City Council delays ruling on condo tower

The Spokane City Council will wait a week to rule on a proposed 17-story condominium that would overlook Peaceful Valley.

A couple dozen people signed up in opposition to the Riverview on Riverside project at a hearing Monday night.

Peaceful Valley residents said they feared the council would cave in to a developer’s threat of a lawsuit and said if the city does, it could expect legal action from them.

“You are our City Council, some of you hope to be our mayor,” said Lori Aluna. “I urge you not to choose development at any cost.”

The council is considering a negotiated settlement with developers Mick and Shelley McDowell. That would effectively reverse a ruling from the city hearing examiner, who scrapped the condo last year based on recently enacted height regulations.

Approval would end the McDowells’ $7 million claim against the city.

Their attorney, Stanley Schwartz, said they have a strong case, which could result in a judge approving the tower, in addition to payment for damages. He described the settlement as mutually beneficial.

“This does not require any payout by the city of Spokane,” Schwartz said.

The couple argues that the city should have sent them notice of the rule changes limiting building heights to 35 feet where they want to construct the condos. Their proposed tower would be nearly 200 feet tall.

The couple also says that the rules are discriminatory, in part, because their proposal would be allowed if it were an office building of the same height.

“We think that the McDowells have a stronger legal position and it is in the best interest of the city and the citizens of Spokane to get this behind us,” Mayor Dennis Hession said in an interview before the hearing.

Gary Pollard, chairman of the Riverside Neighborhood Council, was the lone person to testify in favor of the project. He said it would be a boost to the neighborhood and help deter crime.

“The developer will clean up the area and bring more eyes to the area,” Pollard said.

But Peaceful Valley residents said their community doesn’t need cleaning up. They described a quiet and friendly place that would be harmed by incoming traffic, the shaking of the ground during construction and the shadow the tower would cast over their homes.

“Our area is very safe and only threatened by developers, frankly,” Carol Bryan said.

Along with approval for the tower, the settlement would give the McDowells a 99-year lease of two parcels on the other side of downtown, where they hope to build what would become one of the city’s largest office buildings.

The McDowells would pay about $93,000 a year in taxes once a building is constructed on the property, which is used as parking for Fire Station No. 1. The couple has agreed to provide fire station parking in their new complex.