City, County Stake Out Same Land Claims Both Unveil Proposed Future Growth Areas

The players in the Growth Management Act poker game have tipped their hands, revealing that Spokane city and county are drawing for the same cards.

The act, adopted by the Legislature in 1993, requires cities, towns and counties to estimate how much they’re going to grow in the next 20 years and where the new people will live.

Conflicts develop when more than one government stakes claims on the same piece of land.

That happened this week, when the city of Spokane unveiled its map of proposed “Interim Urban Growth Areas.” It showed that city officials expect to claim some residential and commercial areas outside the current city limits.

Annexed land becomes city property, and residents send their taxes to the city, rather than the county.

The county’s proposal for its own Interim Urban Growth Areas was unveiled at a growth management steering committee meeting on Friday.

That map shows that county commissioners don’t plan on handing over much to the city.

The county claims the Yardley industrial area in the Valley, for instance, which the city wants. Ditto the Five Mile Prairie and Linwood neighborhoods on the North Side, and portions of the West Plains and Moran Prairie.

“That’s one more reason I don’t like the Growth Management Act,” said County Commissioner Steve Hasson. “It takes communities and puts them to work against each other.”

The act’s authors designed it to end conflicts by showing governments, developers and taxpayers which areas will have sewers, sidewalks and other urban services. Dense development is allowed in those areas, while everything else is expected to remain rural.

The steering committee, which must settle differences like those between the city and county, agreed Friday to hire a mediator to help with the process. The committee must take the proposals written by each of the governments and mold it into one plan for the entire county.

Steering committee members, who include officials from the city, county and small towns, say they probably won’t meet the Oct. 1 deadline for accomplishing that task.

Most counties miss the deadline, said Steve Worthington, director of community development in Cheney. Planners here predict the state will extend Spokane County’s deadline.

In addition to the city and county, the county’s 10 small towns unveiled their proposed growth areas on Friday.

Some, like Rockford, Waverly, Medical Lake and Millwood, don’t expect to expand their boundaries much, if at all.

Others, like Deer Park, Cheney and Fairfield expect considerable growth as people look for a small-town atmosphere, close to jobs in the city.

Officials in Spangle, which covers just three-tenths of a mile, are the most optimistic, predicting 140 percent growth. The town, which has 250 residents and covers three-tenths of a mile on the northern edge of the Palouse, is a 20-minute drive from downtown Spokane.

The Airway Heights City Council still is deciding between two proposals that bear little similarity to each other. One would contain all future growth within the town’s current boundaries. The other would double the boundaries over 20 years.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BOTH CAN’T HAVE IT The city hopes eventually to annex the following areas, which the county now collects taxes on: The Yardley industrial area in the Valley. Five Mile Prairie and Linwood neighborhoods on the North Side. Portions of the West Plains and Moran Prairie.