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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Judge Says Commissioners Erred, Lets Developer Proceed In/Around: Greenacres

Adam Lynn Staff Writer

A judge has ruled that Spokane County commissioners were wrong in 1993 when they denied Wes Crosby permission to develop nine acres in the Spokane Valley.

Superior Court Judge Marcus Kelly said in a six-page decision handed down earlier this month that commissioners used faulty reasoning when they told Crosby he couldn’t build his Flora Meadows subdivision.

The ruling clears the way for Crosby to begin moving forward with engineering and other preliminary work on the project, which calls for 31 homes along Flora Road just south of the Spokane River.

The developer said this week he would wait before applying for building permits, though.

“To me, this isn’t a final decision, yet,” Crosby said. “They may still appeal.”

It also sends a signal to county commissioners that their authority to reject development projects is limited.

“To some extent, it means if the zoning is appropriate and if the developer is willing to meet the mitigation requirements, then it is difficult for the (commissioners) to deny the plat,” said Mike Dempsey, one of the county’s civil attorneys.

Crosby, who has been developing property in Spokane County for 25 years, summed it up this way: “I think it establishes that (developers) do have our rights.”

The dispute over the development began in June 1993 when a volunteer board that decides on land-use issues gave Crosby the go-ahead for the project.

The hearing examiner committee decided that Crosby had met all the county and state requirements for housing density, road improvements and sewage disposal.

A group of residents who live near Crosby’s land disagreed with that assessment and appealed the decision to county commissioners.

The development would be an island of urban development in the lightly developed Greenacres area and would be a threat to water quality, the neighbors argued.

The 31 homes were to be put on septic tanks.

The state Board of Health had just issued a decision saying that beginning Jan. 1, 1994, new developments in the Greenacres area would be restricted to one house per acre where public sewers weren’t available.

That fall, Commissioners Pat Mummey and Skip Chilberg voted to override the decisions of the county Planning Department and hearing examiner committee and granted the appeal. Steve Hasson voted against the appeal.

Mummey and Chilberg cited the lack of sewers as one of the major points in their decision.

Crosby then sued, saying the commissioners had no authority to overturn the prior decisions based on a lack of sewers.

He contended that his Flora Meadows project should be allowed because its approval beat the Board of Health deadline.

Kelly agreed with Crosby.

“He has complied with the requirements existing at the time,” the judge wrote in his decision. “He has also complied with the requirements imposed when the preliminary plat was approved by the hearing examiner committee.”

Kelly found that the county commissioners’ decision in the matter was “an unreasoning action in disregard of the facts and circumstances.”

Dempsey said county officials will decide soon if they will appeal the decision.

“We don’t feel we violated, in any way, the vested rights doctrine in this case,” Dempsey said.