Downtown Will Get New Blueprint Council Cautious About Cost, But Backs Plan For 26-Member Panel To Fashion New Vision

Downtown Spokane’s future boasts at least four major redevelopment projects but no single vision.

A committee composed of downtown business leaders, neighborhood activists and public officials aims to change that.

“We have River Park Square, the convention center expansion, the steam plant and the Davenport,” said Karen Valvano of the Downtown Spokane Partnership. “We need to look at how all these should be tied together in a cohesive way.”

The City Council earlier this week gave its blessing to a 26-member committee that will spend the next 12 to 18 months studying downtown’s traffic patterns, financial health and physical attractiveness.

The final document - known as the “downtown plan” - will lay out a physical blueprint for downtown, designating how the streets should look and where housing or retail should be. It also will forecast what downtown needs, such as more fiber optic lines for telecommunications or a specific type of store.

“It’ll say, ‘What do we have today … and what has to be done?”’ said Valvano, who along with City Planning Director Charlie Dotson and Deputy City Manager Pete Fortin will coordinate the committee’s work.

The last downtown plan was written in 1960 and laid the groundwork for Riverfront Park, Valvano said. “There’s been no economic research or traffic assessment since.”

The new plan is slated to cost about $750,000, with about $192,000 of that going to consultants.

The consultant’s bill likely will be paid with money collected from city parking lots across from the convention center.

The balance of the plan’s costs are in-kind services, such as work done by city staff or employees from the Downtown Spokane Partnership.

While the average plan for a single neighborhood costs between $75,000 and $120,000, this plan is much bigger and its effects more far-reaching, said Dotson. “The health of the entire community depends on the downtown.”

Besides, Valvano said, cutting costs now could cost more later. “If we don’t stimulate the economy of downtown, it hurts everybody. It’s good master plans that attract major investment.”

Council members haven’t committed to the committee’s budget and won’t for another month.

Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers would like to see the price tag slashed.

“I just don’t want this to cost us an arm and a leg,” said Rodgers, who is urging the committee to find local people for the consulting jobs. Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes said she isn’t surprised at the cost. “There’s a tremendous amount of money that goes into doing that kind of thing,” she said.

Councilman Jeff Colliton said he’s willing to spend the money as long as the plan moves ahead to implementation.

“Let’s get with it,” said Colliton. “We seem to always plan and never really move.

“Let’s get some action going.”

While taxpayers are paying the bulk of the planning costs, downtown business owners likely will pick up the tab for putting the committee’s recommendations in place, Valvano said. “The city invests in planning, private property owners pay for improvements.”

The downtown plan eventually will be part of the overall comprehensive plan currently being written by Spokane Horizons, a group of 200 residents. While that plan lays out a general overview of how the city should look, the downtown plan will be more specific, Dotson said.

Other neighborhoods will begin rewriting their plans next year.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE COMMITTEE Downtown Plan Steering Committee Members: Gary Anderson, Don Barbieri, Andrew Baucom, Larry Brown, Sandra Buss, Judy Cole, Betsy Cowles, Roberta Greene, Betty Hennessy. Don Higgins, Steve Jones, Jim Kolva, Ted McGregor, Gary Miller, George Nachtsheim, Terry Novak, Al Ogdon, Al Payne. Craig Soehren, Ron Sims, Tyrus Tenold, Mike Terrell, Ann Tucker, Monica Walters, Ron Wells, Bonnie Zuhara.