Plan pushes ‘new urbanism’

In a push to foster trendy “urban villages” throughout Spokane – where residents can live, work, shop and dine without having to rely so heavily on personal automobiles – some city officials want to give developers greater flexibility over how commercial property can be used.

But there’s also a catch: In exchange for that flexibility, commercial developers could be asked to add residential housing as part of their projects in some neighborhood business locations. At least two developers are opposed to those provisions.

The changes would come through a long-awaited revision of the city’s 47-year-old zoning code. The City Council will take up commercial and office zoning at its meeting on Monday at 6 p.m.

“This is such a dramatic improvement over what we’ve had to live with …,” said Candace Mumm, president of the city Plan Commission, which is recommending the changes.

In general, the new code would allow property owners to put more building area on their parcels, but require them to design their projects with an eye toward visual aesthetics, neighborhood compatibility and pedestrian access. Parking would be reduced.

The proposal offers a return to the kind of urban development that was more common in the first half of the 1900s with buildings erected closer to sidewalks; residences included next to or above shops; and parking relegated to the back. The trend has taken hold in larger cities such as Seattle and Portland and is often referred to as “new urbanism.”

“I think overall this is a more efficient use of land,” Mumm said.

The new code takes 19 separate office and commercial categories and condenses them into six new zones. Development rules would be simplified, and developers would be given choices about how they want to meet new standards.

It stems from a lengthy public process in the late 1990s when citizens worked with the city to redefine land use to concentrate development in a series of so-called centers and arterial corridors.

Proponents said the new code creates the opportunity for economic revitalization of the city by giving developers more options.

So far, city staff has received little objection to the changes, despite mailing notices to thousands of property owners and fielding dozens of telephone calls.

“Everyone for the most part seems to like what we’ve included,” said Louis Meuler of the city planning staff.

But two developers have come out against a requirement that might force them to include housing in any grocery store projects on properties they own in northwest Spokane, two of 19 locations that would be placed in a newly designated neighborhood mixed-use business zone.

Any stores larger than 10,000 square feet in size would require 1,000 square feet of housing for each additional 1,000 square feet of store. Supermarkets are often 50,000 square feet or larger.

Developer Rod Plese said he already included duplex residences in his Sundance Hills 6th Addition along North Indian Trail Road at Blackfoot Avenue. He said he spent thousands of dollars setting up the plat and had set aside 2.8 acres for a future supermarket. Now that the city wants to change the rules, he said, “I respectfully disagree with what they want to do.”

The other area is at Nine Mile Road near North Royal Court.

Plese said he thinks the proposed plan is also wrong in de-emphasizing parking areas. He said from his experience the city does not require enough parking in some projects. He said he recently added parking for an office plaza he built on West Francis Avenue after the parking area approved under the initial plan proved to be insufficient.

“Where are they going to park? On the street?” he asked about the proposal to reduce parking.

Planners said the idea is to increase the mix of uses in the urban area to make better use of existing services such as transit and utilities. Shop owners could live next to their businesses. Seniors might live in apartments adjacent to a range of services and shops.

Commercial property owners would get greater flexibility in any new development or redevelopment.

Dan Mackey, owner of Snoops Saloon, 805 E. Rosewood, said he’s waiting for the changes because they would allow him to increase the size of a planned addition to his business. He said he needs more space for pool tables to accommodate the number of patrons who want to compete on pool teams. He said he was told by city staff that the proposed zoning code would let him use an additional 10 feet of lot space on the west side of his existing building.

“I’ve been waiting since October,” he said.

Ahmad Haghighi, who owns an old grocery store and home at Fourth and Cowley, said the new zoning code would allow him to put retail shops or residences in a planned redevelopment of his property. He said nearby office workers and apartment dwellers would benefit by having a small store and shops nearby.

The proposed code protects residential areas by requiring setbacks or separations between homes and office or commercial uses. Also, the code would put height restrictions on office or commercial buildings adjacent to residences.