City changes development rules
Following an appeal by a developer whose project was turned down because of the rule, and over the objections of some neighbors, the Spokane Valley City Council changed its development regulations to get rid of a requirement that densely built “planned unit developments” connect to arterial roads.
The decision comes after several discussions in which both the council and the city’s planning staff called the PUD requirements ineffective at encouraging the innovative use of land that the designation is supposed to promote.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Councilman Mike Flanigan said the council should overhaul the PUD requirements completely, “rather than just utilizing it as an acronym that (means) we can put a lot more houses in a smaller space.”
When land is split into lots, zoning determines the maximum number of houses that can be built per acre. But a developer also can apply to build a PUD, which allows for denser development in return for additional project requirements, like open space.
At past meetings, Community Development Director Marina Sukup said PUDs are supposed to encourage nonconventional housing designs – townhouses, for example. But so far, all of the PUDs approved in the city simply allow more traditional houses in a smaller space.
Council members said they will evaluate why and how the city grants the developments, probably when the council passes the new zoning ordinances that will follow adoption of the city’s comprehensive land-use plan.
As for what’s on the books now, Tuesday’s unanimous vote irked some Greenacres residents who said they feel denser pockets of houses will make nonarterial roads in their neighborhood more dangerous.
“We’ve got a PUD about ready to be approved, and its going to sidestep that part of the ordinance,” Tom Tabbert said.
Mayor Diana Wilhite said earlier that the ordinance change was considered in order to accommodate “infill” development in existing neighborhoods, as required under the state’s Growth Management Act.
“We are certainly not doing it just for the benefit of one person,” she said.
The council began discussing PUDs after it heard an appeal from a developer whose project was denied that classification by the hearing examiner. The site is near Tabbert’s house and will not empty onto an arterial.