Access sought to park land Access sought to park land

Spokane city parks officials are negotiating with the developer of a proposed housing project at 57th Avenue and Hatch Road over a sewer easement across park conservation property adjacent to the project.

Taylor Bressler, park projects manager, said he has asked the developer of Tuscan Ridge to grant public access to conservation property in exchange for the sewer easement. The public property is commonly used by hikers and mountain bike riders, but there is no developed access point.

Bressler said he would like the Tuscan Ridge developer to provide public access as a condition of granting an easement. Otherwise, park users may have to cross private property to get into the conservation area, and Bressler said he doesn’t want to get into a dispute later with private owners trying to keep people out.

Also, a developed access point is less likely to be abused by vandals or littering.

“We’ve got public access through there, like it or not,” Bressler said. “Some of the trails are usable, and some of them aren’t.”

A new housing development will encourage even more people to use the area, he said.

“We are going to be inadvertently inviting more people into that area,” he said.

Bessler asked the developer to see if it could secure additional public access points in adjacent developments, including Blackwood PUD and Highland Park PUD.

He said negotiations are continuing.