Developer, Neighbors At Odds Over Roadwork Near Wetland In/Around: Marshall

A project to subdivide 300 acres south of Marshall into 10-acre homesites has run into strong opposition from nearby homeowners.

What started out as a fairly straightforward development has turned into a nasty land-use battle.

It has spawned at least one lawsuit from a neighbor and could become the subject of another lawsuit if the developer goes to court against Spokane County.

Critics of the county said it is another example of weak leadership in the Public Works Department, whose director was fired this month for mismanagement and sending sexually explicit e-mail to a co-worker.

Jeff Forry, the senior county technician overseeing the project, said the problem is not mismanagement in public works but the lack of regulations for developments of rural lots that are 10 acres or larger. Lots of 10 acres or more are exempt from the county’s subdivision laws.

County staff is now working on a proposed change in land-use laws to better regulate rural developments.

In the meantime, the county is using its authority to regulate private roads and protect wetlands to place new conditions on the developer.

Last spring, Lakeshore Tie and Lumber, an Idaho company, applied for exemptions to subdivide 300 acres of investment property just north of Depot Springs Road.

The owner hired consultants to identify wetlands on the property and to mitigate any encroachments. An engineering firm designed a road system.

The initial plan for the Pine Meadow Ranch development included two access roads. One was from Depot Springs Road to the south and the other was from the Aspen Meadows development to the east.

However, the best route to Spokane was across an old dirt track running along a seasonal wetland to Smythe Road near the county wayside known as Dynamite.

As soon as the developer graded that unapproved road, neighbors started to complain.

“Canada geese, sandhill cranes, swans and a significant number of other species use this as a resting place during their yearly migration,” one neighbor protested in a letter to the county.

Another resident asked in a letter: “Have you personally been out to the site to see all the destruction this developer has done to all the wetlands inside this development?”

Neighbors Allan and Mary Odenthal filed a lawsuit against the developer seeking to stop the development.

The Marshall Community Coalition became involved on behalf of the surrounding residents.

When county officials started taking a closer look at the project, they discovered that the developer was not meeting requirements for handling stormwater and road construction in a wetland.

In September, the county rescinded its initial determination of non-significance as it applies to environmental law.

Construction was stopped by county order. The proposed private road from the homesites to Smythe Road was put on hold and may not be allowed.

In addition, the county put new financial conditions on the developer.

The county is requiring the developer to organize a road improvement district for Depot Springs Road, a gravel route the county engineer’s office said could not hold up under the new traffic volume from some 30 homes.

Also, the developer must agree to pave a private access road known as Chocktaw Lane in coming years.

And the developer is being asked to contribute $54,000 to a road improvement district formed for the Aspen Meadows development.

Homeowners in the proposed development would have to use the Aspen Meadows roads as one of their access routes.

The project has been brought to a standstill as a result. The developer has hired an attorney, Melvin Champagne, in an effort to get the project moving again.

Champagne said his client’s problems may stem from the reported mismanagement of the Public Works Department. He said the county has not been clear in telling the developer what is required for the subdivisions.

Champagne said the property owner is not willing to abandon the project and is seeking to negotiate a resolution of the outstanding issues.

If negotiations are not successful, the developer may be forced to file a lawsuit and ask the courts to enforce the owner’s property rights, Champagne said.