Subscribe now

Stop unfair rezoning

I am writing today regarding Proposition 1, the community bill of rights that has been proposed as an amendment to the City Charter for Spokane.

The most important part of the community bill of rights addresses rezoning, a process whereby the City Council can change existing zoning rules to allow a proposed development to go forward. This happens often in the city, giving corporate developers the authority to build projects over neighborhood wishes, and which often are not consistent with neighborhood planning.

Proposition 1 would give homeowners and members of the community a clear say in any rezoning. The current system denies homeowners and communities a direct say in decisions on rezoning. It can result in lower property values for homeowners, which is a redistribution of wealth from the homeowners to the developers. This is clearly unfair to homeowners and communities, and Prop. 1 would for the first time establish a fair process.

Vote yes on Proposition 1 this November.

Chris Nerison

Spokane

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email
editor@spokesman.com
Fax
(509) 459-3815
Phone
(509) 459-5430

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy