Appeal Delays Home Depot’s Construction Permit Harley Douglass Files Complaint, Raising Concerns The Project Would Cramp Traffic

Construction of the new Home Depot hit a snag last week when Spokane Hearing Examiner Greg Smith sent the project back for more traffic studies.

The city approved the project near the Division Street Y despite a potential 17-minute wait to exit the parking lot on Saturdays.

The approval included 14 mitigating measures, most of them traffic-related.

The city is expected to look at the traffic concerns and reconsider whether to issue a building permit.

North Side developer Harley Douglass filed the appeal, claiming a number of errors in the city’s approval of the project.

But attorney James Craven said there’s no problem.

“There’s never going to be a 17-minute delay, no one would ever allow it,” he said. “Intelligent drivers, and we have intelligent drivers in Spokane, will make it work.”

Hearing Examiner Greg Smith, in his decision, said that’s exactly what will happen.

“Drivers will either make unsafe maneuvers, or find other ways out, thereby affecting other intersections,” said Smith.

Traffic engineers have recommended a signal at the intersection of State Route 2 and Hoerner.

Robert Spears, one of the project developers, said the appeal will delay construction.

“It has already slowed it up, it’s close to winter and we’ll have a hard time getting the footings in,” said Spears, who is working with Rich Naccarato, and Niles and John Selden, who own Country Homes Supply.

Douglass filed for a temporary restraining order last week to stop construction at Home Depot until a building permit has been issued.

“I believe a restraining order is needed to stop Home Depot construction because the city is not enforcing its code,” said Douglass.

Home Depot opposed the request, but a Superior Court judge granted the restraining order Tuesday.

Plans call for a 106,000-square-foot store with a 24,000-square-foot garden center.

The 2-1/2-day hearing pitted two of the city’s largest development families - Douglass and Naccarato.

Naccarato is one of several local owners in the corporation developing Home Depot. Harlan Douglass, Harley’s father, has been a director of the Eagle Hardware and Garden chain since 1990.

Home Depot is planning to build on the former Country Homes Building Supply site - less than a mile from Eagle on Division.

In addition, both families have built heavily in the area in the past, and have several projects planned which could bring 1,000 new homes to the neighborhood.

An underlying issue in the debate is who will pay for eventual road improvements and traffic signals needed to regulate a dramatic increase in traffic.

Home Depot recently opened a store near Sprague and Fancher, within clear view of the Eagle store, also on Sprague, in the Spokane Valley.

Douglass’ attorney Keith Dearborn of Seattle said three key issues weren’t considered when the North Side project was approved:

Projects already in the pipeline for development,

Mitigating measures that will only ease late afternoon traffic,

And ignoring the garden center of the project that might draw more cars than projected.

The key point for Smith was the Saturday morning traffic. At the project’s north driveway, up to 35 cars could be lined up waiting to move into the street, for up to 17 minutes.

Smith agreed with Douglass’ attorney that the city should not have issued demolition and grading permits for the property during the appeal period.

Two-dozen storage buildings were demolished.

, DataTimes