Developer Lowers Housing Project Density

Proponents of a controversial Dishman-Mica area housing development have decided to scale back their proposal and drop an appeal before the board of county commissioners.

The proposed 170-unit Village in the Valley will be reduced to 88 units in a new application to be filed later this month by developer Jim Frank and Northwest Regional Facilitators, a non-profit organization.

The new project will sit on 11 acres instead of 13.5, Frank said. It will have fewer multifamily dwellings and more single-family homes.

It also will seek a less drastic zone change. Instead of UR-22, Frank will seek UR-12. The former allows 22 homes or mult-family units per acre. The latter allows just 12.

Opponents of the original proposal haven’t yet seen the new one. Neighbor Julius Presta said a reduction in density would be welcomed, but he would have to see the details to decide if he could support the proposal.

Last spring, Spokane County hearing examiner Mike Dempsey rejected the original plan, saying it didn’t conform to the county’s comprehensive plan and would negatively impact schools, nearby homes and possibly the nearby Dishman Hills Natural Area.

Under the revised proposal, most units in the development still will be set aside for families making less than 80 percent of the county’s median income.

But the lots will be larger, Frank said. And although a final decision hasn’t been made, the complex might not have rental units. Instead, Frank said, it might plan for condominium ownership of the mutifamily units.

The old proposal had 101 multi-family units and 69 single family units, some of which were duplexes and triplexes.

The new proposal will have just 36 multi-family units and 52 single-family units. At least some of the new single-family units would be homes technically labeled duplexes, although they would be attached only at roof level and would have 10 feet between their garages.

The reduction in density was made possible by NRF’s plans to build three new apartment complexes on a piece of land about 10 blocks to the north.

The 36-unit Village Apartments and two-phase 50-unit Woodruff Heights will be constructed north of Sixth Avenue and west of Woodruff Road, on land that doesn’t require a zone change.

Apartment units deleted from the Village in the Valley proposal will be available at the new site. This will meet NRF’s goal of providing low-income rental housing in the area.

Site preparation work on the Village Apartments could begin this fall, with the project being completed by January 2000. Work on Woodruff Heights will begin later, and probably won’t be finished until the fall of 2001.

Once it is refiled, the new Village in the Valley proposal will be scheduled for a hearing before the hearing examiner. If approved, construction could begin in the spring.

The reworked development wouldn’t provide the wide diversity of housing types and income levels Frank had hoped for, but he called it a step in the right direction.

Although the appeal never happened, Frank and NRF still face a $2,068 bill for the transcription of the original Village in the Valley hearings tapes.

Frank hopes to negotiate with the county for a smaller charge, or perhaps fight the bill. He said he hasn’t paid up because the transcription of the tapes took much longer than is prescribed by the county zoning code.