City Limits Boundary Review Board Could Draw New Map Of Proposed Valley City

Susan Winchell took off her blazer when the real work started last Thursday night. She probably hasn’t put it back on since.

Life for Winchell, the lead planner for the state Boundary Review Board for Spokane County, got really busy that evening and is likely to stay that way.

The board was wrapping up its second public hearing on the latest attempt to incorporate a city in the Valley, and board members had some questions about the proposal.

About 8:30 p.m., board members began rattling off areas about which they want more information.

Otis Orchards, Ponderosa, Yardley and Orchard Avenue for starters, the board members said. Winchell, whose job it is to gather that information, scratched furiously on her note pad.

The board has the authority under state law to alter the boundaries of the proposed city, as long as it doesn’t change the total land area by more than 10 percent.

Judging from the sentiment last Thursday, the board seems likely to do some altering.

That would not only change the look of the proposed city, but potentially affect the date voters would get to have their say on it.

Citizens for Valley Incorporation cochairman Joe McKinnon was a little subdued after last Thursday’s meeting.

“They could have done it all in one swoop (by accepting the current boundaries),” McKinnon said. “But, obviously, they’ve chosen not to.”

Currently, the proposed boundaries for the city of Spokane Valley run roughly from the Spokane city limits on the west to Simpson and Malvern roads on the east, the Spokane River and Trent Avenue on the north to 32nd Avenue on the south.

But there have been several requests for changes, and the board takes them all seriously.

Members talked last Thursday about mixing and matching some boundary changes - cutting here and adding there.

“I would like to see which ones we could give the highest priority. We need lots of alternatives,” board member Annemarie Wiser told Winchell.

There are four substantial areas the board is considering changing - the Yardley industrial area, Otis Orchards, and the Ponderosa and Orchard Avenue neighborhoods.

The city of Spokane has expressed concerns over Yardley being included in the new city, saying it has a substantial investment in the area because it has extended water lines there.

Both Spokane County and members of the review board have questioned whether Otis Orchards, most of which is rural in nature, should be included in a city.

County officials also told the board that they would have a difficult time providing services to Ponderosa and Orchard Avenue because the two area would be cut off by the city.

Review board members hope to have answers to all these questions by Wednesday, when they have scheduled a meeting to discuss boundary changes.

If they don’t, a May 16 election targeted by incorporation supporters could be in jeopardy.

Incorporation backers chose that date hoping to capitalize on momentum built during the 1994 incorporation campaign as well as the nationwide mandate for change exhibited in last November’s general election, when Republicans swept into power at both the state and federal levels.

The review board has to complete its review of the boundaries and issue a recommendation on the incorporation proposal before an election can proceed.

In order for that election to be held May 16, the board must be finished with its work by March 17.

With the amount of information board members have requested and the changes they’re considering, that would seem difficult.

Winchell said she will work as fast as she could to get the information ready by the March 8 meeting.

If she can’t do it, or the board wants more time to scrutinize the changes, the election would be pushed to September, when a consolidated city-county charter proposed by county freeholders is also expected to be on the ballot.

“I think we’ll do what we can,” Winchell said. “If it comes down to them making a good decision or holding a May election, I’d think they’d go with making a good decision.”

That could push the election to September.

Winchell plans to leave her jacket off during the next week, though, to do what she can to get the board its information as quickly as she can.