Zoning change proposal angers neighbors

About 40 residents have signed a petition expressing concern over a proposed zoning change applied for by Spokane City Council candidate Steve Corker and his fiancée, Helen Sandifur.

Sandifur owns two parcels up for rezoning consideration at 18th Avenue and Ralph Street on which she built homes in 2001.

She has applied to rezone the property from single-family residential to allow the houses to be converted to duplexes. Corker is listed as her agent for the proposal.

Neighbors say the rental homes have been a source of partying and crime that have been a headache to surrounding residents. Some say they’re concerned that allowing the homes to be converted would cause further problems.

“It seems like it’s never-ending with those places,” said Dave Underwood, who lives adjacent to the property.

But Corker argues that turning the homes into duplexes would allow for better neighbors. As of now, he said, they rent for $1,500 a month, an amount that has in some cases attracted larger groups of young adults rather than families. He said lower rents would attract more stable tenants. He noted that there is commercially zoned land across the street from the property.

The city’s Planning Commission is expected to hold a hearing on the matter before the end of the year. Planning staff has indicated its support for the concept. If Corker is elected to the council, he would have to abstain from any voting on the proposal.

Neighbors are “going to have every opportunity to voice their concerns at the public hearing process,” Corker said.

Sandifur agreed that there have been some problems with some tenants, but she said she has evicted them.

Neighbors accuse Sandifur of over-building the lots so they could be converted later. One of the homes has two street-side entrances, and Corker said each has two kitchens.

But Sandifur said her intent was to sell them right after they were built. She decided to rent them only after they didn’t sell after more than a year on the market, she said.

Sandifur is the ex-wife of former Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. CEO C. Paul Sandifur Jr., who has been blamed for the collapse of the $2.3 billion financial conglomerate. A creditor’s trust has a claim pending against Helen Sandifur, seeking the return of about $2 million it alleges she was improperly paid by the company in the divorce.

Corker said Helen Sandifur applied for the zoning change more than a year ago, and he believes neighbors are raising it now because of his election bid.

But Underwood said the latest concerns on the proposal were generated because of a recent deadline to submit comments on the idea.

“We want stability in the community and in the neighborhood,” said Sharon Underwood, Dave Underwood’s wife.