Objections raised over removing Comp Plan chapter

Eight people testified at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that they oppose a proposition to remove a chapter devoted to neighborhoods in Spokane Valley’s developing Comprehensive Plan and move some of its language to other chapters.

“If we slip this neighborhood program into another section, we’re not going to have a neighborhood program. It’s going to be lost,” James Pantaleo said.

The council hadn’t scheduled a public hearing on the plan Tuesday, and neighbors spoke during the meeting’s general public comments time.

At the Feb. 21 meeting several council members suggested that elements of the neighborhood chapter were repeated elsewhere in the plan, and that a requirement that new buildings match existing neighborhoods might contradict the city’s goal to build a diverse housing stock.

The council will discuss the future of the neighborhood chapter further and take more public comment at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall.