Spokane County buys 103 acres in Dishman Hills for $3.6 million

Spokane County is buying more than 100 acres of land in Dishman Hills and protecting it from development.

The Spokane County Commission on Tuesday unanimously agreed to purchase 103 acres near Ponderosa Elementary School from Glen and Deborah MacPhee for $3.6 million.

The county’s agreement with the MacPhees is mostly boilerplate contractual language, but it also includes a condition. The sellers will retain the right to “install a park bench” on the property within the next five years at their “sole expense and effort.”

While significant portions of Dishman Hills remain in private hands, large chunks now belong to the public.

Spokane County owns about 2,000 acres, the Dishman Hills Conservancy owns another 1,000 or so and the state Department of Natural Resources manages a bit less than 100.

The MacPhee property sits next to a 681-acre chunk of publicly accessible land within the Dishman Hills Conservation Area.

The property will be open to the public in mid-May, after Spokane County finalizes the purchase.