Published: May 13, 2013
By Ralph Schwartz — THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
FERNDALE – City officials and Lummi Nation are pursuing an agreement to protect the city’s tax revenue and the tribe’s interest in properties it owns at the south city limits.
The City Council will decide whether to accept the agreement at a special meeting, 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, at 5694 Second Ave.
A draft of the agreement, posted Monday, May 13, on the city website, said the tribe would sell the western lots on land it owns along Slater Road west of Interstate 5. The tribe would receive 25 percent of the city’s share of sales tax revenue from those lots, which are on the southwest corner of Slater and Rural Avenue.
The city also would support the tribe’s application for trust status on the remaining properties. No property tax is paid on trust lands, and development on such land is not bound by state or local environmental rules.
In return, the tribe would agree to not purchase or apply for trust status on other land within the city limits, in order to protect the city’s property-tax base.