Hession denies role in art gallery rejection

Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession said he was not involved in a City Hall ruling that prevented one of his neighbors from opening an art gallery in an old house on 29th Avenue across from the Manito Shopping Center.

But the rejection of property owner LeAnn Riley’s request for the gallery is getting notice from two of Hession’s opponents in this month’s primary election for mayor.

Councilman Al French said Hession indeed had a hand in a land-use decision two years ago that led to Riley losing her attempt to open the gallery at 717 E. 29th Ave.

Riley said she was given conflicting information when she inquired at City Hall last year about the commercial status of the property prior to making the purchase of it and an adjoining apartment building at 711 E. 29th. She asked at City Hall if she could use the house as an art gallery. A staffer told her she could.

After buying the properties and spending $15,000 on improvements, Riley returned to City Hall to get the art gallery started but was told the gallery could not be located within 60 feet of a residential zone, which in this case was Hession’s home. As a result, the house at 717 E. 29th is virtually unusable as a commercial space, she said.

Hession’s home is on the southwest corner of Scott Street and the alley between 28th and 29th avenues. The mayor’s rear property line abuts the back half of Riley’s property on the east side.

“When I went down to City Hall, they should have told me,” Riley said.

But Riley’s problem apparently dates back further. In 2005, the City Council amended a new land-use plan that was intended to modestly expand the Manito commercial area and increase the mix of commercial and residential uses.

The Plan Commission initially recommended that Hession’s property become part of the commercial area.

Hession, who was council president then, said he abstained from voting on an amendment by Councilman Bob Apple to retain the residential designation. “Obviously, I had to recuse myself,” Hession said, explaining that it might have been a conflict of interest to vote on the amendment.

Apple said he offered the amendment because he believed that Hession’s house should be residential, and was not asked to do so by Hession. Apple said the mayor’s home is surrounded by other residences and should be maintained in residential zoning.

“I wanted to keep the residential separate,” Apple said.

But French, who is running against Hession, said Hession had publicly recommended that his property be kept residential in a council study session prior to the vote. He called Hession’s explanation of how his home was kept residential “garbage.”

“The record doesn’t support their recollection of events,” French said of the explanations by Hession and Apple.

Both French and Councilwoman Mary Verner voted in favor of the amendment at the time. French said he went along with the amendment because Hession could have gathered enough council support to block passage of the larger plan, which he supported.

Verner said the amendment was approved late in the evening, and that she wishes now she had not voted for it, but instead, had taken more time to study the issue.

Leroy Eadie, acting planning director, said that when Riley initially inquired about using the home for an art gallery, a planning staff member apparently had referred to a map of the Plan Commission recommendation and was not aware of the council’s amendment.

When Riley returned to City Hall for approval of the gallery, city staff discovered that most of the house was within 60 feet of Hession’s residentially-zoned property.

Riley said she was forced to change her plans and will open the art gallery on the lower level of the adjacent apartment building at 711 E. 29th, which is more than 60 feet from Hession’s property. That change has caused her additional expense.

Eadie said it is fortunate for Riley that she bought the two adjoining lots.