recent changes mean that more development, including housing development, can happen – and happen faster and more cohesively. photo courtesy of Talbot Group
On August 25, 2025, Bellingham City Council approved a plan for Barkley Village that will bring significantly more housing, increased bike and pedestrian connections, traffic improvements, and more public spaces - it also preserves about 40 acres of wetlands and forested habitat. The plan, which designates the area as an urban village, is the result of a 7-year collaboration between the City and the primary property owner, Talbot Group.
"Overall, we expect to see some exciting development in Barkley Village in the coming years as it becomes easier to walk and bike to neighborhood services and amenities, and continues to evolve into a neighborhood with a wide range of housing types, services, and activities," Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon said.
Barkley Village was established starting in the late 1980s based on complicated rules that intentionally limited the types of development allowed. For example, more industrial uses were allowed while residential uses were limited. In 2018, Talbot Group and the City began discussing a revised approach for Barkley Village development, seeing the potential of the 255-acre site to support evolving community needs. The result is the new Barkley Urban Village plan, which creates a vision for the area as a thoughtfully designed urban village.
"Talbot relied on staff expertise across a number of City departments to shape the plans that were approved," Talbot Group CEO, Ben Besley, said. "It was a very collaborative effort and started with alignment of our long-term goals. Both Talbot and the City see the benefit of growth in Bellingham’s urban villages. We can help address our projected population growth while also creating more interesting and vibrant neighborhood centers."
Some of the biggest changes of the new Barkley Urban Village Plan include:
While the full build out of the area is expected to take several decades to complete, practically, these changes mean that more development, including housing development, can happen - and happen faster and more cohesively.
Using a multifaceted approach to address housing needs
In addition to the new Barkley Urban Village plan, two recent ordinances have further increased housing potential in Barkley. The ordinances were fast tracked as part of a larger strategy to increase housing supply in Bellingham laid out in Mayor Kim Lund's Housing Executive Order, signed in November 2024. The executive order also called for prioritization of permitting for residential projects that include low-income housing and infill development, both of which are part of the developer's strategy for the area.
"Barkley is a great example of several strategies coming together that were designed to do exactly this - support our community's housing needs," Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said. "This demonstrates the importance of solving this challenge using a multifaceted, collaborative approach."
One of the ordinances expanded the City's Multifamily Tax Exemption Program, which provides incentives for the development of multifamily housing. Additionally, a separate interim ordinance that allows developers to build parking based on anticipated need - instead of City-required minimums - has also opened the door for construction of more housing, effectively greenlighting projects that otherwise may not have proceeded.
According to the Talbot Group, expansion of the MFTE program was a key consideration in their decision to resurrect a 142-unit housing project that had stalled out due to costs, and parking requirement changes also helped to make the project more financially feasible.
“The recent expansion of the Multifamily Tax Exemption program and approval of an Interim Parking Ordinance are making a meaningful difference in our ability to build new housing," Besley said. "We are currently working on a large apartment project that could not be financed without the cost savings and design flexibility from these programs. Housing production is a part of the solution to making Bellingham more affordable and we credit the City’s leadership for taking proactive steps to support it."
On August 25, 2025, Bellingham City Council approved a plan for Barkley Village that will bring significantly more housing, increased bike and pedestrian connections, traffic improvements, and more public spaces - it also preserves about 40 acres of wetlands and forested habitat. The plan, which designates the area as an urban village, is the result of a 7-year collaboration between the City and the primary property owner, Talbot Group.
"Overall, we expect to see some exciting development in Barkley Village in the coming years as it becomes easier to walk and bike to neighborhood services and amenities, and continues to evolve into a neighborhood with a wide range of housing types, services, and activities," Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon said.
Barkley Village was established starting in the late 1980s based on complicated rules that intentionally limited the types of development allowed. For example, more industrial uses were allowed while residential uses were limited. In 2018, Talbot Group and the City began discussing a revised approach for Barkley Village development, seeing the potential of the 255-acre site to support evolving community needs. The result is the new Barkley Urban Village plan, which creates a vision for the area as a thoughtfully designed urban village.
"Talbot relied on staff expertise across a number of City departments to shape the plans that were approved," Talbot Group CEO, Ben Besley, said. "It was a very collaborative effort and started with alignment of our long-term goals. Both Talbot and the City see the benefit of growth in Bellingham’s urban villages. We can help address our projected population growth while also creating more interesting and vibrant neighborhood centers."
Some of the biggest changes of the new Barkley Urban Village Plan include:
- More than doubling the amount of housing allowed to be built there - the plan increases capacity from 1,116 housing units to 3,000.
- Establishing an environmental plan for the area as a whole that allows developers to better work with the natural environment, making it easier for environmental features on the site to drive its layout.
- Supporting the creation of more businesses providing services, amenities, and jobs, with more than 2-million square feet of the area designated for commercial/office, retail and industrial uses - making this area into an even more important commercial hub in the city.
- Replacing a disjointed and inefficient regulatory structure with area-wide rules and regulations. With the changes, rules will be clearer and will allow development to occur more quickly and seamlessly.
While the full build out of the area is expected to take several decades to complete, practically, these changes mean that more development, including housing development, can happen - and happen faster and more cohesively.
Using a multifaceted approach to address housing needs
In addition to the new Barkley Urban Village plan, two recent ordinances have further increased housing potential in Barkley. The ordinances were fast tracked as part of a larger strategy to increase housing supply in Bellingham laid out in Mayor Kim Lund's Housing Executive Order, signed in November 2024. The executive order also called for prioritization of permitting for residential projects that include low-income housing and infill development, both of which are part of the developer's strategy for the area.
"Barkley is a great example of several strategies coming together that were designed to do exactly this - support our community's housing needs," Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said. "This demonstrates the importance of solving this challenge using a multifaceted, collaborative approach."
One of the ordinances expanded the City's Multifamily Tax Exemption Program, which provides incentives for the development of multifamily housing. Additionally, a separate interim ordinance that allows developers to build parking based on anticipated need - instead of City-required minimums - has also opened the door for construction of more housing, effectively greenlighting projects that otherwise may not have proceeded.
According to the Talbot Group, expansion of the MFTE program was a key consideration in their decision to resurrect a 142-unit housing project that had stalled out due to costs, and parking requirement changes also helped to make the project more financially feasible.
“The recent expansion of the Multifamily Tax Exemption program and approval of an Interim Parking Ordinance are making a meaningful difference in our ability to build new housing," Besley said. "We are currently working on a large apartment project that could not be financed without the cost savings and design flexibility from these programs. Housing production is a part of the solution to making Bellingham more affordable and we credit the City’s leadership for taking proactive steps to support it."
