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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

City Council delays action on Albion Heights sale

Residents living in the Grandview area of southwest Spokane asked City Council members on Monday to preserve a 26-acre chunk of land as open space.

Mayor Jim West’s staff has proposed selling the city-owned property for future residential development, and staff members have asked the council to remove restrictions placed on the sale of the property in the Albion Heights subdivision.

After hearing from residents, council members said they need more time to consider the issues. They deferred action until Jan. 24.

Karen Carlberg of the Thorpe/Westwood Neighborhood Association said she would like to see the property retained as an undeveloped extension of Grandview Park, at 17th Avenue and D Street.

“It’s really nice to walk up there and see the view,” she told the council.

Sharon Elton, who lives near the property, echoed Carlberg’s comments.

“Some of us would like to see some more green space in that area,” she said.

But if the city decides to go ahead with the sale of the property, then it should take into account problems involving traffic access and housing density in the area, residents said.

Currently the neighborhood is served by an older road system with a key intersection that in the past has become blocked during snow storms. Grandview and 16th and 17th avenues all meet at the same point.

Hills and curves leading to the intersection create a hazard for drivers. If the intersection is blocked, residents said, they can’t get to their homes.

Residents said they fear being blocked if a wildfire breaks out along the steep hillside just south of Interstate 90.

The city acquired the property in the 1970s as the result of a foreclosure on a local improvement district. The property was declared surplus by the City Council and put up for sale for $1 million in 2000.

The council at the time sought to require any developer to realign the intersection and provide a second access route to the neighborhood.

Dave Mandyke, deputy director of public works, said the administration wants to remove restrictions and allow the city’s development rules to govern improvements. He said the administration would support a council requirement that the land be replatted.

Currently the rugged property is platted in an older rectangular fashion with smaller 50-foot-wide lots. Some residents are seeking a replat with larger lots to reduce residential density if the property is developed.

An appraisal obtained by the city puts the property’s value at $375,000. Intersection improvements could cost as much as $100,000.

However, Councilman Bob Apple pointed out that a developer could replat the property with even smaller lots under the city’s current land-use plan.

That was one reason the council deferred action on the administration request.

“I want to get this right,” Council President Dennis Hession said in asking for more information on the proposed sale.

One resident told the council that the city could replat the property before putting it up for sale.

Councilman Al French said he wants city staff to look at options for providing two access routes to the neighborhood.