Public Hearing For Orchards Postponed Until January

Originally, plans for the development south of Lakeside and Neyland roads were to go before Dempsey on Wednesday.

But the hearing was called off after Rex Harder, who is also developing Mackenzie Bay Properties across the street, requested it be postponed so he could answer Dempsey’s questions.

In a letter to county planners, Dempsey said maps show the Orchards sitting on a seasonal marsh. The plans also must be be reviewed for wildlife impact, he wrote.

“We didn’t want to go through two hearings,” said F.J. Dullanty, Harder’s attorney, explaining why Harder requested postponement of the hearing.

Harder’s first Liberty Lake proposal, Mackenzie Bay, went to two hearings after Dempsey told Harder he lacked critical information and didn’t meet all applicable regulation.

Dempsey said in his letter he wanted to avoid a repeat of the Mackenzie Bay proceeding.

Dullanty said they were told they didn’t need a complete analysis of wildlife areas regarding the Orchards development.

They also believe the county maps showing the wetlands and stream are wrong.

“We know there’s no wetlands on site. It’s on a hill,” he said. A stream that’s shown on a map is actually north of the development, he said.

However, opponents of the project are skeptical.

“This was submitted at the 11:30th hour,” said Bruce Andre, a member of Friends of Liberty Lake. “It was incomplete when it was submitted.”

Both of Harder’s development proposals, Mackenzie Bay and the Orchards, were submitted in December 1996 before the interim urban growth boundary deadline.

Andre said Harder was allowed almost two years to complete studies that should have been done before the application was submitted.

“Is this a legitimate application?” Andre asked.

County planner Louis Webster said it was an oversight on his part not identifying the wetlands before now.

The next step is finding out from the Department of Fish and Wildlife if the area needs a habitat management plan for the easternmost 80 acres of the project.

HEARING RESCHEDULED A public hearing for a rezone of a 109-acre Liberty Lake subdivision called the Orchards has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 8 in the lower level of the Spokane County Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway. A public hearing for a controversial Liberty Lake subdivision has been postponed until January. Spokane County hearing examiner Mike Dempsey wants to know how the 109-acre subdivision called the Orchards would impact wildlife and wetlands.