35-Acre Development Sought

Two prominent Spokane Valley developers want to build apartments, storage units and RV stalls on 35 acres west of Mirabeau Point.

However, a consultant working for the pair said it will be at least a year before it’s known if the project is even viable.

Bill Lawson, who owns A&A Construction and Development, and Ted Gunning, owner of Northwood Properties, are the developers.

They want to build 421 storage units, a 116-stall RV park, 144 apartments and 104 retirement apartments north of Shannon Avenue and east of Houk Court according to documents filed with the county Planning Department.

The property, owned by Lawson and Gunning, is currently occupied by three houses and a barn. Those structures will be removed if the project goes forward, according to the developers’ application.

To proceed, the developers need the land’s zoning changed from its current rural designation, which allows one home per 10 acres, to a designation that allows 22 residences per acre. They also want part of the land changed to the most intensive business zone designation the county has, said Louis Webster, Spokane County planner. The proposed zoning changes are “quite a leap” based on Spokane County’s comprehensive plan, he said.

The plan, which guides county development, “says we want this (area) to be rural,” Webster said. “They are asking for zoning that is not rural in any way, shape or form.”

However, the 17-year-old comprehensive plan is “woefully out of date” and in the process of being updated, Webster said.

The area around the Lawson-Gunning parcel appears more urban in character than rural. Nearby are the Pines 90 Square strip mall, a mini-storage facility, three large boat dealers and, less than a mile to the east, the Spokane Valley Mall.

On the application, the zoning change is justified on the grounds the site is inside the urban growth boundary adopted in April by Spokane County commissioners.

The urban growth boundary “is a line drawn in the sand that says inside this boundary there is to be urban development, outside there is to be rural development,” Webster said.

Commissioners created the boundary to comply with Washington’s Growth Management Act, which is intended to control urban sprawl.

However, the biggest immediate obstacle to the developers is a traffic study they must complete.

Project consultant John Konen, with David Evans & Associates Inc., said the traffic question is delaying not only his clients’ project, but a host of projects along the I-90 corridor.

“We are sitting here right now waiting for a green light that the Evergreen interchange will be a reality,” Konen said. “If the interchange becomes a bona fide reality then all these projects can move ahead.” Konen said.

In May, Gov. Gary Locke vetoed a section of the state’s transportation budget, which included about $5 million for the Evergreen interchange. The $12 million to $16 million interchange is needed to handle the traffic expected with the opening of the new Spokane Valley Mall this summer.

In a traffic study, each development must take into account the traffic contributed by other developments, Konen said.

When one proposed development modifies its design or density, it sends ripples through all the other developments, which must then adjust to meet the new traffic environment, Konen said.

Neither Gunning, nor Lawson could be reached for comment.

Lawson’s A&A Construction has been involved in the Eagle Rock and Pasadena Ridge apartment complexes in the Valley. Gunning’s Northwood Properties has been involved with development of Woodland Estates and the Northwood subdivision in the Valley.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map: Proposed Lawson & Gunning development