A legal dispute between the Port of Bellingham and Irish developer Harcourt Developments may soon be coming to an end.
Port commissioners voted 2-1 on Tuesday, Oct. 15 to approve an agreement over who’s responsible for removing contaminated soil dug up by Harcourt from the former Georgia-Pacific pulp mill site as part of the construction of waterfront luxury condos — and to allow Harcourt access to port property if it follows certain stipulations.
Harcourt and the port have been in Whatcom County Superior Court since March when the port sued the developers over its default in a business contract. Harcourt also filed a lawsuit against the port alleging it had attempted to interfere with the condominium construction project by threatening to call the Bellingham Police Department to report Harcourt was trespassing on port property.
While a Whatcom County judge ruled in September the port could ban Harcourt from using its property as a consequence of defaulting on its agreement, attorneys for the developer filed an appeal in response.
As part of the agreement, the appeal will go away and both parties can move forward with arbitration, with further legal action in Whatcom Superior Court halting for the moment. Harcourt must also remove 250 tons of stockpiled materials a week from the property for the next year, according to the agreement.
In exchange for Harcourt agreeing to remove the materials and participate in arbitration, it will be allowed access to port property as it continues construction on the waterfront condos, said Holly Stafford, an attorney for the port.
“I am not usually optimistic, but I am optimistic about this one because we have a bit of a stick, as opposed to a carrot,” Stafford said, adding that if Harcourt fails to remove the stockpiled material, the port can restrict its access to port property.
Harcourt needs to enter through port property if it’s trying to bring a crane or other heavy machinery to the waterfront condo project, said Rob Fix, the port’s executive director. Otherwise, Harcourt does have access to the project via Granary Avenue.
Construction permit extensions for the second and third waterfront condo buildings were approved by the city building permit agency in September.
The commission’s vote is the latest step in a nearly year-long saga between the two entities. In November of last year, Harcourt lost its development rights to the Bellingham waterfront after it missed a series of deadlines in completing the luxury waterfront condos.
Commissioner Michael Shepard was the lone no-vote against the agreement.
“I want the stockpiles gone as much as everybody, but I just have to acknowledge the huge amount of frustration in the community for continuing to be dragged down this path of lawsuits and frivolous actions,” he said before casting his vote.
The first of the three waterfront condominiums is slated to open this month. The construction has been plagued by delays in supply chains and the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, the condos were supposed to open in 2019.
The port sold Harcourt the 1.733-acre strip of land where the condos are located in 2018 for $1.6 million, or $21.22 per square foot.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
