Lilac Valley Incorporation Campaign On Hold Backers Decide To Wait For Results Of Other Efforts

The effort to form the city of Lilac Valley has wilted for now.

Supporters of the Valley-wide city of 75,000 say they will put their effort on hold until proposals to incorporation two smaller cities have been decided.

Both the proposed cities of Evergreen and Opportunity are headed toward election this spring.

“We’re going to hold tight and see how those elections turn out,” said Ed Mertens, spokesman for the Lilac Valley effort.

Mertens and his group, the Community Action Committee, hoped to persuade proponents of forming the cities of Evergreen and Opportunity to abandon their efforts and join the Lilac Valley crusade.

Both groups refused, pushing forward with their own proposals, which they think have a chance to pass.

Three efforts to form large cities like Lilac Valley in the unincorporated area east of Spokane have failed since 1990.

“We’re disappointed that these other people see it that way,” Mertens said.

The fact that Evergreen and Opportunity moved forward put a huge crimp in the Community Action Committee’s plans.

Both smaller cities occupy territory in the middle of the Lilac Valley proposal.

That meant that Lilac Valley supporters would have to redraw their boundaries to exclude the Evergreen and Opportunity proposals or wait until the other two proposals went to election and go from there.

The first option was unacceptable because it took the heart out of Lilac Valley - nearly half the population and much of the commercial district along the Sprague corridor.

“We’d be foolish to go around them,” Mertens said.

Mertens said he hopes to start up the Lilac Valley effort again if the voters in Opportunity and Evergreen reject forming their own cities.

He said he wasn’t sure what his group would do if one or both of the smaller cities passes.

“We pass that when we get to it,” said Mertens, who thinks a Valley-wide city is viable now and makes more sense. “I guess the rest of us can always annex.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Public hearings set for Evergreen, Opportunity plans Spokane Valley residents will have a chance later this month to express their feelings about two proposals to form cities in the Valley. The Washington State Boundary Review Board has scheduled public hearings to take testimony on the proposed cities of Opportunity and Evergreen. The review board regulates incorporation efforts. It has the power to approve the two cities as presented, modify either proposal by adding or deleting as much as 10 percent of the land area of each city or recommend that the proposals be denied. The two proposals will go to the ballot no matter what action the board takes. Election dates have not yet been set. The review board will hear comments on the Opportunity proposal Feb. 26 at the Opportunity Township Hall, 12114 E. Sprague. The hearing on the Evergreen proposal will be Feb. 29 in the multi-purpose room at Central Valley High School, 821 S. Sullivan. Both meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. Opportunity would be home to about 16,000 people in the heart of the Valley. The proposed city is bounded roughly by Interstate 90, 16th Avenue, Evergreen and Argonne roads. Evergreen would have a population of about 14,500. It’s proposed boundaries are Evergreen Road, the Spokane River, Barker Road and 16th and 24th avenues. Three attempts to form a single Valley-wide city have failed since 1990, and a fourth is on hold awaiting the outcome of the Opportunity and Evergreen elections. Adam Lynn