Split Rock Area Preservation Sought

Spokane County commissioners this week said they want to preserve the undeveloped land between the Dishman Hills Natural Area and the new Valley Couplet.

Concerns about the land south of the new road and north of the protective boundaries of the natural area surfaced this month as county officials prepared to sell it.

Dishman Hills stewards said the land - which includes rocky outcroppings and a narrow precipice known as Split Rock Canyon - was promised as a buffer between the natural area and the new road.

However, county engineers argued that they bought the property to build the road after landowners refused to give up the right of way.

“We didn’t purchase it as a buffer,” said County Engineer Bill Johns.

Buffers were required by an outdated environmental impact study that evaluated an early version of the commuter corridor known as the South Valley Arterial, Johns said. That road would have come much closer to the Dishman Hills Natural Area, hugging the northern boundary and even cutting into the natural area.

Engineers said the final road plan moved the road north some 450 to 600 feet from the natural area’s boundary and eliminated the need for a buffer.

But Dishman Hills Association President Mike Hamilton said the new road made the northern boundary of the natural area even more susceptible to high-rise apartment developments.

At the meeting, Commissioner Phil Harris said he remembered discussions about preserving the land between the natural area and the new road and the county should honor that agreement despite the changes.

“I don’t see any reason to change that thinking,” Harris said.

Commissioners said they weren’t sure of the best way to preserve the area and discussed whether it should be given, sold or leased to the Dishman Hills association. Hamilton added that a conservation easement could be placed on the land.

Commissioner Kate McCaslin asked engineers to work out the details.

“I think all of us are saying we want to preserve this,” McCaslin said. “So come back with a plan.”

The commissioners also took the first legal step toward selling the land this week by declaring one of the parcels surplus land. However, Commissioner John Roskelley assured the Dishman Hills Association members it was just a formality.

“That land will not be sold,” for development, he said.

After the meeting Hamilton lauded the commissioners but said he won’t declare it a victory until all the paperwork is done.

“But it looks good,’ he said.

“The bottom line is preserving that area as open space between the natural area and the road.”

The Valley Couplet is expected to open in October.