Valley council changes PUD rules

Following an appeal by a developer whose project was turned down, and over the objections of some neighbors, the Spokane Valley City Council on Tuesday eliminated a requirement that densely built “planned unit developments” connect to arterial roads.

The decision comes after several discussions in which the council and the city’s planning staff called PUD requirements ineffective at encouraging the innovative use of land that the designation is supposed to promote.

PUDs are supposed to encourage nonconventional housing designs like townhouses. But so far, all of the PUDs approved in the young city simply allow more traditional houses in a smaller space.

Tuesday’s unanimous vote irked some Greenacres residents who said they feel denser pockets of houses will make nonarterial roads in their neighborhood more dangerous.

“We’ve got a PUD about ready to be approved, and its going to sidestep that part of the ordinance,” neighbor Tom Tabbert said.

Mayor Diana Wilhite said the ordinance change was designed to accommodate “infill” development in existing neighborhoods, as required under the state’s Growth Management Act.

“We are certainly not doing it just for the benefit of one person,” she said.

The council began discussing PUDs after it heard an appeal from a developer whose project was denied that classification by the hearing examiner. The site is near Tabbert’s house and will not empty onto an arterial.

Participant in gang killing accepts plea bargain

Another participant in a New Year’s Day gang homicide at a North Side bar pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Marcus Shawnta Dansby, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen gave him the same sentence that Christopher Jerome Route, 18, and Eric Burton Jr., 20, got in earlier plea bargains.

According to court documents, Dansby drove a carload of gang members to the Crazy 8’s bar near the corner of Division Street and Lincoln Road at the request of fellow Atlantic Drive Compton Crip gang member Benson Jones. Jones allegedly was angry because a member of the rival Arkansas Folk/Gangster Disciple gang talked to his girlfriend at the bar.

Authorities say one of those Dansby transported was the alleged shooter, Demetrius C. “Meechie” Route, who faces trial Dec. 12 on second-degree murder and other charges. Route allegedly killed Arkansas Folk gang member Calvin D. “Gangster” Banks with a shot to the heart and superficially shot bystander Tasha M. Wilcher in the back of the neck when the gangs confronted each other in the Crazy 8’s parking lot.

Court documents indicate at least some of the bar’s staff knew the gang members well enough to identify them and to warn two state troopers, who were at the scene when shooting occurred, about a sawed-off shotgun one of the gangsters owned.

Dansby had been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, riot and drive-by shooting.

Suspect in ex-girlfriend’s kidnapping arrested

A man accused of kidnapping his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend and taunting her with a loaded gun has been arrested by Spokane police.

Daniel R. Quinn, 19, allegedly kidnapped the girl at gunpoint the night of Sept. 27 from the driveway of her east Spokane home, according to court documents.

The girl had broken up with Quinn about two weeks prior to the incident after two months of dating, according to court records.

The victim told police that Quinn, who was 18 when the incident occurred, appeared intoxicated. She said that he forced her into a car, drove her around for several hours and took her to his home in the 2100 block of East Seventh Avenue. There, he allegedly placed a bullet into a revolver with six chambers. He spun the cylinder and pulled the trigger, court records say. She was not shot.

He also unsuccessfully tried to fire a pistol at her feet, the teen told investigators.

Later, he allegedly tied her hands behind her back and forced her to lie on his bed. He fell asleep next to her, and she eventually was able to untie herself and escape about 10:40 a.m. on Sept. 28, court records say. The teen ran to the East Central Community Center where police were called.

Quinn was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Friday on counts of first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Domestic argument preceded CdA killing

Kim Grosch was arguing with his wife Friday when his stepson shot and killed him, Coeur d’Alene police said Tuesday.

Previously, police had not released a motive for the crime.

In a news release Tuesday, Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Christie Wood said 29-year-old Bryan L. Doss fired seven shots from a .45-caliber pistol, striking his stepfather three times. Grosch, a local attorney, was taken to Kootenai Medical Center, but died later that day.

Doss was found on top of Tubbs Hill on Saturday, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

WSU president will have ankle surgery

Washington State University President V. Lane Rawlins will be off his feet for a few weeks after undergoing surgery on his ankle next week in Seattle, WSU said.

The Oct. 26 surgery at University of Washington Medical Center is intended to repair a chronic ankle injury, the university said in a news release.

Rawlins issued a statement about the matter to the university Tuesday, and said he’d be involved in WSU business as much as he can and that a definite time frame for his return will depend on his health.

Provost Robert Bates, who has taken over the day-to-day management of the Pullman campus this year, will have increased responsibilities during Rawlins’ time off, WSU said.

About 40 behavorial school staffers rehired

About 40 former employees of CEDU behavioral schools in North Idaho have been rehired in anticipation of three of the schools reopening.

State accreditation and licensing teams visited the schools last week, said Paul Johnson, executive director of Boulder Creek Academy. The two Bonners Ferry schools – Boulder Creek and Northwest Academy – expect to be accepting students by mid-November, he said. The Ascent Program, a short-term wilderness adventure program in Naples, could reopen by the end of this week.

“We won’t be hiring everyone back initially,” Johnson said. “The hiring will correspond to the number of students.”

CEDU schools employed nearly 300 people until its parent company, The Brown Schools, closed the schools abruptly in March and filed for bankruptcy. The announcement was a blow to Bonner and Boundary counties, where many of the school’s employees lived and worked.