Tax subsidies will flow to Kendall Yards even if the developer of the 78-acre project does not seek public bids on construction of streets, sewers and other public infrastructure.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 6-1 to amend the tax-increment financing agreement it has with Kendall Yards to make the change.

Councilman Jon Snyder said state rules that he supports which prevent tax money for schools from being diverted to development make Washington’s tax-increment financing program less effective.

Allowing Greenstone to forgo public bidding is “a creative way to solve that challenge,” Snyder said. “We’re talking about a piece of dirt that has resisted development for 40 years.”

Kendall Yards is a highly-anticipated residential and commercial development on the north bank of the Spokane River in the West Central neighborhood. The land used to be the home to railroad tracks that were torn out as part of urban redevelopment related to Expo ’74.

The eventual owners of 279 proposed residences in Kendall Yards will not have to pay property taxes on new construction for 12 years.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 5-0 to accept Greenstone Corp.’s application for multifamily tax exemptions on the portion of Kendall Yards west of Maple Street. Kendall Yards is a 78-acre development west of Monroe Street, just north of the Spokane River. About 200 residences east of Maple Street are eligible for exemptions as well, but Greenstone has not yet applied for them.