Twin Office Structures On Sunset Hill Approved Hearing Examiner Oks Zone Change Over Neighbors’ Objections

The Spokane hearing examiner has turned aside objections from neighborhood residents and approved a zone change for twin office buildings on Sunset Hill.

Hearing Examiner Greg Smith said the office proposal by A&A Construction and Development Co., Spokane, qualifies for a zone change under the city’s land-use laws.

The company wants to build two office buildings at Deska and Assembly. Each would be 50 feet high, with four stories. Their combined floor space would be 83,000 square feet.

As a condition of the zone change, Smith is requiring the developers to pay the full cost of a traffic signal at Rustle and Sunset Boulevard or at Assembly and Sunset.

City traffic officials said the addition of the offices would bring enough new vehicles to the area to require a signal at one of the two nearby intersections.

Chris Ashenbrener, an attorney and partner in the project, said the requirement to provide a traffic signal adds a financial burden to the project.

“I think it will happen,” he said of the development. “I think it will work well in the neighborhood.”

The signal would cost an estimated $125,000, not counting improvements to the streets for turn lanes.

A traffic study commissioned by the developers said the project would generate about 11 percent of the total traffic at the intersections. The developers proposed spreading the cost of the traffic signal to other users, but the hearing examiner did not adopt that idea.

Increased traffic was one of the main objections of residents. The opponents have until July 26 to file an appeal to the full City Council.

The city’s comprehensive land-use plan has designated the property for either high-density residential or commercial uses.

The 1983 comprehensive plan was intended as a guide for future land use and weighs heavily in zone-change decisions. A new growth management plan is being written by the city to replace the 1983 plan.

In 1992, owners of the property won a rezone allowing them to build apartments. The latest request would change the zone to office use.

Residents of the area pointed out that the county allows only semirural uses on property just west of the city limits on Assembly Road, which is on the west side of the project.

The Inland Northwest Land Trust has obtained a conservation easement to preserve open space and wildlife habitat on 16 acres owned by Victor and Robbi Castleberry across Assembly from the office site. The Castleberrys were among the neighbors who testified against the zone change during a public hearing last month.

Claude Sappington, president of the land trust board, said in a letter to the hearing examiner that his organization is concerned the project may harm “conservation values” of the easement land.

About 30 residents signed a petition to Smith. The petition states, “We feel that the proposed zone change is detrimental to the lifestyle of those of us who live in this area.”

Glare from parking-lot lights, heavier traffic, loss of native cover and stormwater disposal were among the environmental concerns.

In his July 12 decision, the hearing examiner said the developer designed the project to minimize its impact on the surrounding property uses.

Smith wrote in the decision, “This is an unfortunate situation where the city’s plan and the county’s plan for the property to the west are not harmonized well.”

Smith said that because the site is in the city, he was obligated to follow the city plan.

The developers have sited the buildings at least 82 feet from the property lines and agreed to minimize logging. They also plan to install new landscaping for screening.

During a public hearing in June, the developers said Sunset Hill has become increasingly popular for offices because of its proximity to both downtown and the airport.

Apartments, homes and offices have been built to the east and south of the proposed project.

Smith said the differences between apartments and offices appeared to be minimal. He noted that neighborhoods usually prefer offices over apartments because offices are normally occupied during business hours, not on nights and weekends. That is a reversal from the pattern of apartment living.

“The hearing examiner cannot find, however, in light of the testimony, that this proposal will have significant adverse impacts on the surrounding properties,” Smith said in his decision.