County Postpones Decision On Rules For Moran, Glenrose

Emergency building rules to slow runoff from development in flood-prone Eaglewood north of Mead were extended for another six months Tuesday.

But Spokane County commissioners put off a decision on similar measures in the Moran Prairie and Glenrose areas.

“We wanted a chance to think over the testimony,” Commissioner Kate McCaslin said following an evening hearing Tuesday.

A series of interim development rules have been in effect in both areas for a year in an attempt to get a handle on rain and snow runoff in the two fast-growing watersheds. Those rules are set to expire later this month.

The controls prevent builders from using drywells and grassy areas to soak up stormwater. Basements are allowed only if they are built to keep out water.

The rules were prompted by complaints from homeowners, who said their years of flooding problems worsened as development boomed.

During the past year, county engineers and planners have been studying long-range plans to handle the flooding.

Proposed solutions are perhaps six months from completion in Eaglewood but could be years away on Moran Prairie, officials said Tuesday.

No one from Eaglewood commented during a hearing Tuesday to extend the interim rules. Commissioners attributed that to the fact that much of the area already has been developed and extended the rules with little comment.

For Moran Prairie, however, commissioners were considering two options: extending the controls as is, or redrawing boundaries to exclude five-acre tracts outside Spokane’s urban growth boundary.

Building representatives and Moran Prairie landowners offered opposing views on the proposals.

Resident Jennifer Swanson-Danzig, whose home has flooded five times in three years, urged commissioners to extend the interim rules.

“Your home doesn’t feel much like a sanctuary when 15 percent of it is underwater,” she said.

But Suzanne Knapp, who represents builders and the Board of Realtors, read a long list of county areas where she said homeowners want to limit growth.

At that rate, she said, “Where are we going to put everybody?”

And an engineer for a man who wants to develop a shopping center at 57th and Regal said his land should be exempt from the controls.

Engineer William Story insisted groundwater and stormwater from that property travels south - away from other homes - and therefore wouldn’t contribute to the problem.

McCaslin reminded him that engineers had been wrong before. She asked if Story would cover the cost to homeowners if he was wrong.

He said no.

Susan Brudnicki, president of the Moran Prairie Neighborhood Association, pointed out that developers can still build if the controls are extended. They just need to follow a stricter set of rules, which she found appropriate.

“We can’t afford to continue with the ‘build now, pay later’ mentality,” she said.

Commissioners closed the hearing and agreed to make a decision in two weeks.