A vision for Morgan Acres
Morgan Acres residents have banded together to preserve the rural feeling of their neighborhood and minimize the effects of the North Spokane Freeway.
“When we started holding meetings over a year ago and people were asked what were the major issues for the neighborhood, preservation of the lots as one-acre parcels was the No. 1 issue, along with being able to keep their horses,” said Duke Phillips, a neighborhood committee member who has worked on the subarea plan. Phillips lives on Crestline, on the western boundary of Morgan Acres.
“I have an acre to let my two Brittanys (spaniels) run. I realize it’s not for everyone, but there are a lot of smaller lots to choose from in the city if you want smaller lots.
“The place has been here for so long we ought to be able to preserve what we have. I think the (sub-area) plan has a chance, but the problem is that there are so many changes going on in county government right now. We’re watching to see who is elected as county commissioners, people who are pro-neighborhood or not,” said Phillips.
The 2001 comprehensive plan revised the residential land-use designations from suburban (one house per acre) to low-density residential (one to six houses per acre) and in some cases community commercial or light industrial. The remainder of the area retained its heavy industrial designation.
The state Department of Transportation began moving forward with a freeway that would connect Highway 395 at Wandermere to Interstate 90 and bisect the Morgan Acres area.
Morgan Acres is outside of the city limits, generally north of Francis, east of Crestline, south of Magnesium Road on the west side of Market Street, and south of Freya and Lincoln Road (or the Mount St. Michael’s hill) east of Market.
In July 2003, the Morgan Acres neighborhood advisory committee was told its neighborhood was the only one selected from six that had applied for subarea planning assistance through Spokane County.
In November 2003, a community meeting was held to elect stakeholder team managers and get residents’ input. Stakeholder managers Roy Eickmeyer and Bob Wormell were elected.
Four committees then began working with county planners Tim Lawhead, Terry Liberty and Jim Falk and have developed a draft plan.
As the plan evolved, recommendations were developed that centered on land use and zoning, transportation and pedestrian safety, and quality of life.
According to the draft plan, the goals for residential land use are to preserve the semirural feel of one-acre lots, with an independent water system and animal keeping, as it was zoned before the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan in 2001. The Comprehensive Plan also prohibits most animals. The sub-area draft plan requests that the county change the zoning to prohibit new multiple-family development in the community.
Another goal listed in the draft plan is to design Market Street to include buffers and transitional uses to protect residential areas. The plan requests an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for Market Street, and the area east of Market, proposing land-use changes, primarily from heavy industry to light industry in order to support redevelopment that will create jobs while minimizing conflicts with existing development as the freeway is constructed.
The Morgan Acres sub-area plan draft also addresses goals for reducing traffic in residential areas, improving pedestrian safety, especially near Arlington Elementary, and improving transit service to the industrial areas in Morgan Acres.
Quality of life goals for the area include improving the Morgan Acres Park, crime prevention and improving neighborhood communication.