Despite some concerns, Valley keeps big lots

Big lots – the hallmark of many Spokane Valley homes – would remain the norm in existing neighborhoods, and certain denser-than-usual developments would face tighter restrictions under changes to residential zoning rules that planning commissioners wrapped up last week.

Six new zoning districts in the latest draft of the city’s new uniform development code would redefine what types of housing can be built where in Spokane Valley.

A zone calling for lots just under a quarter acre would apply to most existing neighborhoods after commissioners cited a desire to preserve the Valley’s suburban atmosphere.

“I think that’s what a lot of people really like about the Valley is that sort of rural feel to it, and I would hate to see it go away completely,” Planning Commissioner Marcia Sands said at a meeting earlier this month.

A majority on the commission elected to add a zone with 10,000-square-foot minimum lots to the new regulations.

Encompassing zoning, building standards and what activities can take place in different parts of the city, the Uniform Development Code eventually will replace all of the development regulations that Spokane Valley adopted from the county after incorporation.

A recurring theme in the commission’s deliberations has been preserving the character of existing neighborhoods. Arguments for big lots, though, also have been met with concerns about the effect low-density zoning will have on home prices.

Fewer houses on a street means fewer homeowners sharing the cost of pavement, sewers and other infrastructure, said Commissioner John Carroll.

Smaller properties also help ensure there is housing stock within the price range of first-time homebuyers, said Commissioner and real estate agent David Crosby.

“In our fair city affordable, first-time-homebuyer housing is not here,” he said.

In the end, the commission forwarded recommendations to the City Council that include zones for single-family residential lots ranging from 6,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet – just shy of an acre.

Currently zoning is measured by the number of housing units that can be placed on an acre, rather than lot size. The proposed 10,000-square-foot R2 zone is similar to the UR3.5 zoning that applies to most Spokane Valley neighborhoods now.

At 7,500 square feet, the denser R3 zone is similar to the UR7 zone created by the county that permits about 6 houses per acre.

The proposed R4 zone provides for 6,000-square-foot lots, and two additional zones accommodate different types of multifamily housing.

In the Ponderosa and Rotchford Acres neighborhoods, the new R1 zone would require minimum lot sizes of almost an acre, discouraging most infill development.

What remains unclear is how the new rules will affect property owners’ ability to change the zone on land they want to develop at higher densities.

“You can’t stop people from applying for rezones,” Maria Sukup, community development director, said.

In Greenacres, for example, residents fought for a downzone in the area from UR7 to UR3.5. Since then, much of the vacant land there has been developed at higher densities anyway because developers applied for a rezone before starting their projects.

Although the process is expensive, the zone changes were almost always granted because both UR3.5 and UR7 are considered low-density residential in the city’s comprehensive plan.

Putting in place more specific criteria for zone changes is another issue the city will have to review as it overhauls the development code, Sukup said.

Planned unit developments are another type of development receiving scrutiny. Intended to allow developers flexibility in laying out subdivisions on land with environmentally sensitive areas or unusual topography, the rules allow greater density in return for preserving open space.

In reality, PUDs have been used mostly to circumvent city requirements related to density restrictions, street standards and other areas.

“The PUDs have not been used the way they should,” Sukup said.

Now called planned residential developments, they are given more stringent requirements for open space and amenities for residents in the new code.

On tracts 5 acres or larger, the city could allow a planned development with the same number of homes that would be allowed by the site’s underlying zoning. They could be grouped closer together, though, to make room for open space, geological features and common areas.