Developers Fight Over Mini-Mall Rights

Two property developers are battling for the right to build a mini-mall in the Qualchan area of southwest Spokane.

Only one will win later this week when the city hearing examiner determines the area’s commercial fate.

George and Margaret Chicha, who own property at Meadowlane Road and U.S. Highway 195, have submitted plans to develop a multi-pad mini-mall there with a bank, convenience store, gas station and home and garden center. The Spokane couple requested a hearing last week on changing the zoning classification from agricultural to limited business.

Tomlinson Black Group of Cos. announced plans two weeks ago for Latah Creek Plaza, a $10 million strip mall that would include Tidyman’s, a video store and other small retailers. Tidyman’s, which plans a 55,000-square-foot store, is the only tenant that has announced a contractual agreement to build.

George Chicha would not comment on whether he has lined up retailers for his mall. Planning department memos call for a 16.2-acre mall with 750 parking spaces, but Chicha said plans are tentative.

“We’re still in the zone-changing stage,” Chicha said Wednesday.

Hearing examiner Greg Smith expects to make a decision by the end of this week. He said only one project will pass the planning stage.

“The Latah Creek plan says there should be commercial development in that area - but only at one site limited to 20 acres,” Smith said Wednesday. Both developers have proposed retail centers of 16 to 20 acres each at sites approximately a half-mile apart.

“Essentially, only one can be approved,” Smith said.

Regardless of who develops a mall, preliminary zoning ordinances require that the commercial site must maintain the area’s pastoral flavor. The development will be heavily landscaped with evergreens, and all buildings will be “low-profile.” No building can be more than one story and no sign can rise higher than 30 feet.

The Qualchan area is one of the fastest-growing residential zones within the Spokane city limits, but no nearby multipurpose commercial developments serve residents there.

Since the city annexed the Qualchan area in 1981, developers have added significant water and sewer lines in preparation for a slew of subdivisions: Cedar Road Estates, Qualchan Hills, Bridlewood Estates and Meadowgreens. The Creek at Qualchan golf course also is nearby.

, DataTimes