Developer Delaying 25-Acre Complex Near 57th, Regal

A large commercial development being sought for 57th and Regal has been delayed because of Spokane County’s emergency stormwater rules.

Rich Naccarato of Cedar Builders Inc. has proposed a shopping center and multifamily housing complex on 25 acres at the southeast corner of the intersection.

In a letter last month, the lawyer for the developer told county officials the project is being delayed. Attorney Stan Schultz asked that a zone change hearing be postponed until May.

County commissioners last year imposed emergency development rules to prevent a worsening of stormwater drainage problems on Moran Prairie. The temporary rules require lined evaporation ponds instead of infiltration ponds in new developments

The rules were imposed in lieu of a building moratorium, which has been sought by members of the Moran Prairie Neighborhood Association.

State law requires the commissioners to reconsider the interim stormwater rules after one year. A public hearing is expected in May.

Dennis Scott, director of public works for the county, said the commissioners could extend the rules for another year, drop them completely or provide exclusions to allow developers like Naccarato to move ahead.

Naccarato designed his development with the use of infiltration ponds.

Scott said evaporation ponds could take up as much as a third of the land proposed for the development, leaving less room on the property for buildings.

He said it appears Naccarato is unwilling to devote that much land to handle runoff from buildings and parking lots.

Naccarato was not available for comment.

Schultz said Naccarato is paying for additional soil samples and plans to argue that his property should be excluded from the area requiring lined evaporation ponds.

Geologic tests indicate that ground water moves to the south through sand and gravel deposits below the surface. As a result, infiltration ponds on the property would not aggravate the high ground water and flooding problems to the north of 57th Avenue, Schultz said.

The proposal calls for a 55,000-square-foot supermarket, other retail space and about 150 housing units.

Initially Naccarato had planned to argue for a zone change before the county hearing examiner last August. The hearing has been rescheduled three times. It is now scheduled for May 27.

His project is a short distance from another major retail development proposed for 44th and Regal. That project is inside the city limits.

County and city officials are in the middle of planning a stormwater system that would collect excess water and send it to a system of interconnected retention ponds on low-lying land throughout the area.

The county is seeking to buy eight acres on the north side of 57th Avenue between Cook and Stone. That property could take excess water from 57th Avenue and adjacent properties, Scott said.

The stormwater system is expected to cost from $11 million to $13 million and would be paid partly by property owners on Moran and Glenrose prairies and Browne Mountain.

, DataTimes