Valley proposes code revisions

It might get tougher to stop and smell the roses along Sprague Avenue and other parts of Spokane Valley under proposed development rules that limit where plant nurseries and numerous other businesses can be built.

“I have some real concerns about the process, that building owners are not notified in writing that severe changes are going to take place,” said Bill Coyle, who owns Plant Land Nursery.

He joins others who fear their businesses will be considered non-conforming when they are rezoned. Coyle could continue to run Plant Land at its present location – so long as the nursery doesn’t shut down for more than a year – but the nonconforming status would limit his ability to expand.

Testimony from a number of property owners and homeowners at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting capped a public hearing that had already been extended twice on parts of the city’s new development code.

Initially scheduled to be put into law by the end of next week, a roomful of frustrated neighbors and developers persuaded the commission last month to allow more time for the public to review the document.

“We have to live with what we’re doing,” said commission chairwoman Gail Kogle, who will begin debating three sections of the code with her commission colleagues at their next meeting.

“This is our Valley. We live here, too,” Kogle said.

The commission and planning department have received dozens of letters on chapters dealing with zoning and building standards. The two latest commission meetings – usually attended by few, if any spectators – have been devoted mostly to public testimony on chapters dealing with development standards, zoning and building regulations.

Additionally, planners have held more informal daytime meetings with developers and with neighborhood leaders to hash out their questions on more than 100 pages of regulations.

The written and oral testimony so far has been as varied as the topics covered in the code, which addresses nearly every city rule on what gets built where and to what standards.

Central Valley School District again asked that the city impose impact fees on new housing it says is overloading schools.

The Spokane Home Builders Association petitioned to exempt some subdivisions from required public hearings, to reduce requirements for open spaces, and to allow storm swales to count as a part of them.

Others worry about logistical challenges in complying with new lighting requirements and about size standards for apartments added to existing houses. There were also several comments concerning the way commercial property can be used under the new zoning classifications.

A proposed requirement that many new businesses provide drivers with access to neighboring businesses was among the points of contention at Thursday’s meeting.

“Shared access, in some cases, I think is a very good idea, and in some cases it’s very difficult,” said commercial property owner Bill Brooks, adding that the last shared-access agreement he oversaw was 22 pages long.

A requirement for alleys behind commercial buildings above a certain size also has raised the ire of some commercial landlords who cited safety concerns, space restraints and what they say is a need for flexibility in how they receive deliveries.

“Somebody’s going to build an alley, and nobody’s going to go there,” Brooks said.

Thursday”s meeting also saw a request from a business owner who wanted to move his piano store to land next to the freeway that would be limited to office use.

Neighbors in Ponderosa and other neighborhoods said they are upset over proposed half-acre zoning in areas where they have sought 1-acre zoning for years.

A fire marshal asked that changes to the city’s sign code include a requirement that signs do not block the view of hydrants.

Many suggestions already have been incorporated in the document, which has been modified considerably since it was first drafted by city planners, including looser restriction on expanding nonconforming uses.

Updated drafts of the code and a summary of comments received by the city are available at www.sp okanevalley.org. To access them, click on “department,” then click “community development,” then click “Planning Commission” then “Uniform Development Code.”