Rezoning Proposal Hearing Scheduled

Thu., March 20, 1997

By Kathy Mulady kathymu@spokesman.com

Don Haynes’ controversial proposal to rezone 101 acres south of the Little Spokane River to allow 103 homes is scheduled for hearing March 31 in the Public Works Building.

Haynes is asking to change the zoning from SRR5, which allows one house per five acres and UR 3.5, allowing one house on 3.5 acres, to a denser SR1, allowing one house per acre.

Haynes is also asking for a planned unit development and bonus density, which would allow him to cluster homes on lots smaller than an acre if he sets aside a larger piece of land for open space.

Haynes’s family has owned the property since the 1940s. He says the heavy tax burden is forcing him to sell.

He says he would rather keep it as a park, but he is running out of time and options. “I want to keep it as pristine as it was when I was a little boy and camped out there in my tent,” he says.

The zone change has been opposed by environmentalists and neighborhood groups.

County Hearing Examiner Michael Dempsey has family in the area and has withdrawn from hearing the matter. The zone change will be considered by City of Spokane Hearing Examiner Greg Smith.

The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the lower level of the Public Works Building.

A dozen neighbors are opposing a request by Northwest Christian Schools to rezone 116 acres to allow more dense construction.

The zoning now allows one house per five acres on the property south of Bernhill Road near Colbert. School officials want it changed to allow one house per two acres.

Spokane Hearing Examiner Michael Dempsey is expected to make a decision next week.

Representatives for the school said they may add an elementary or middle school later; they aren’t planning more than a few homes for staff housing on the property.

But neighbors worry that if the school falls on hard times, goes in debt or closes, it may sell the land and someone else might build houses.

“I love Northwest Christian as a neighbor, but I don’t like the proposal,” said Willard Farrell, who lives near the school.

Riverview Youth Center, a residential treatment center for adolescents, is hoping to expand its Hillyard facility to house 20 residents instead of the current 16.

The request for a special permit will be held at 9 a.m. March 25 on the second floor of city hall.

, DataTimes

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