Hunters Pointe Project Approved County Commissioners Reverse Ruling By Hearing Examiner

Two Spokane County commissioners’ approval of a North Side development on Tuesday left the third commissioner shaking his head and opponents wondering whether to launch a costly court battle.

Commissioner John Roskelley, who voted against the Hunters Pointe project, said pollution from its septic tanks could harm drinking water, two nearby creeks and the Little Spokane River.

“This area’s very sensitive and it needs to be taken care of,” Roskelley said.

Developer Harley Douglass plans to put houses on 21 acres atop a ridge sandwiched between Little Deep Creek and Deadman Creek. The development would feature 40 lots and six acres of vacant land.

Douglass needed county approval for the subdivision because the land was zoned for five-acre lots.

The subdivision was approved last year by the Spokane County Hearing Examiner Committee.

Friends of the Little Spokane River Valley appealed that decision, which later was overturned by the hearing examiner.

Douglass appealed that decision to county commissioners, and Commissioners Steve Hasson and Phil Harris approved the project Tuesday.

The matter may not be settled yet.

Tom Hargreaves of Friends of the Little Spokane River Valley, said the neighborhood group may fight the commissioners’ decision in court.

“But that’s so expensive,” Hargreaves said.

Douglass’ land is outside proposed urban growth boundaries that commissioners may adopt by the end of the year. Once boundaries are adopted, zone changes like those Harris and Hasson approved Tuesday would no longer be allowed in rural areas.

Since Douglass’ land is not included in the county’s 15-year sewer plan, the lots will have to use drainfields. But soil in the area is not well-suited for drainfields, Roskelley warned, and sewage may drain into streams.

Hargreaves agreed that’s a risk.

“We have extreme concerns about putting septic systems in that kind of density on that piece of land,” he said, adding that the development isn’t a good match for its neighbors.

“Everything surrounding this area is zoned for five-acre lots and not intended to be urban development.”

Hargreaves’ group also is concerned the project will damage critical wildlife habitat. The ridge is one of the last forested connections between the two creeks.

‘We don’t want to prevent development, we just want it at a much lower density,” said Hargreaves.

Friends of the Little Spokane has been fighting higher-density development since last spring. Two other projects proposed for the Little Spokane River were rejected by the hearing examiner earlier this year.

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