Hearing Planned For Museum Expansion Proposal City Hall Will Check Land-Use Compliance While State Capital Determines Appropriations

Plans for a $24 million expansion of the Cheney Cowles Museum are moving into a make-or-break phase of public decisions this month.

Simultaneous deliberations are going on at the state capital and at Spokane City Hall.

The museum has been included as a major recipient of money in the state capital budget for the next two years. The exact amount of the appropriation remains a point of debate.

At the same time, project leaders are scheduled to appear at City Hall for a formal hearing on a special zoning permit to expand the museum.

The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in Council chambers before Hearing Examiner Greg Smith. Smith must decide if the proposal meets city land-use regulations.

Years of advance planning have gone into the project, so museum Director Glenn Mason is optimistic.

“We don’t anticipate any major stumbling blocks along the way,” Mason said.

Museum leaders want to raise money for approximately 20 percent of the project through a local fund-raising campaign.

Gov. Gary Locke put $19.5 million for the museum in his budget request to the Legislature. That leaves the museum with $4.5 million to raise.

The House reduced the state appropriation to $15.5 million in its version of the capital budget adopted last week. The lower appropriation would leave the museum with a more daunting fund-raising goal of $8.5 million, Mason said.

The capital budget is still under consideration in the Senate, where Mason and Spokane-area lawmakers hope to get the $19.5 million appropriation restored in the Senate’s version.

If there are differences between the two chambers, House and Senate leaders will have to negotiate a final amount. That normally occurs near the end of the legislative session.

“We’re very optimistic,” Mason said.

At the same time, the city hearing examiner will take public testimony on plans for the new museum. Project planners will give a presentation at the start of the hearing, followed by testimony from the public.

Neighborhood leaders have worked with the museum throughout the planning of the project and there has been no substantial opposition so far.

The project calls for a new exhibit hall with 43,000 square feet of space, much of which will be below the street grade of West First Avenue.

A cafe, meeting room, amphitheater, parking garage and loading areas off Riverside Avenue are planned. The grounds would become a park with interpretive displays.

Museum officials said they wanted to stay in Browne’s Addition because the environment there is relaxed and conducive to the contemplation of a museum.

Once the expansion is completed, the museum will be able to make better use of its extensive acquisitions, including collections from the former Museum of Native American Cultures and Fort Wright Historical Museum.

HEARING Project leaders will present the museum expansion proposal to the hearing examiner Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Council chambers.