Group opposes rezoning of Valleyford farmland

Land conservation advocates are fighting a recent Spokane County Commission decision to rezone 110 acres of agricultural land near Valleyford to allow residential development.

Futurewise, formerly 1,000 Friends of Washington, filed the appeal Monday to the Growth Management Hearings Board for Eastern Washington. The group claimed that the land contains prime soils that under Spokane County’s comprehensive plan preclude its removal from agricultural uses.

“We like to protect our agricultural lands from urban sprawl,” said Christy LaFayette, Futurewise’s Eastern Washington field organizer.

Property near the land in question is increasingly being transformed into high-end estates that LaFayette called “McMansions.”

Commissioners unanimously approved in April landowner Frank Honorof’s request that his property be rezoned from large tract agriculture, which allows one home per 40 acres, to rural traditional which allows one house per 10 acres.

Honorof’s attorney, Meg Arpin, said then and repeated Monday that the property had been improperly “split-zoned,” calling for different uses on individual parcels.

Arpin also contested Futurewise’s claim that the property contains prime soils.

County Commissioner Mark Richard said that the property had been left fallow for some time because it was less productive than other farmland.

“Even a farmer to the south indicated it wasn’t the best agricultural land,” said Richard, who said the soil isn’t considered prime.

Richard said he used that fact combined with the split-zoning issue and development on the property’s boundaries when he made his decision on the rezone.