Frequently Asked Questions

Potential Code Violations should be reported to a City Code Enforcement Officer. To contact Code Enforcement, you can call 360-685-2365 or visit the Community Development Department on the second floor of City Hall.

Alternately, you can report a violation by:

1. Fill out our online code enforcement form.
2. Visit City Hall in person and fill out a paper Citizen Action Request.
3. Downloading a Citizen Action Request (PDF) and then returning the form to City Hall

Yes. In the event of a records request, your personal information will be redacted, and only the content of the complaint will be released. The City will only investigate what it deems to be a credible complaint.

Please call 911. The Police Department will then contact City Hall about the incident.

To ensure fairness, we go through the same process with every complaint.

1. The Code Enforcement Officer investigates the potential code violation.
2. If no violation is found, the case is closed
3. If a violation is confirmed, the Code Enforcement Officer initiates informal contact with the property owner to inform them of a code violation, methods for resolving the violation, and a date by which the violation must be resolved. A Notice of Violation may be issued without prior informal contact.
4. If voluntary compliance is not reached, an official Notice of Violation is issued with a deadline for corrective action, and an initial penalty of $1,000 is assessed. A Notice of Violation may be issued without prior informal contact.
5. If compliance is not reached by the Notice of Violation’s deadline for corrective action, a fine of $1,000 for each violation may be issued, which will accrue on a daily basis.
6. If compliance is still not met, the case is forwarded to the City Attorney for additional legal action.

The City can issue a Stop Work Order, requiring that all work cease immediately.  The Stop Work Order may or may not include fines and may be temporary, such as when there are risks resulting from weather conditions.  A violation of a Stop Work Order may result in criminal penalties.

Resolving a code enforcement case depends on how complex the situation is and the level of cooperation from property owners and tenants.

No, unless the complaint was issued by the City of Ferndale. The complainant’s personal information is considered private and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Also, the source of complaints varies with each case. Sometimes they come in the form of Citizen Action Requests from the public. Other times, the complaint will be fielded anonymously over the phone or through a voicemail. The Code Enforcement Officer might receive complaints from other staff members or see the violation while out in the field. However, the City will avoid unnecessary enforcement actions and will not investigate any claims it believes are not credible. To avoid having the City get involved in a civil dispute, staff may advise the complainant to hire a land use attorney or investigate private dispute resolution.

Property owners are ultimately responsible for what occurs on their property. The City recognizes that the property owners may not have committed a violation themselves, but property owners are responsible for what occurs on their property. Even if property owners have a lease with their tenant, property owners will be responsible for any violation fines that result from activity on their property. The details are available in the Ferndale Municipal Code.

Previously, the penalty for a code violation was $300. This resulted in many unresolved cases due to the perceived low value of the violation. The penalty for a code violation was increased to $1,000 to promote the resolution of cases. The penalty may be reduced or waived at the discretion of the Director upon good faith efforts toward compliance. See Ferndale Municipal Code 1.12.040 and Municipal Code 1.12.100 for more details.

Yes. The party of record or responsible party must submit an appeal to the Community Development Director within 10 calendar days of service of a Notice of Violation. For more information on appeals, see Ferndale Municipal Code 1.12.080.

The city’s drinking water meets and/or exceeds all federal and state regulations.  Each year we release a Consumer Confidence Report that provides specific details about our water quality, which can be found Here.  

Yes.  The Water Treatment Plant (WTP) treats all the City’s drinking water using reverse osmosis followed by remineralization to adjust the finished water to the appropriate hardness and alkalinity.  Reverse Osmosis provides the highest level of filtration available in the industry.  The finished water is chlorinated with enough chlorine to maintain a residual of 0.20 ppm at the furthest end of the distribution system as mandated by Federal and State regulations.  We do not add fluoride to the drinking water.

 The presence of a chlorine residual in the distribution system is a key indicator that no contaminants are entering the drinking water system and is monitored by WTP operators daily.   We are also required to collect Coliform Bacteria samples throughout the distribution system which are analyzed by a third-party environmental laboratory.  The results are sent to the City and Washington Department of Health regulators.   A positive test result would immediately trigger a resampling protocol followed by public announcements and direct communication with any affected residents.  Finally, refer to question 1 for information on the Consumer Confidence Report.

If there is a noticeable smell or taste of chlorine, you can try the following:

1. Pour water from the cold water tap into a glass pitcher and store in the refrigerator. Although plastic containers can be used for storing water, some plastic can change the taste of water. Allowing the water to sit overnight in the refrigerator should be sufficient to remove the taste of chlorine.
2. Boiling tap water for 5 minutes should remove most of the chlorine taste in water. As the water cools, it should be refrigerated. Chlorine is a disinfectant, and once it is removed, water must be treated like any other food product. Keep covered and use it within 3 days. Tip: Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to refrigerated water for a more pleasant tasting drink.

The following are commonly occurring situations that can cause your water to appear discolored:

1. Sediment settles in the bottom of the water heater tank and should be flushed out annually. This will help with discolored water that is generally noticed in the bathtub. It will also improve the longevity of your hot water tank. So, if your hot water is discolored and the cold water is clear, this may be a simple solution to your problem.
2. Another common cause of discoloration could be a dead-end main line serving your home. This would be noticed in the cold water.  The same sediment that ends up in your hot water tank also comes to rest in the bottom of the main line and, even more so, in dead ends. If you think this problem is occurring, contact the city. The city has a routine flushing program, however dead-end lines can need extra flushing on occasion.
3. Construction activity in your neighborhood may cause discoloration. This problem occurs from fire hydrant usage, water line maintenance or broken water line repair.
4. Firefighting activities can stir up sediment in the pipes causing discoloration.

Anything that causes the water to flow at a higher velocity than normal can stir up the sediment which may result in discoloration. After a main repair or shut down, the field crew makes great efforts to flush the sediment from the line to ensure clear water at your tap. It’s important to realize that even though your water is discolored, it is still safe to drink. 

1. If your water is discolored, it’s most likely a result of regular maintenance activities and can be remedied by simply flushing your water from the taps for 1-2 minutes.
2. Check your hot water heater user manual.  Hot water tanks and tankless water heaters both need to be flushed regularly and failure to adhere to the manufacture’s recommendations can cause premature failure.   Please check your specific models user manual for specific instructions.

For immediate concerns regarding water quality, contact the Water Treatment Plant at (360)384-4607.  

Not necessarily. All calls to our 911 call center are logged, regardless of whether they ended with an arrest.

To find out more information about a particular incident, please contact the Ferndale Police Department at 360-384-3390.

This is part of the City and Ferndale Police Department’s efforts towards better transparency and our commitment to public information. The Police Department also uses this information to spot crime hotspots that can be addressed with additional patrols, speed traps, or road changes.

It may currently be under investigation, or it may be too recent to appear on the map. To find out more information about a particular incident, please contact the Ferndale Police Department at 360-384-3390.

Crime knows no bounds.

We conduct lots of traffic stops. Remember to be safe out there!

An incident logged as suspicious is one where there is no direct evidence that an actual crime occurred, but there was enough there to document that either some sort of crime may have been committed or something suspicious may have occurred. Examples include a missing person report, prowler, welfare, security check, or suspicious vehicle.

Public offenses or general actions or behaviors that are considered a threat to an individual’s sense of personal safety and diminish the quality of life in the area, such as a death investigation, assisting agency, message delivery, overdose, abandoned vehicle, or traffic problem.

Crime map updates are planned to occur on a quarterly basis.

When we perform updates on the crime mapper, the entire application is rewritten, and your browser is probably looking for links that may no longer exist. Try deleting your browser cache. Make sure to delete browsing history, cached images, and files.

The Grandview area has long been part of the City of Ferndale’s future growth plan: The City’s Comprehensive Plan notes that the extension of utilities, including sewer, to the Grandview area is necessary for major development in the area to occur. (Land Use Element, 2016 Comprehensive Plan, Page 43).    

The City’s Comprehensive Sewer Plan (PDF) anticipates the extension of sewer to the Grandview Areas (East and West) and includes a 2011 Feasibility Study. A subsequent feasibility study was completed in 2017, and both studies will be re-examined as part of the current Economic Opportunity Study, this analysis, and the later engineering design work for the extension. The City’s Utility Rate Analysis (PDF) (2019, revised 2023) includes consideration of the Grandview Sewer Extension into utility user connection fees and monthly bills.   

Areas in unincorporated Whatcom County do not benefit from comprehensive long-range planning in the same way as property in city limits. As a result, property owners within the Grandview area have been permitted by Whatcom County to develop their properties without appropriate urban infrastructure, which will limit the area’s future economic potential. Growth in Whatcom County over the last two decades has resulted in very limited commercial and industrial lands available to support future business and job growth. The City of Ferndale and the Port of Bellingham are conducting the Economic Opportunity Study now to identify opportunities to optimize the economic and job benefits of future development in Grandview for the benefit of current county residents and businesses.  

Much, if not a majority, of the project will utilize public funds. While the City cannot make a profit from a sewer extension project, it is important for the City Council and any other public funding agency to consider the economic impact of their investment. The City and other agencies may determine that it is appropriate to fund the project even if there is little direct monetary return on investment, but this does not mean that these agencies should not seek to quantify what that return could reasonably look like, and what the overall costs to prepare the area for future development are. Failure to make these assessments in advance risks an incomplete understanding of the project.

The Grandview Economic Opportunity Study is assessing the feasibility of sewer expansion based on the estimated economic impacts from future development. If the City decides to pursue the sewer expansion, it will commission an updated sewer design and cost estimate study.

However, based on a 2017 study, the total cost of the project is estimated to be between $15 million and $20 million, with annual construction cost inflation averaging 5 to 7% each year. The City anticipates funding the expansion through City sewer reserved funds and will be seeking grants and public benefit loans to help finance the cost of the expansion. Property owners and developers benefiting from the extension will also be required to pay their portion of the utility service, as required by law. Costs to property owners may be structured through connection fees and other cost-sharing mechanisms such as a Latecomer’s Agreement, Utility Local Improvement District (ULID) structure, or other approach that is typical of infrastructure expansions of this type. 

No. The sewer expansion has not yet been designed. However, previous engineering assessments recommend that an alignment within the existing public right of way (Malloy Drive, Portal Way) will eliminate the need for property acquisition and related costs, while retaining the public’s ability to utilize and maintain the alignment in perpetuity. Further, an extension along the west side of Interstate Five (along Malloy Drive) will enable future residential growth within the City’s Urban Growth Area (UGA) to the west of Malloy to connect to the sewer utility via a gravity feed (i.e., without the need for additional pump stations).

The City recognizes that some may have preferences for alternative alignments. The final sewer design decisions will be based on not only the cost to build the project, but the maintenance costs, the alignment with the City’s long-range planning goals and policies, maximizing the public benefit, and environmental and other legal considerations, among others.

The City does not participate in the recruitment of specific businesses. In this case, the City and the Port of Bellingham seek to understand and define the highest and best commercial or industrial uses that could be expected to develop on this site and to further understand the infrastructure (utilities, power demands, transportation needs, etc.) that these types of use might require. The City may consider modifications to its land use and development requirements if it is in the best interest of the City of Ferndale.  

No. Connection to city services is typically a condition of development initiated by the property owner or the result of a failing septic system. Properties, especially residential properties that are not proposing development and do not have a failing septic, will be given the opportunity to connect but will not be compelled to connect.   

Independent of the sewer extension, future annexations of lands in the City’s urban growth areas into the city limits may impact a property’s requirements to connect to city services. Properties within the city limits are required to connect to city services to provide basic predictability to the utilities and better service to ratepayers. It is important to note that the annexation process is separate from the land use development and permitting process. It is focused on changes to the City’s boundaries, rather than changes to the land use within those boundaries.

It is unlikely that taxes will go up as a direct result of a sewer extension. Sewer extensions are generally funded by the City’s sewer fund, which receives revenue directly from ratepayers (bi-monthly billing fees, utility connection charges), rather than through taxation (property taxes, sales tax, etc.).

Other infrastructure improvements, such as road improvements, may impact property taxes where they use special assessments to properties benefiting from those investments.

If the City decides to pursue the sewer expansion, it will commission an engineering design and cost estimate in 2026. The earliest construction could begin is 2027, assuming all permits and funding are in place at that time.

The Grandview Economic Opportunity Study will consult with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to assess freeway interchange capacity at the Grandview Exit (Exit 266) relative to the potential transportation demands of the uses that are projected in the area. If the Study identifies needed modifications to the interchange, an additional analysis culminating in an Interchange Justification Report (IJR) and coordinated with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will be required prior to the construction of improvements.

The sewer extension will be required to cross Interstate 5. The City expects that any alignment could be completed in one or more phases, depending on the cost and funds available, as well as other factors. As more land within the city limits and Urban Growth Area exists west of Interstate Five, including the Malloy area, the City expects that the western alignment will be prioritized.

The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that cities, including Ferndale, plan for future growth within a designated Urban Growth Area (UGA). In Ferndale, the UGA includes the Grandview area as well as land west of Malloy. State laws significantly limit the type and density of development that may occur without sewer.   

This area has long been part of the City of Ferndale’s future growth plan, which is why Whatcom County has permitted the density and types of development in the Grandview area. In addition, much of the area has already been annexed to the City (Malloy, 1994; Grandview interchange, 2011), and the City has an obligation to extend urban services for further development to occur.   

Per the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA), the City is required to plan for at least twenty years of projected growth. The City has recently completed a new wastewater treatment plant (sewer) and is in the process of completing an expanded water treatment plant and a second deep aquifer well. The City retains sufficient water rights to support future growth, and is the only rights holder within the deep water aquifer.

As the design of the potential sewer extension has not yet been completed, specific environmental impacts have not yet been identified. There are several known wetlands and creeks along the Malloy Road corridor. The linear nature of a sewer extension makes it more difficult to avoid these environmental features. This means that the most likely effective method of avoiding impacts will be by extending the sewer line within the public right of way, which has already impacted wetlands and creeks, and where mitigation measures may be less costly.

The City is required by state law to maintain a schedule of infrastructure maintenance and repair, as well as a capital improvement plan (expansions) designed to support projected growth. The infrastructure maintenance and repair schedule is based on a balance of demand and costs to the taxpayer.   

School capacity is managed by the Ferndale School District with support from the City to evaluate growth projections and the impact of development on school demand. Overall school district's capacity is sufficient to support anticipated growth.

Much of the Grandview area receives water from Whatcom County Public Utility District (PUD) Number 1. The Economic Opportunity Study will assess if there are development constraints related to water service. 

No. State law prevents the city utilities from providing services outside of city limits in order to prevent urban sprawl and to protect agriculture and resource lands. State law allows for some rare exceptions, such as extending services to an unincorporated area for a key public service like a fire station.

No mistake, but here’s the reason: Your home is serviced by two City systems - the water system and the sewer system. Since the sewer system is actually more expensive to maintain than the water system, the sewer portion of the City utility bill will always be higher.

The City offers an automatic payment plan for anyone interested in saving time and money. You can set that up through the City’s online billing portal. Call City Hall for more information at 360-384-4269.

Adjustments are possible for utility customers. If you suspect a leak, please contact utility billing as soon as possible to apply for a bill adjustment. If the leak is fixed within 10 days of said letter, and if there have been no other leaks during the past twelve months, an adjustment will be made based on the average of the previous year or three preceding billing periods, whichever is greater. All amounts in excess of the average shall be charged at half the current rate for water and sewer per 100 cubic feet of water expended. The overage charges cannot exceed $250 for water and $250 for sewer.

One cubic foot equals 7.48 gallons, so for every 100 cubic feet of consumption, you will have used 748 gallons of water. To give you an idea of how this translates: If you were to run your water hose at high pressure for 70 minutes, you would have used about 100 cubic feet (748 gallons) of water.

Water usage varies from family to family, so comparing your bill with a neighbor's is like comparing apples and oranges. Usage will depend on shower frequency, laundry loads per week, whether you have small children or teenagers, and many other factors. On average, a family of four will use 1600 to 2000 cubic feet of water in a two-month billing period.

Please call the Utility Billing Department at 360-384-4269 or send us an email.

In an undeveloped watershed, most rain and snow falling on the watershed either infiltrates into the ground or is taken up by vegetation. Much of the water that infiltrates into the ground eventually makes it into streams or lakes through groundwater seeps, or springs. Water taken up by vegetation cycles back into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration.

Because of these processes, runoff from natural areas is negligible, except after the largest storms. Ecologically intact systems provide a number of services to the community, including; groundwater recharge, pollutant removal, temperature reduction, erosion control, air purification, flood and drought control, wildlife habitat, increased property values, and recreation.

As development within a watershed increases, it brings with it an increase in impervious surfaces. Water runs directly off these surfaces and into lakes and streams. This causes many problems for the stream and its inhabitants. In highly impervious watersheds, the stream receives a flood of runoff water just after rainfalls or large snowmelts, but is deprived of water during dry times.

Both the high flows and the low flows are problematic for the stream. The high flows can damage aquatic habitats and scour the banks, while low flows deprive aquatic wildlife of water and oxygen. Runoff water is also much warmer than groundwater, and carries with it soil and whatever substances it may pick up from the landscape along the way, such as fertilizer, pesticides, oils, and other pollutants. The system loses its capacity to provide the ecological services mentioned above. The pollution in the unfiltered runoff is called "nonpoint source pollution" because it does not come from one specific source such as a factory, but rather, it results from our everyday activity on home sites, businesses, roads and farms.

The City of Ferndale is within Water Resource Inventory Area 1. The City limits encompass 6 different watershed management areas: Drayton Harbor, Birch Bay, Lummi Bay, Silver/Nooksack Channel and Delta, Ten Mile and Lower Mainstream Nooksack.

• Find your watershed on this WRIA 1 map (PDF)
• View the Ferndale Stormwater Basins Map (PDF)

If during business hours, please call Public Works at (360) 384-4006. If after hours and a danger to the public, please call 911 and they will be in contact with Public Works.

First, check to make sure that the power isn't out in the surrounding area, then call Ferndale Public Works at 360-384-4006.

Contact Puget Sound Energy by filling out the form.

Whether it is an RV parked too long, or a chicken coop that is attracting pests or a shed that looks about ready to fall down on your property, all of these are handled by our Code Compliance Officer Kyla Boswell. Click here to go to our Code Enforcement page.

In high winds, trees and limbs can pose a hazard to you and your property.

If a tree falls on your property - here's what you need to do:

1. Make sure everyone is safe. Even after a tree has come to rest in your property, it is still a potential hazard and can shift in the wind. Safety first.
2. If the tree is blocking the roadway or sidewalk, let us know. If it is during work hours, call Ferndale Public Works at 360-384-4006. If it is after hours, call 911 and they will contact the appropriate public works department (the County or Ferndale) for removal.
3. If the tree falls on private property, take pictures and file a claim with your homeowner's insurance. Follow their process as directed by your insurance agent.
4. Contact an arborist to remove the fallen tree. A licensed professional is best for handling the large removal of a tree.
5. If you believe that you have a claim against the City, you can fill out the Claim for Damages Form (PDF).

Storms are trying times for communities and Ferndale shines the brightest when we work together. Be a good neighbor, drive carefully when there is debris in the road and use good judgement.

The City does what it can however there are far more trees than hours in the day. Please do not attempt to prune a city tree yourself. If you have any questions, feel free to call the Ferndale Public Works Department at 360-384-4006

The City of Ferndale has established 360-685-2357 as its hotline for reporting spills and other illicit discharges into the stormwater system or surface waters within the city limits. You may also email the Stormwater Department.

If you see someone illegally dumping materials, please report them by email to Kyla Boswell, our code compliance officer or call 360-685-2365.

The PW department has been sweeping City streets for years as an effort to keep the streets in good repair and looking nice. Since the inception of street sweeping there have been modifications made within stormwater that require us to sweep more often. Street sweeping is now helping to keep the storm system clean as well as the streets.

While we put a considerable effort into maintaining a consistent schedule throughout the entire City, there are many variables that make it impossible.

In the end, we regularly sweep on Fridays every week. If there are concerns regarding our street sweeping schedule and/or why we may have missed your area, it may have been due to one or more of the following:

• Parked cars on the side of the street
• Trash/recycle containers, toys and basketball hoops in the street
• Branches and other foliage hanging into the street
• Our sweeper may be in need of repairs
• Public Works may have an emergency situation requiring our attention