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May 19, 2010 in City
Spokane Valley council puts zoning on endangered list
The new members of the Spokane Valley City Council – a majority that’s been in office less than a year – have a lot of questions.
Is the Spokane River polluted? Really? Can you prove it? Did the public have a chance to weigh in on the new Spokane Valley zoning rules? Really? The “legitimate” public?
Why should the city manager have any government experience? Isn’t it “extreme” to ask business owners not to build big fences that block drivers’ views at intersections? To demand they follow the sign code? Shouldn’t we just get rid of all zoning? What are you – business-unfriendly?
Council member Brenda Grassel has been asking the city staff for proof that the river is polluted. “Could we get their documentation on this?” she asked.
You mean the documentation from 1984? Or 1996? Or 2010? The 1999 study of the movement of river metals into the aquifer? The 2001 study that found the level of PCBs was the highest of any state waterway? The EPA’s listing of the river as an “impaired waterway”? How about the Health Department’s warnings not to eat too much fish from the river because of high levels of PCBs and lead? I stopped counting the “documentation” from the Department of Ecology, honestly, because those reports are boring, and there are so very, very many of them.
And that is just one piece of low-hanging fruit on the tree of Positive Change – the slogan uniting Grassel, Dean Grafos, Bob McCaslin, Tom Towey and Gary Schimmels. Their biggest goal is undoing the city’s zoning; they ran against the rules, and they won. Their theme is that there hasn’t been a chance for true public input, especially when it comes to the controversial rezoning of the Sprague/Appleway couplet.
Well, let’s see. Some 80 public meetings were held on the Sprague/Appleway plan over three years, according to a city “public participation log.” Thousands of fliers were sent to property owners in advance of hearings. E-mails and postcards. Coverage in the media.
“They met at churches. They met at restaurants. They met anywhere people gathered,” said John G. Carroll, chairman of the planning commission and a member of that body since the city incorporated in 2003.
One suspects the Gang of Five isn’t really that interested in public input, or they might have gathered some before hustling the city manager out the door at their very first meeting – a plan they hatched informally and with virtually no public notice.
They live in a free-market fantasia, perhaps best summarized by Grafos, speaking at the council retreat earlier this year: “What I’m saying is, let’s stop what we’re doing and let the free market take over. Let’s suspend the rules and see what happens with private enterprise.”
I’ll bet I can guess: Spokane Valley will flourish. It will no longer be an asphalt plain with the highest business vacancy rate in the county, a mattress store on every corner and a “Die, Pedestrian, Die” vibe. Secondhand stores will spring up everywhere, businesses will build their fences to the clouds, and all will be well.
Grassel says my view of this is distorted. She supports “common-sense” zoning that sets out guidelines for buildings, signs, landscaping, but opposes more specific strictures on what types of businesses can be located where. She says that putting “mixed-use” rules on Sprague/Appleway – the zoning equivalent of trying to create walkable neighborhoods – is akin to doing the same thing on Division.
She tells a persuasive story about a business owner who wants to open a coffee shop on a side street off Sprague. The shop would be allowed on Sprague, but not on the side street. Seeking a variance would be expensive and time-consuming, she said.
“We’re not saying throw all zoning out,” she insists. “What we’re trying to accomplish here is to make this a business-friendly city. … At the end of the day, planners have to get inside the mind of a business owner and really walk in their shoes.”
Carroll does walk in the shoes of a business owner – he co-owns a commercial cleaning service in the valley. A 65-year-old retired Air Force major, he has worked on the city’s comprehensive plan since Spokane Valley incorporated in 2003. He’s sat through the meetings. Listened to the public. He is no government control freak. “I’m definitely not a liberal,” he said.
He’s not a rabble-rouser, either, and he chooses his words carefully. He thinks efforts to undo all that work on zoning regulations will only make it hard for business owners to know what to expect in Spokane Valley.
He thinks the anything-goes, planning-free environment has already been tried in the Valley – remember all those years before incorporation? – and here’s what the city has to show for it: a business vacancy rate that’s 50 percent higher than the rest of the county.
“A plan is a basis for decisions,” Carroll said. “If you have no plan, how do you know where you’re going to go?”
It’s a good question. It’s one that a city – a real city, not just an area with a boundary – eventually has to answer.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@ spokesman.com.
The draw of the unknowable 
MrNatural on May 19 at 9:17 a.m.
This is a perfect example on why people shouldn’t vote when they are angry…it’s like going to the grocery store when you are hungry…you wind up with nothing but junk food…
bgrassel on May 19 at 11:21 a.m.
Dear readers,
This is one of the most atrocious, misinformed and misquoted articles the paper has yet to right about me and the council in the Spokane Valley so I feel I must respond. Regarding the river, we are in the process of writing our Shoreline Master Plan. We are paying a consultant $150,000 to help us with this process. An inventory of the river is the first step in that plan. We were given a number of environmental statements without specifics. As one example, the river overview states ‘Heavy metals, PCB contamination.’ My question to our staff and consultant was not to prove if the river was polluted but to provide documentation that actually tells us what those levels of PCB are today so we would have benchmarks to use now and in the future. How will we know if we’ve improved water quality without that? Any critical thinking person would want this, especially if they have to determine policy based on that information. Mr. Vestal, when he called me, could not tell me if we had high levels of PCB or small levels, he could only say ‘the river is polluted.’ As a reporter, he should get his facts straight, get the statements in context and maybe actually review the council meeting DVD so he could give the public accurate news rather than fill the page with his blather.
Brenda Grassel, councilmember, Spokane Valley
BigE on May 19 at 11:54 a.m.
Does the Spokane Valley council have access to the mound of studies that have already been completed on the polluted Spokane river ?
shawnv on May 19 at 12:21 p.m.
If you’re saying there were misquotations in the column, I’d like to hear about them. Ms. Grassel’s quotes came from past news articles and my own interview with her. I believe they are accurate.
As for my knowledge of pollution, I was looking at the Dept. of Ecology’s listing of river studies when Ms Grassel and I spoke. I said I didn’t have a single PCB figure off the top of my head, and acknowledged the difficulty of sorting through the complex information. But I also offered to open and go through the reports while we spoke. I’m no expert, but I’m not quite so uninformed as she might suggest.
Here’s the DOE’s newest TMDL report on phosphorous:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0710073.html
Here’s its summary of the PCB levels:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/spokaneriver/pcb/index.html
Again, if you’ve got a specific complaint about the accuracy of a quotation or a fact, I would like to hear it.
Shawn
cdspokesreader on May 19 at 1:18 p.m.
I can see why the city needs to pay so much for a consultant if one of their city council members wants a news reporter to give her the information she should be able find on her own. Has she ever hear of the Department of Ecology? Maybe she should ask anyone in Spokane other than a homeless person if they would eat the fish out of that river - that would give her a good enough answer.
MrNatural on May 19 at 1:30 p.m.
On March 22nd and 23rd there was the 3rd annual Spokane River Forum held at Mirabeau Place where many elected officials and local, state and federal agencies (both Idaho and Washington) discussed practically every topic from the Shoreline Master Plan to the contaminants and what actions are being employed to clean up the Spokane River. I don’t recall any representation from the City of Spokane Valley. I would think the commute for you would have been acceptable and the topics most relevant that is unless you were at possibly a tea party Ms Grassel…
Many of us who are actively engaged in the preservation of the Spokane River these many years are slightly appalled by your lack of knowledge on this important issue especially as an elected official…I do hope you find the knowledge you need to support this worthy endeavor
CalJones on May 19 at 2:20 p.m.
A huge Thank you to Ms. Grassel, she is exactly the kind of rational thinking person the Spokane Valley needs. The shoreline master plan, yet another unfunded mandate by the state of Washington, is simply the beginning process of more land theft by the dept. of Ecology. I’m proud that the valley has folks who are willing to stand up and ask questions, and not be bullied by sleezy reporters, or unelected Ecology Bureaucrats, Brenda is exactly the kind of leader that the valley needs!
~Cal
bgrassel on May 19 at 2:20 p.m.
Here is your quote from the paper “Council member Brenda Grassel has been asking the city staff for proof that the river is polluted. “Could we get their documentation on this?” Again, I did not ask if the river was polluted, I asked to have the current PCB levels in our jurisdiction (not for the entire river) given to us as a benchmark. You go on use a 2001 study to prove your point. Nine years is a pretty long time ago. There is also variances of PCB levels in different parts of the river and that is why we need a benchmark for the jurisdiction we are responsible for.
Here is the quote from your DOE link above:
‘Most of the Spokane River fish analyzed for PCBs fail to meet state surface water quality standards that were established to protect beneficial uses of surface waters, such as fish consumption. Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires Washington to periodically prepare a list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial uses are impaired by pollutants.’
Notice in the report it does not state what the PCB standard is or how long ago the water was tested. Have we improved? Have we gotten worse? Those are the questions we should be asking and we are paying the staff and consultant to do the research and give us accurate up to date information. We review reports and determine policy and in the report we received, the levels of pollution were not stated. My constituents want to know this, as do I. We are spending their tax dollars to meet a mandate of the state. I do not think it is to much to ask that the inventory report be defined and specific.
Brenda Grassel, councilmember, Spokane Valley
bgrassel on May 19 at 2:45 p.m.
Mr. Natural,
I did attend the forum put on by the Spokane Riverkeeper both days. I see the river as a natural resource that should be protected. How can we protect it if we don’t know the condition it is in?
Do you know what the PCB standard is? I challenge you or anyone else on this post to give that to me along with the current PCB levels today in my jurisdiction. Even on the Riverkeepers website the most current documentation is from 2004. If six years ago seems like current information to you that’s fine, but I personally find that unacceptable. Why is it so hard to get a PCB level number? If you have it post it! I’ll be sure to give it to my staff and consultant so they can add it to their report. They’ll appreciate the time you saved them.
Brenda
cdspokesreader on May 19 at 3:02 p.m.
Cal
You are so right about those money wasting land-grabbing state officials. What right do they have to put any limitations on the use of the river where it runs through your town. While you are at it, why don’t you take over control of the freeway running through your town. I’m sure it would be in as good a shape as the river is now before too long.
MrNatural on May 19 at 3:40 p.m.
Brenda
The consumption rate for sensative populations is 6.5 g/day at 1 part per billion in fish…in Washington.
The FDA is at .2-3 ppm in marketable fish
fish caught at Mission Park (rainbow trout fillets were ~125 ug/Kg in 1994; 75 ug/Kg in 1996; between 140 to 400ug/Kg in 1999 and up to 200 ug/Kg in 2005.
Reference source Ecology Publication No 06-03-025…
So to answer your question the relults show a slight yet insignificant trend that the PCB levels are beginning to lower with the efforts being applied to clean up the river.
Much more data is needed (quite expensive to gather and test I’m told) to make general assertions as to whether the levels are going up or down
…and I appologize to you for being curt…
west on May 19 at 3:44 p.m.
Seems the valley wants to be a city..it is, in name only..its a strip mall with deserted buildings one after another…it is still “Dishman”..like in the 50’s. Disjointed, no leadership, no big investors..no big business’s, just big box stores and a low density poor population, to feed the city coffers to make things happen. Why is everything in Spokane named “Spokane” . Mt. Spokane, Spokane valley city, city of Spokane, Spokane county, Spokane falls BLV, Lake Spokane..very confusing place to people out EAST looking this way for possible growth. All the big high tech jobs at Liberty Lake…gone….nothing left. Glad I moved long ago.
MrNatural on May 19 at 3:56 p.m.
…P.S. Brenda… I have also found another useful Ecology publication on fish tissue contaminants…# 07-03-024 that your consultants will find informative and I found out from a friend that it costs approximately $1000 per fish to get this data…
hope this helps…The Natch!
zelda on May 19 at 4:02 p.m.
Another excellent column, Shawn. Keep ‘em coming.
I have a sneaking suspicion that even if a PCB number were readily available, people would say that the science behind the government’s acceptable parts per million standard is flawed.
Pollution is such a loaded word. After all, it’s government agencies that get to define what the acceptable and unacceptable levels are for various contaminents. The mission of Ms. Graffos and others is to keep moving the goal posts, disput the data or question the validity of science.
Another thought — how much would it cost the DOE or EPA to do continuous monitoring of the Spokane River so that officials would have the absolute latest PCB readings at their fingertips. Wouldn’t that be an expensive and therefore unacceptable misuse of taxpayers’ money? If six-year-old data is no good, why would she accept one-year-old data? Or data from six months ago?
bdr on May 19 at 4:08 p.m.
HUMMMMMMMM
Well after being on the news myself a few times I know all to well what Brenda is saying…..(small news become bigger then gigantic then enormous).
But the news article covers codes….something that I did discuss with Bill Gothmann.
Bill essentially differed from my point of view on codes
(he wants the free market to rule).
Bill said freedom is how our country was founded.
(I said yes founded and overly founded currently that’s why all the empty’s currently with 7 miles of foundations when there only 3 miles of need from frozen employee wages)
My response to Gothmann. is kind of like Palin
(hows that freedom working for ya now) ? All those empty’s out there? I think this gang of 5 council hasn’t given much thought of the growth management plan that Munson did.
Back in the good ole days in 2006 money was flush.
Munson was looking for a (draw point) a green city center
(something that liberty lake has produced,and cda has produced on 3rd st and 4th st one way streets.
even Hilliard has produced a charming place.
a charming place that CUTs out USELESS business property at the same time.
The economy shouldn’t mean this council 2010 should flush the entire 1million dollar plan…(but shelve it) The council should actually take a look at some of the charming green/business areas these other local city’s have produced.
(it is required by the state of Washington to have a growth management plan) even if its on the shelf with no money to develop it…..its required to be in document form.
I know Bill has taken my advice and hes heading to Vancouver WA to take a look at a completely restored downtown.
I just wonder if the others will follow?
bgrassel on May 19 at 9:45 p.m.
Mr. Natural,
Thank you for your post with useful information and apology accepted.
SPOKANITE on May 19 at 10:45 p.m.
When the rest of the region’s economy begins to recover, all that momentum, along with more of the businesses, will be heading to places other than the ‘business friendly’ Sprague Avenue corridor. Great article Shawn. Keep up the good work.
robchase on May 20 at 5:25 a.m.
Just sour grapes from the S/R because the Committee for Positive Change ousted their annointed Gang of Four (although Denneny cried “no mas” and Steve Taylor left for easier pickings).
What is wrong with asking for more clarity of information? The Spokane River was polluted decades ago by Kaiser, the Navy at SIP, and Orchardists using pesticides. They are gone now but their work remains until after the next Ice Age. Shoreline Management reminds me of that line from Animal House “This calls for something completely stupid and futile”.
The previous City Council had a “Vision” that was (borrowing a favorite term from the leftists above) UNSUBSTAINABLE. They didn’t see the current lousy economy coming and were spending money like drunken pirates.
It takes a good economy to make a good ecology and free markets with intelligent regulation, taxation, and spending to primarily maintain safety and roads is the way to go. Hurrah for the new City Council!
bdr on May 20 at 10:51 a.m.
Robchase nothing is futile, Growth management plans are required of all city,and rural governments.
Munson had a “vision” that was requested by Dick Behm and required by Washington state.
The new council at some time will have to add something new to their vocabulary called: (downtown area) city of the valley.
Munson spent thousands of hours on this subject, even Years on the subject because it was requested and required both.
growth management is a vision, sooner or later the valley will grow up from the Sprague strip……and it will need a downtown.
If a good economy comes about again hopefully this 2010 council will pick up the ball from Munson and run with it again.
Descolada on May 20 at 12:10 p.m.
My, it would appear that Shawn Vestal hit a sensitive nerve. It is painfully obvious that Ms. Brenda “Positive Change” Grassel does not want to take responsibility for her inability to read documentation on subjects before the Spokane Valley City Council. Am sure that the Council is given a lot of materials to absorb but that is part of the requirement to be on the Council – read, understand and make a determination that is in the best interest of ALL the people in Spokane Valley. It was reported that the Shoreline Master Plan was brought before the Council and the Planning Commission on March 2. But on May 4th, two months later, Ms. Grassel wanted proof of PCB contamination or poor conditions for fish. All the proof that anyone might want was contained in the Council documentation but apparently Ms. Grassel asked that the consultants make another trip to the Council to prove their report. Did that cost the City more money? If so, it certainly flys in the face of the “Positive Change” demands for less expense, fewer consultants, ad nausea. On May 11th, two weeks later, the consultants came before the Council to once again go over the documentation contained within their report, which as stated above was presented to the Council on March 2nd. No questions by the Council were addressed to the consultants. A waste of time? And a waste of money? You be the judge.
As for the comment by Mr. Chase that the previous council spent money like “drunken pirates”, it was reported that the City of Spokane Valley ended the year in the green. The County and City of Spokane were both in the red. So if the City of Spokane Valley spent money like “drunken pirates”, how was it that they alone of the three major governments in the area ended the year with a positive balance, not a deficit? Sounds like your comments, Mr. Chase, are “sour grapes”.
Descolada
AppleMaggot on May 22 at 1:26 a.m.
Brenda,
Thank you for being conscientious. Remember what Reagan said about the Soviets in the Cold War? “Trust, but verify.” It also applies to bureaucrats.
mikeln on May 22 at 4:55 a.m.
I’m glad I don’t live in the valley, a place where the city counsel will do and say anything to make their buddies money. The river is the butt-hole of a giant, polluted lake, it dosn’t take a scientist to figure out where that muck is going. Politics as usual, scratch my back….. Do what’s best for your town, not whats best for you and your buddies bank accounts. Oh yeah, keep hireing people to do the work you should be doing and see how long you stay in the black.
eagleproducer on May 23 at 8:18 a.m.
bgrassel: Why is always so easy to spot those Boy George “left behind?”
You are an elected city council member in the Spokane Valley and don’t know the difference between “right” and “write.” Why am I not surprised? Going to the Winco in the Valley is like stepping into a weird time machine that instantly transports the outsider into a cross between 1986 and the set for the film Idiocracy.
How long will Valley voters keep filling the public slop trough for McCaslin? It’s funny, but you never see the Spokane arm of the G.O.P. send ol’ Bob out to stump about the evils of the career politician. I wonder why? Between him and his wife Spokane county have experienced years of their “leadership” that kept the region impoverished (except for the select few who ensure their elections) compared with the rapid progress of Western Washington.
Those on the Valley council wasting their taxpayer’s money on an outside consultant to “document” pollution levels in the Spokane River are, pardon the pun, carrying the water for someone else. Follow the money. I’d start with large property owners along the Spokane River in the Valley.
Isn’t that where the Cowles paper mill rests?
Tick, tick, tick…
That’s the sound of my stopwatch counting the moments until this post is removed.
Sam_Smith on October 18 at 6:09 p.m.
I realize this is old and this is past, but if anyone cared. I went and read the minutes of the Council meeting that Brenda Grassel says is misquoted. It isn’t. She really said she wanted proof that the river was polluted. She needs to make sure she knows what she is talking about -about herself…. has no idea. Again, she should learn to keep her mouth shut. she does no favors to herself everytime she opens her mouth because she just sticks her foot in it and then can’t remember what she said.