County Interested In Riverfront Land
Wild Little Spokane River land proposed for a 103-home subdivision may remain undeveloped indefinitely.
The Spokane County Building and Planning Department recommended denial of Don Haynes’ plan to develop his 100 acres of riverfront land.
So, in a twist that delights his neighbors, Haynes wants to negotiate with the county Parks Department.
“There is a karmic balance there,” said Tom Hargreaves, who helped organize a Little Spokane River neighborhood group that advocates responsible development. “That’s why I am grinning so hard.”
Parks Department chief Wyn Birkenthal met with Haynes Wednesday to view the land. No formal negotiations are in progress, but Birkenthal said the county was interested in the parcel, either as a conservation area or as a recreation park in the Little Spokane River valley.
“We are evaluating almost every single piece where the owner has a desire to sell,” said Birkenthal. “It looks to me like Don Haynes’ property is a real chance.”
Haynes said he has several options, and would still develop the land if the Parks Department is not interested. But he says he wants a park on his land.
“That’s a win-win situation,” said Haynes, a bailiff at the Spokane County district court. “I’m praying that something breaks on this.”
The land has been in Haynes’ family for 45 years, but he has to sell it now because of the rising property taxes, Haynes says. The tax bill was $12,000 last year, forcing him to get a second job.
His original proposal for the land was sharply criticized in the Planning Department denial. In the denial, county planner Steve Davenport noted Haynes’ plan was inconsistent with water, sewer, floodplain, zoning and transportation plans, and would have an “adverse impact” on the Mead School District.
Haynes was also ordered to stop filling floodplains by the state Department of Ecology. The Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended denial of the plan.
Haynes says he will probably not appeal the planning department’s recommendation.
Hargreaves thinks the neighborhood group Friends of the Little Spokane River Valley had a role in the denial. Residents bombarded the newspaper, the county traffic and planning departments and the DOE with complaints about Haynes’ proposal.
The group is now battling two other proposed developments in the river valley, a lush garden cradling a meandering, ox-bowed stream.
The group is appealing hearing examiner approval of Hunters Pointe, a 48-unit Harley Douglass subdivision. The appeal will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the county planning building.
Jim Markley’s proposed apartment complex was denied by the planning department, but the developer told more than 100 residents at a Monday night meeting that he was considering putting in a mobile home park.
The group will continue meeting monthly to talk about proposed developments and to brainstorm ways to conserve the area.
“It’s not an issue of winning or losing and fighting, it’s a community getting involved and being concerned about what happens in our community,” said David Cherry.
, DataTimes