Decision Pending On Archery Business Neighbors Still Have Safety, Privacy Concerns

The Spokane County hearing examiner got an earful Wednesday of the pluses and minuses of allowing a Greenacres man to expand his home-based archery business.

More than 70 people attended a public hearing to speak up about Mark Jones’s plans for Spokane Valley Archery.

Hearing Examiner pro tem Gary Smith rendered no decision at the conclusion of the meeting. He’s expected to rule on the plan within the next few weeks.

Jones, who owns the archery business, has petitioned Spokane County to establish indoor ranges, add two buildings, on-site camping an unlimited number of on-site tournaments, extend hours, and other amenities at the archery center on Linke Road south of Barker Road and 32nd Avenue.

Spokane Valley Archery opened last year on 28 acres next to Jones’ home on the historic Daniel Courchaine homestead. A conditional use permit allows for an outdoor shooting range, a 3,000-square-foot building and three tournaments annually.

Jones was back before the hearing examiner Wednesday saying that the expansion was his only hope for the business to survive.

“I immediately need indoor shooting to make it through the winter,” Jones told Smith. “An archery business cannot survive without indoor facilities.”

That may be the case. But his neighbors see an addition to the archery center as a big problem.

In September, dozens of neighbors submitted letters and a signed petition to county officials in an effort to stop plans.

They accused Jones of violating his conditional permit and endangering the lives of neighbors and passersby.

County planner Lewis Webster visited the center in September and agreed that some of the neighbors’ complaints are valid.

Since then, Jones said he has taken care of the violations.

But most of the neighbors who came forward earlier with concerns were present Wednesday to make their position clear to the hearing examiner.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the expansion will cause problems,” said Sue Blethen, who lives near Jones on 32nd Avenue.

Traffic is already rough along that stretch, with people far exceeding the posted 35 mph speed limit, she said.

Jones’ camping plans mean noise and his night hours mean the solitude of the country disappears, neighbors said.

“It will be as if I was living next to a high school ball field,” Blethen said. “I didn’t move into the country to have a commercial business there.

“The last thing I want to do is pay for peace and quiet and then have it taken away.”

While many of those attending the hearing opposed the project, a handful of project supporters spoke out as well.

“It will provide us with a safe and a good place to take our families,” said Dave Murphy about the archery center. Murphy is the president of the Northwest Wildlife Council. “I don’t see that it’s having a real negative impact on the community out there.”

For national champion archer Carolyn Elder, having an arching facility in Spokane is critical and the spot in Greenacres seems perfect.

“There’s a lack of facilities around the state of Washington,” Elder said. “It’s an avid archer’s dream.”