Council shuffles corridor designations

The Spokane Valley City Council on Tuesday decided to pare back the list of aesthetic corridors in the Valley and add a few more in new areas.

Currently, Appleway at the couplet, Evergreen from Sprague to Indiana, Indiana from Pines to Flora and Mirabeau Parkway fall under the aesthetic corridor designation that limits sign heights to eight feet, and imposes other rules to make the roads more attractive.

During the recent council deliberations on the Comprehensive Plan, Evergreen, Indiana and the north side of Appleway were removed from that list.

The council also added about a mile of East Appleway at the city’s eastern edge, 32nd Avenue inside the city and Dishman-Mica Road from Eighth Avenue south to the city limits.

Sections of Pines Road from Mansfield Avenue to Trent Road and from 16th Avenue south to the city limits will receive the designation.

Unless the council revisits that section of the Comprehensive Plan, the changes will become law after the plan is adopted and new regulations are written to implement its policies.

Councilman Rich Munson at a Jan. 12 meeting had reservations about designating part of Appleway along the couplet as an aesthetic corridor because it is an area the city hopes to redevelop.

Others felt the designation could preserve the roadside view of the Dishman Hills, and they elected to leave the south side of the road on the list.

“All you are saying is that you want it to look good,” Councilman Dick Denenny said.

The area surrounding 32nd Avenue is primarily residential, but after discussions with city planners the council decided to include it because the designation would give the city more ways to clean up shabby fences and address other visual issues there.

The council was split on keeping the designation on Indiana Avenue, with Mayor Diana Wilhite casting the deciding vote Tuesday.

“I really can’t see that Indiana is a major problem the way it is now,” she said before deciding to remove the designation.

The City Council hopes to complete the 20-year-land-use plan by March. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for Feb. 7.