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January 16, 2012 in City
Getting There: Leaders work to draw companies to West Plains
Officials are hoping Caterpillar Logistics, at 10000 W. Hallett Road, will be followed by more businesses near Spokane International Airport. The Caterpillar plant, at more than half a million square feet, is under construction.
(Full-size photo)
Local leaders hope that a sprawling new Caterpillar Logistics plant on the West Plains is the first in a series of new business arrivals near the airport.
Vacant land surrounding Spokane International Airport, some of which is owned by the airport, is getting more scrutiny by out-of-town companies, including Boeing, officials said.
As economic development is being promoted for light-industrial properties near the airport, officials said they are working to prevent encroachment on civilian and Air Force flight paths.
On Tuesday, the Spokane County commissioners took another step toward implementing zoning rules that will make it possible for large businesses to locate near the airport while protecting air approaches and takeoff zones.
They re-approved an interim law that establishes an airport overlay zone for the airport and Fairchild Air Force Base.
A permanent zoning change is expected in May.
The airport overlay zone is a copy of a Spokane city ordinance approved in advance of the city’s annexation of 10 square miles of the West Plains, which took place Jan. 1.
The interim zoning code also allows buildings as tall as 150 feet in the light-industrial zone, up from the former height limit of 65 feet, a limit that was increased a year ago from 42 feet to make it possible for Caterpillar to build on Hallett Road just west of the Medical Lake interchange. Raising the building limit to 150 feet was done in hopes of luring a Boeing facility.
Local leaders are hoping to piece together two 1,000-acre parcels near the airport that would be ready for construction if Boeing decides to expand its 737 MAX manufacturing with a satellite plant here. Business and government representatives said in December, when Boeing announced the new plane would be manufactured in Everett, that they hoped Spokane would be considered for a second production line down the road.
Boeing has said it needs skilled workers wherever it decides to locate a new facility. Spokane Community College’s Inland Northwest Aerospace Technology Center offers seven degrees in aviation trades.
Aside from Boeing, Spokane is starting to hear more interest from businesses about possibly relocating here, officials said last week.
Commissioner Al French said the site consultant who helped Caterpillar choose Spokane is continuing to tell clients about the thousands of acres of land available near the airport, Interstate 90 and rail lines.
French said two national companies and four businesses from Western Washington are considering locating in Spokane.
Todd Woodard, director of marketing and public relations at Spokane International Airport, said the airport has received new inquiries in the past several months.
“What started this was the Caterpillar project and our success with that,” he said.
County yields on signage
Residents near Stutler and Keeney roads in south Spokane County won a debate last week over the location of a new yield sign.
Commissioners asked their engineers to reconsider a plan to place the yield sign on the southbound side of Keeney at Stutler.
Residents suggested putting a stop sign on the westbound side of Stutler instead.
The commissioners also approved a request by the neighborhood to keep the speed limit at 35 mph even though the area was recently paved.
Paved county roads typically have 45 mph limits while gravel roads are posted at 35.
Contractors seek corridor funds
The Associated General Contractors of the Inland Northwest is upping the ante in efforts to gain additional funding for more construction on the North Spokane Corridor.
Local officials reported this week that Associated General Contractors is prepared to hire consultants to work on the issue of gaining funding from state and federal sources.
Council OKs class in lieu of fines
Spokane Valley drivers caught breaking traffic laws will have a new way to avoid fines and to keep their records clean.
The Spokane Valley City Council approved joining a program that will allow errant drivers the chance to take a six-hour driving class to avoid fines and other repercussions.
The Collision Avoidance, Reduction and Education School is voluntary, but the cost of the class is $124.
Deputies in Spokane are teaching the class.
Some violations, including multiple infractions, do not qualify for the program.
The county has been using the program since March 2008.
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
D Statler on January 16 at 9:33 a.m.
Go Commissioners !! I can smell the new jobs getting closer. That may be the rendering plant drifting this way again tho :^( We are lucky to have the land available for buisness expansion. Protecting the flight paths for Fairchild and Spokane International is crucial to future development.
btw: I am still in favor of trading Plantes Ferry to the Spokane Tribe for their casino. Land near the airport might be better utilized. Bringing the jobs closer to the valley and returning sacred lands is a win win idea. A casino,natural heritage museum and natural area (JOBS) would be a great asset to the valley. Who could take care of it better than the natives that originally inhabited it. It is not too late to make a right turn to protect our future pathways in the valley as well.
misjustice on January 16 at 9:52 a.m.
Yeah, go commissioners; enrich your buddies, the ones that financied your campaigns and put you in power. And while I welcome the “jobs” that these land deals will deliver, I am suspect of the political machinations done behind closed doors by “our” County Commissioners.
Just sayin’…
zelda on January 16 at 10:18 a.m.
There’s not much news left in this newspaper but the mouthpiece portion carries on.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 16 at 10:27 a.m.
As MisJ said, very, very, VERY thankful for these jobs….however, if you do look a bit deeper to see who is really benefiting from this and you would probably see, as MisJ said, that its people who financed these commissioners campaigns that put them into office.
misjustice on January 16 at 10:38 a.m.
“Vacant land surrounding Spokane International Airport, some of which is owned by the airport, is getting more scrutiny by out-of-town companies, including Boeing, officials said.”
Boeing? I thought that deal was nixed? So why continue to promote their supposed interest in the area?
Just askin’…
CougarGold on January 16 at 11:06 a.m.
misj - Much of the support products and vendors to Boeing won’t be located where the final assembly occurs. There are many suppliers to Boeing who are looking to locate close to, but not necessarily in direct proximity to Puget Sound. Still plenty of opportunity for positive outcomes as a result of Boeing’s decision to stay in Washington for the 737MAX.
misjustice on January 16 at 11:09 a.m.
Thanks, Cougar, for the additional information. But those suppliers aren’t Boeing. The above quote, that I included in my post, is a little misleading, IMO.
de3 on January 16 at 11:41 a.m.
Boeing’s lean and just-in-time manufacturing requires smaller parts suppliers to be close to their main plants so there are tons of suppliers located all around Boeing’s plants on the west side. Not sure if Spokane is close enough for the super fast turnaround they need from order to delivery. We will see!
zelda on January 16 at 11:47 a.m.
It would be somewhat honest to say that they’re courting the Boeing supply-chain. It would also demonstrate an understanding of how big corporations — esp. defense contractors — operate.
There’s still a powerful mass of the Western frontier mentality that prevails here, i.e., “Railroad’s a-comin’ through!” and the land speculation that comes with it.
Next thing you know somebody will start a rumor that there’s natural gas on the West Plains and the Spokane Stock Exchange will re-open.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 16 at 12:17 p.m.
Looks like the commissioners are doing what’s needed. Surely with the new taxes put on companies by Verner, Shogan and crew, many must be outside the city limits.
The West Plains are booming. FYI…go see who supported whom in the State logs.
The Commissioners had very broad based support. French did and the other two were elected 3 years ago with a broad base.
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Private money will enrich all . They governemnt money is gone…as predicted. Now, the regulators will try to shape how the companies can operate. Stop the regulation part, and Spokane might become something special again.
Seems like the tenor here is that if someone does something to provide jobs, it’s not enough. NO, the companies must somehow be punished for their success. Garbage. There is no plot or conspiracy against the workers or the people. We create jobs. People get work. People get money for work….and so on.
I suppose some would prefer the work go to Texas or Moses Lake, etc. Well those jobs are indded there…let the workers go to where the jobs are if they don’t like it in Spokane with Boeing, Cat, etc. This City is too good to be held down by union greeed, or some group of Heckle and Jeckle types who carp in the SR blogs…and you know who you are…
I’d say this is good and the commissioners should be re-elected. It’s a new day. The potential is in SPokane to be a great and productive city again. Turn the money loose. Good things happen.
johnclarke on January 16 at 12:17 p.m.
misjustice on January 16 at 10:38 a.m.
Boeing? I thought that deal was nixed? So why continue to promote their supposed interest in the area?
We have West side envy here in spokey-loo.
Airway Heights used to be a trailer park that was painful to even look at. Things are looking much much better. Although we may have some favors being cashed in, I don’t stay up at night over it. Look at Moses Lake and Wenatchee; a combination of the right stuff attracted a ton of new industry and jobs. Far as I’m concerned, whatever it takes. Jobs are jobs.
CougarGold on January 16 at 12:31 p.m.
misj - So far as I know, some of these pre-assembly prizes may be Boeing, similar to what they originally did with their duct/floor panel plant in AH that is now Triumph. I really don’t know what the supply chain might entail and/or who the companies are that are in those kinds of roles. Could be Boeing, could be vendor/suppliers or some combination. So, it wouldn’t necessarily be misleading to say Boeing in the article as it may very well be factual.
misjustice on January 16 at 12:32 p.m.
No, JC, no westside “envy”. Just legitimate questions, at least from my perspective and a request for honest “reporting” on an issue that impacts all of us.
Scoutster on January 16 at 12:36 p.m.
Actually, no…jobs aren’t jobs.
That’s been the mantra of economic development folks for years, and it’s nonsense.
Do 5,000 minimum wage jobs with virtually no benefits or career path make us, as a community, richer or poorer?
I’m not saying these aren’t good jobs…some, no doubt, are real jobs. Manufacturing is still the best bet for most.
But to recruit wage depressors like call centers, casinos, and retail hubs helps the few, not the many.
(NOTE: If you really want to stump an economic development professional, ask them how they measure success.)
johnclarke on January 16 at 2:14 p.m.
misjustice on January 16 at 12:32 p.m.
No, JC, no westside “envy”. Just legitimate questions, at least from my perspective and a request for honest “reporting” on an issue that impacts all of us.
No argument from me Mis, in fact I think we agree. I hear this Boeing nonsense all the time, and I’m sure that is what it is- nonsense. They might as well say that Santa’s workshop is eyeing land out there.
Scoutster on January 16 at 12:36 p.m.
Actually, no…jobs aren’t jobs.
That’s been the mantra of economic development folks for years, and it’s nonsense.
Do 5,000 minimum wage jobs with virtually no benefits or career path make us, as a community, richer or poorer?
I’m not saying these aren’t good jobs…some, no doubt, are real jobs. Manufacturing is still the best bet for most.
Yeah, having a hard time making sense of your argument. first of all, when you have no job, a job makes you richer. You now have money, you then spend money. Everyone is “richer”. Making general statements that have no basis in fact re:
“5,000 minimum wage jobs with virtually no benefits or career path” is just self defeating. I am not going to take the time to list all the companies coming into Airway Heights and what they pay, but I can tell you that I interviewed and turned down a data center job over $100k with a shipping outfit. They hired a whole team of technology sme’s at good pay. I’m renting a house to a Casino employee, a dealer in fact. She is raising 3 kids, and is never late on her rent. She gets excellent benefits including medical.
If you have no skills and can’t get a better job, that is something you need to change. Two different topics.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 16 at 2:42 p.m.
Scoutster..”Do 5,000 minimum wage jobs with virtually no benefits or career path make us, as a community, richer or poorer?”
A lot richer…..if yo don’t have a job. And this is the point. No more high paying jobs for entry. A lot more richer as time goes by. Nobody makes a fortune in the beginning. I know I didn’t.
But education and building lives do make things much much better.
No union jobs…just decent jobs. Who has a job …the same job from entry to retirement? Very few. You build. In America, this is how it’s done..unless you depend on the government. You do not get jobs without some form of industry.
You old guys must know that things aren’t the way they used to be. Progress occurs through being smart, hard working and preparation. I bet the Kaiser people and their union thought they could extract lots. Well…look what happened.
The jobs created these days will simply not be the same as those generated in the old models. Ask Obama…..he said the same thing….and he’s doing everything he can to change things. Looks like the money he and Bernanke sent to his “friends” won’t be finding it’s way back to the taxpayers ( it was their money to begin with) any time soon. Break down an economy and things will change. That’s their goal. Hope is now Hopeless. But he’s kept the change…so far…not for long though. Getting people hooked on foodstamps won’t help in the long term. Just creates dependence….which is another goal.
johnclarke on January 16 at 3:00 p.m.
omg please tell me that daisy did not agree with me. I quit.
jddavis on January 16 at 4:05 p.m.
JC—I am right with you on everything you posted on this thread! I know, right? I especially like “If you have no skills and can’t get a better job, that is something you need to change.”
Scoutster—I drove by a handful of people today holding signs that relayed their state of hunger, homelessness, etc. I think a minimum wage job would improve their dire situations.
Getting no/low skill jobs for persons who lack skill(s) is a positive in my book. Not everyone can start at or near the top and at a six-figure wage.
johnclarke on January 16 at 4:33 p.m.
Well, shoot - the whole reason certain industries target Spokane is this area fits their target profile for labor costs.We can’t magically transform the area into the Puget Sound.
What is the alternative? Telling a manufacturer or a call center that “no we don’t want you because your benefits are not good enough and/or career path is not attractive enough.” Obviously, we would love higher paying jobs with great benefits, oh like say public sector union jobs, but I digress. Also, don’t sell these businesses short. Many pay decent and have good benefits. I applaud the efforts in Airway Heights…and Moses Lake …and Wenatchee. Looks like forward thinking to me.