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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Zoning-change foes ask for equal billing

Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, according to Peone Prairie residents who must pay to oppose zone-change proposals in which proponents aren’t being charged.

County commissioners sent 13 proposed zone changes in rural areas and six in urban growth areas to the county Planning Commission for hearings today without charging thousands of dollars in fees that proponents ordinarily would have to pay.

“It is fundamentally unfair to waive fees for the proponents of these projects and to not waive fees for community members who may oppose the projects,” Center for Justice attorney Rick Eichstaedt said in a letter to county officials.

Eichstaedt represents four neighbors of the McGlade’s Market restaurant at the corner of Yale and Day-Mt. Spokane roads. His clients – Dan Henderson, Larry Kunz, Trevert Shelley and Neil Membrey – oppose rezoning the restaurant’s 4 1/2-acre site from “urban reserve” to “limited development area (commercial)” zoning.

The zone change would allow the restaurant, which closed in January, to reopen. Owners Shawn and Theresa Gabel shuttered the restaurant under pressure from county planning officials who found it in violation of the zoning code.

That and the other zone-change proposals before the Planning Commission began as “comments” by property owners. County officials screened the informal requests to identify zone changes commissioners could initiate on their own, on grounds that they would satisfy the goals of the county comprehensive plan.

Eichstaedt’s clients are appealing the declaration of environmental “nonsignificance” that allowed the McGlade’s zone-change proposal to proceed.

Others are appealing environmental approvals for two other zone changes proposed for Peone Prairie. Those changes would allow farm land to be subdivided into five-area tracts.

One change would apply to 243 1/4 acres south and mostly east of the intersection of Peone and Fairview roads. The other would apply to 80 acres northwest of the intersection of Peone and Nelson roads.

Allowing “rural-5” zoning on Peone Prairie would destroy its rural character with construction of “McMansions,” according to Kitty Klitzke, Eastern Washington organizer for the Futurewise land-use advocacy group.

Although not involved in the environmental appeals, Futurewise opposes several of the commissioner-initiated zone changes and “we wouldn’t think that was a bad idea” to waive appeal fees if proponents don’t have to pay, Klitzke said in an interview.

County Commissioner Bonnie Mager called Tuesday for commissioners to waive the $294 fees for all three environmental appeals, but Commissioner Mark Richard said he thought the zone-change proposals and the environmental appeal fees were unrelated.

Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Jim Emacio said the decision on waiving appeal fees might rest with county administrators instead of commissioners. He was allowed to take the issue under advisement.

The county has a complicated system of fees for zone-change applications, including a $294 “pre-application review” fee, a base fee, a per-acre fee and a 16 percent surcharge on all the other fees, to support regional planning.

In the McGlade’s zone change, the fees would have totaled $3,171. In another example, Wayne Christenson’s proposal to convert his 243 1/4 acres of land on Peone Prairie to five-acre tracts ordinarily would have cost $2,829.