BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- The Bellingham City Council is expected to vote tonight on a proposed rezone for the Padden Trails property.

The latest recommendation from the council planning committee calls for 351 housing units on the 113 acre site, a density of about one home per 14,000 square feet.

That would allow an increase of 127 homes for the area.

Developers originally wanted to double housing density at the site.



City Councilman Jack Weiss says if the rezone is approved, the proposed development would still need to clear several hurdles.

He says one problem developers are going to face is how emergency responders will access the additional homes with only one road into the site.

The city planning commission last December recommended an increase of only 22 homes, but a lawyer for the Padden Trails project wrote the council last month saying that would violate growth management policies.

The City Council starts it regular meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall.