Residents Confront Officials About Land Swap Crowd Raises Questions About Environment, Appraisal Of Land

Outraged Nine Mile Falls residents accused state officials Monday night of trying to trade valuable, environmentally sensitive timberlands at Riverside State Park for a worthless parcel near Mount Spokane.

The swap not only will rip off taxpayers, but will risk old trees and wildlife habitat while further burdening crowded schools and roads through future development, residents said.

More than 100 citizens packed a meeting room at Spokane Falls Community College to meet with officials of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

Many of the citizens were ornery.

They asked how the state could practically give away 295.5 acres of land bordering Riverside State Park for 160 acres, some of which has been mined for quartz.

The Quartz Mountain property will beef up cross-country ski trails and help consolidate holdings within Mount Spokane State Park’s boundary, state officials said.

The Riverside property lies just northwest of the park boundary and has been deemed unsuitable for inclusion into Riverside.

Washington law requires land swaps to be of equal, fair-market value. Both tracts are appraised at $875,000, said Dick Fankhauser, the park agency’s chief of site planning.

Citizens found that laughable.

Ray Reichenberg, who identified himself as a Nine Mile Falls real estate developer, carried to the public hearing the county’s assessment of the Quartz Mountain site. It’s worth $8,520, Reichenberg read.

The Quartz Mountain site is owned by three individuals, but a Kirkland, Wash., developer has an option to buy it. Mike Mitchell of Wildlife Land & Holding Co. wants to trade it to the state for prime timberland at Riverside.

Nearby residents fear Mitchell will clearcut the property and turn it into a subdivision.

Resident Drayton Wear said the Quartz Mountain site is listed for sale at $590,000 and asked why the state would volunteer to pay $285,000 more.

Fankhauser said both appraisals were performed by certified inspectors. He added that the mineral value of loose quartz, alone, is at least $535,000.

The audience jeered.

You can barely give quartz away, Reichenberg said.

Julian Powers, a cross-country skier, quipped: “I think this deal smells.”

The parks commission already approved the land swap six months ago, but backed off because the state did a poor job of notifying affected residents, parks officials said.

The commission will meet again April 21 in Vancouver, Wash., to vote on the swap.

Spokane County Commissioner Phil Harris and former state Sen. Scott Barr urged the state to abandon the deal.

Timber surveys done for the homeowners indicate the Riverside timber alone is worth $1 million to $2.3 million.

The Nine Mile Falls School District and the area’s infrastructure already are taxed to the limit, residents added.

They also said the state has $40 million set aside to buy parkland and should use a fraction of it to get Quartz Mountain.

“I’d start with the county assessment and work your way up from there,” Reichenberg joked.