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City Council to hear testimony on controversial Indian Trail apartments Monday

By Kip Hill kiph@spokesman.com(509) 459-5429

Concerned residents of the North Indian Trail neighborhood will get their last chance Monday night to publicly oppose a planned apartment complex before the Spokane City Council votes on a change that would allow the development.

The council will take testimony at its regular meeting Monday evening on a requested land-use change proposed by developer Harley Douglass to build 750 apartments on about 50 acres near Woodridge Elementary. Neighbors have sent City Council members hundreds of emails opposing the project because of traffic stress. They scored a victory last month when the city’s Plan Commission recommended denial of the project on a 4-3 vote.

“I feel pretty confident that we have made a really good case,” said Terry Deno, chairman of the Indian Trail Neighborhood Council.

Douglass, his company Morning Side Investments LLC and engineer Jay Bonnett want to increase the allowable housing density on the property, from four to 10 units per acre up to 15 to 30 units per acre on some portions of the development and 10 to 20 units per acre on the edges. The initial request was filed in October of last year, and neighbors have met multiple times to discuss the project, including earlier this year when threatening fliers were left on cars of people who attended community meetings. City officials and the developers condemned the fliers shortly afterward.

Deno said he expects residents to pack the City Council chamber Monday at 6 p.m. Developers have requested half an hour to present their argument for the project, and the neighborhood will have a half hour to argue against it. Each side will get a 10-minute rebuttal, then the council will take public comments that can last up to three minutes each.

The City Council may wait to vote on the proposal until the Nov. 14 meeting, based on the expected lengthy testimony, said City Council President Ben Stuckart. Two other land-use changes, both unanimously supported by the Plan Commission, are also up for testimony and a potential vote Monday night.