Greenacres group recognized

Volunteers in Greenacres have drawn the attention of a regional neighborhood group and even the applause of the elected officials they often argue with from the other side of the podium at City Hall.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Spokane Valley City Council recognized the work of the North Greenacres Neighborhood Association that earned them a 2006 Outstanding Neighborhood of the Year award from the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County.

“It was a total-community-involved effort,” said Pete Miller, one of many people in Greenacres who have organized in recent years to lobby for park land, push for stricter development standards and draw up a plan for the area’s future.

The results have been mixed. After county commissioners opened the area between the Spokane River and I-90 to urban development, the mostly rural blend of small residential developments and farm land has been transformed by new subdivisions.

While neighbors’ efforts to reduce the density of zoning in the area have had little effect on what has been built in the last few years, their efforts to save land for a park have paid off.

Parks officials say Greenacres’ neighborhood planning was instrumental in the city placing high on the list for a state grant to buy park land there. And at Tuesday’s meeting, the council instructed staff to make an offer on two properties for the project.

“We really dreamed big,” said Mary Pollard, who has led much of the group’s work.

Residents there have been among the most vocal in the public processes shaping the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan, long-range transportation plans and a re-write of the city’s development rules.

Mayor Diana Wilhite congratulated the group on winning the award and said she wanted to “encourage the rest of the neighborhoods to be as active as they are in Greenacres.”