Valley council mulls permits to allow conditional land uses

Conditional use permits came under fire again Tuesday as the Spokane Valley City Council heard a report on a proposed text amendment up for consideration. The permits require a public hearing before the hearing examiner, who can impose conditions to mitigate impacts on surrounding properties.

The amendment would allow vehicle sales in the Mixed Use Avenue zones with a conditional use permit and the Planning Commission has recommended approval.

The amendment under consideration, written by city staff, is essentially identical to a privately written text amendment submitted by Whipple Consulting on behalf of Elephant Boys. The business, which sells boats, moved last year. The city received complaints and the hearing examiner decided the business was in violation. Property owner Harlan Douglass has filed a lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court to appeal the decision. Elephant Boys was granted a stay by the court that allows them to continue operating while the case goes through the court.

“Instead of a conditional use permit, couldn’t we do this administratively,” said Councilman Dean Grafos. “For a conditional use permit, what are you looking at, 120 days, 180 days?”

Planning manager Greg McCormick said most conditional use permits take about 90 days. He said that the business owner was fine with such a permit. “This is exactly the same language as the privately initiated text amendment,” he said.

Grafos asked if the public would still have a chance to comment if no conditional use permit is required and the community development director makes the decision. “We don’t have a hearing and we don’t send notices out,” McCormick said of the community development director decision process. “It’s an internal review.”

Community development director Kathy McClung said the conditional use permit has always been a part of the proposed text amendment. “It made it palatable for the Planning Commission,” she said.

Councilman Bill Gothmann asked if the community development director could impose mitigation requirements like the hearing examiner can. McCormick said she would not have that authority. Gothmann said he favored having a public hearing using the conditional use permit process. “People want to know about zoning changes in their neighborhood,” he said.

Councilwoman Brenda Grassel asked when the amendment would take effect. It is scheduled for a vote at the Sept. 14 council meeting. Grassel noted that the council was going to start a comprehensive plan amendment process in November. “It seems like it’s so close to changing the comprehensive plan,” she said. “I’m not really sure it’s necessary. We can certainly go through this but I think at the end of the day it seems like a lot of extra work.”

McCormick said the comprehensive plan amendment process will begin in November, but won’t be complete until next spring or summer.

Deputy city attorney Cary Driskell reminded the council of the pending lawsuit against the city. “It is certainly worth the council’s time to consider this issue,” he said. The council agreed to have the proposed amendment advance to a first reading.

Acting city manager Mike Jackson went over an updated legislative agenda for the council. The list includes advocating for street utility enabling legislation, upgrading the 911 system and requiring out of state trucks to go through the Port of Entry. The city also plans to ask for money to purchase land next to the Park Road Pool to be used as a park. “It looks like there will be some capital projects funded,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the city also needs to watch the progress of Initiatives 1100 and 1105, which would both privatize liquor sales. If one or both of those pass, the city will lose revenue. “We’d still get tax money from the liquor, wouldn’t we?” said Councilwoman Rose Dempsey.

The city could get sales tax revenue from liquor sales, but would lose the shared profits and excise tax money it gets from the state totaling more than $1 million, Jackson said. “It’s substantial.”

After Jackson’s presentation, Councilman Bob McCaslin asked why the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan wasn’t on the list when five of the council members ran on a platform opposing the plan. “It’s not something the state legislature needs to consider,” Jackson said.

McCaslin said he didn’t realize the legislative agenda was referring to state issues. “I though you were talking about our agenda,” he said. When Jackson confirmed that he was not, McCaslin said “Well, it doesn’t say that.”

Each council member received a packet of documents prior to the meeting and the information on the legislative agenda included several references to the Washington State Legislature and the governor’s budget.

In other business, the council heard a report from city staff on the City Center zone, the second to last zone to be reconsidered in the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan. The area stretches from Walnut Road to Bowdish Road and goes as far north as Main Avenue and as far south as Fourth Avenue. The plan envisions a new “core street” where University City is now that would have dense retail. “We could have a whole session on the City Center master plan,” said senior planner Scott Kuhta.

The zone includes a wide variety of uses, including residential, but no longer allows businesses like vehicle sales, auto repair or mini storage. If several single family homes are not considered, the zone currently has a nonconforming business level of 11 percent. Those nonconforming businesses include Barton Jeep, Valley Self Storage and the Salvation Army.

The main question is whether the city still wants to create a city center area, said Councilman Bill Gothmann. “Do we wish to do that or not have this place and leave it the way it is now?” he said.

Grassel said the property owners she has spoken to want their old zoning back. “Here we have trampled on property rights,” she said. “We have not gone to business owners and gotten their buy-in.”

Gothmann said the previous council wanted to put the city center east of University but the property owner on the southwest corner of the Sprague Avenue and University Road section asked to have the city center on his land.

A public meeting on the City Center zone was held on Thursday. The council is scheduled to consider changes to the zone at its Sept. 14 meeting.