Yardley Area Valued By Both Interests

Torn between two cities.

The tax-rich Yardley industrial area could be caught in an uncomfortable tug-of-war between Spokane and a new city in the Spokane Valley. Voters would spare Yardley from being annexed to the city of Spokane if they agreed to incorporate the Valley.

Incorporation backers said they filed the latest intent to create the new city, in part, to preserve Yardley and other areas considered part of the Valley and prevent any smaller incorporation attempts.

“I wanted to see this area outlined and defined … because we wanted to establish the area so it could be studied,” dentist Philip Rudy said. Rudy is the chairman of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce’s governance committee.

The governance committee, the Spokane Valley Business Association, and a citizen’s group called the Community Action Committee have filed a notice of plans to create the new city of Spokane Valley. Rudy spoke about the proposal at a Chamber meeting this week.

Others added that Valley voters could be hit with higher taxes if Yardley is annexed to Spokane. Valley Fire would lose up to $500,000 a year if the area was annexed.

“The cost of fire service will go up 20 percent,” said Terry Lynch, of the Spokane Valley Business Association.

Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries said the department has not taken a position on Valley incorporation. Its board will wait to review a study of the Valley city before making its decision.

However, Humphries said he will probably recommend support for Valley incorporation because it will help preserve the fire district’s service area.

The proposed Spokane Valley city limits would follow the Spokane County interim urban growth boundaries, excluding the city of Millwood and the proposed city of Liberty Lake. It would have about 90,000 residents.

This proposal is separate from plans to form a new city in Liberty Lake. Residents there will vote in November on a ballot measure to incorporate that city.

Besides challenging Spokane for Yardley, a city in the Spokane Valley could foster healthy competition for new business, Rudy said.

“If we have a strong city out here and we’re promoting good quality jobs, schools and education, it’s going to wake up our sister-city-to-be to the west of us,” he said. “Perhaps those elected officials will spend more time working for the community instead of working each other.”

City backers promised to learn from the mistakes of past attempts to form a city in the Spokane Valley. They are optimistic that a study of the incorporation proposal by the county Boundary Review Board will answer the nagging questions that made voters skeptical in the past.

The Boundary Review Board will start the study as soon as proponents gather enough signatures to bring the proposal to a vote. Ten percent of the registered voters in the Valley - about 4,000 - must sign petitions in favor of the bid.

For more information about the proposed city of Spokane Valley please go to: www.spokanevalley.org.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HEARING To learn more

The Boundary Review Board for Spokane County will hold an open house and public hearing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 on the proposal to form a new city in the Spokane Valley. The open house will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Spokane Valley Fire District training room at 2411 N. Pioneer Lane, one block east of Sullivan Road, and two blocks south of Marietta Avenue. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m.