Residents Want Timely Solutions To Problems On Moran Prairie

Moran Prairie neighborhood activists are losing patience with city and county government.

They are concerned that rapid growth is ruining southeast Spokane, and they are frustrated by what they call a business-as-usual attitude from government officials.

Urban flooding, strip commercial development and crowded streets are among their worries.

“We don’t want to wait another two or three years and watch this situation get worse,” said Greg Sweeney, a board member with the Moran Prairie Neighborhood Association.

Sweeney and other activists said they will carry their case to anyone who will listen.

They believe they may have found willing ears on the Spokane County Planning Commission.

Last week, the commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing next Thursday at 5 p.m. in the commissioners’ assembly room in the Public Works Building.

The Planning Commission wants to learn more about the growth issues in southeast Spokane and what county government can do to help.

“There is frustration. They want some action. They need to see some light at the end of the tunnel,” said Planning Commissioner Mike Schrader.

Schrader said he is sympathetic to neighborhood concerns because he has been involved in growth issues at Liberty Lake as a member of the property owners association there.

“Business as usual is not the answer,” he said. “The neighborhoods have never had a strong voice in planning.

“It is our hope we can get them more involved in the planning.”

Some county officials said the solutions aren’t so easy to reach.

They said the county is in the midst of writing a complex new comprehensive plan to satisfy the state’s growth-management law.

At the same time, the utilities division is working with a Boise consultant to come up with long-range solutions to storm runoff problems. Once a solution is recommended, the county commissioners will have to figure out a way to finance the project, estimated at about $20 million.

The work is complicated, they said, by the fact that about a third of Moran Prairie lies inside city limits.

Because of the dual jurisdictions, the city and county have declared Moran Prairie a joint planning area.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Emacio said Moran Prairie residents shouldn’t expect quick action from the Planning Commission.

“The staff is troubled about the forum (next Thursday’s meeting), that it could be misleading the people in Moran Prairie about what you can do as a plan commission,” he said.

The issue arose last month when Susan Brudnicki, president of the neighborhood association, asked the planning commissioners for help in solving growth problems.

The letter asked for next week’s special meeting to address neighborhood concerns.

Brudnicki called for an immediate start on a neighborhood land-use plan in conjunction with a countywide growth management plan.

The county should also establish an office for neighborhood planning, she said.

Brudnicki also asked for downzoning some property on Moran Prairie. The letter urged reconsideration of what land will be included inside the urban growth area on Moran Prairie.

Emacio said the Planning Commission has limited authority over those issues. John Mercer, the head of long-range planning for the county, said most of the county staff’s work has been focused on finishing the broader comprehensive plan.

Spokane County is already six months behind the state-mandated schedule for complying with the growth management law.

The comprehensive plan could be finished as early as April, he said.

After that, the city and county could begin work on a Moran Prairie neighborhood plan, which would more closely define how the area would be developed, Mercer said.

Suzanne Knapp, who represents real estate interests and home builders, said government sometimes is slow.

The plans for land use and stormwater disposal should not be rushed, she said.

“It needs to be done scientifically and not politically,” she said. “We do need to develop a better plan.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: PUBLIC HEARING PLANNED The Spokane County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to discuss problems on Moran Prairie next Thursday at 5 p.m. in the commissioners’ assembly room in the Public Works Building.