Housing opposed at new hearing
Medical Lake residents testified last week that the city does not have the infrastructure to support a proposed low-income housing complex.
The city doesn’t have enough police officers, they said. It also doesn’t have enough firefighters, teachers, water or parking.
Planning Commission members heard testimony on Sept. 27 during a public hearing on the requested rezoning of 7.5 acres along Stanley Road. The rezone would change the commercial and residential land to R-3 multi-family residential property.
The land is owned by A & K Development Inc. President Jeff Amistoso has proposed selling part of the property to build a 42-unit apartment complex for low-income tenants.
“Our community has to take a stand,” said Barb Baumann, one of 35 residents who stepped forward to oppose the rezone. “We’ve been taken advantage of long enough by overzealous developers. It’s time to say, ‘no.’ “
Many of the approximately 150 residents at the meeting passed around petitions or turned in letters of opposition. The original hearing on Aug. 30 was rescheduled when about 200 attendees exceeded the City Hall meeting room’s fire safety capacity.
Attorney Taudd Hume, representing the developers, told the commission that concerns about a housing complex should only be considered during the building permit application. Specific construction projects are not judged during rezone requests.
Hume also referenced the City Council’s summer decision to approve the property rezone application in the city’s comprehensive plan.
“You have designated this as R-3,” he said of the property. “(Rezoning) would allow you to meet the goals for low-income housing in the comprehensive plan.”
Private, nonprofit organization Spokane Housing Ventures has worked with Greenstone Homes to design a $3.7 million complex that could sit on about three acres of the site. SHV manages 14 low-income complexes throughout the region, including a four-plex building in Medical Lake.
Representatives from SHV and Greenstone Homes said studies predict a “dire” need for new low-income housing in the community. They also said residential housing could have fewer resource and traffic impacts than potential commercial projects for the site.
“We are not here to bring in outsiders,” said David Roberts, an SHV development specialist.
Speakers against the rezoning initially received applause from the audience. City Attorney Cynthia McMullen asked residents not to clap or cheer, but many remained restless throughout the proceedings.
For almost two hours, residents stepped before the Planning Commission to voice concerns about public resource, safety and wildlife issues.
Despite SHV assurances of intense background checks on tenants, some attendees also worried about inviting low-income workers into the area.
“This change is not a need for Medical Lake,” resident Sandi King-Hunt said. “It’s a need for the low-income residents of Spokane.”
Many citizens said they enjoyed the small town atmosphere of the city. Resources should go toward revitalizing downtown businesses, strengthening education or boosting emergency services, they said.
“Not one Medical Lake resident has spoken in favor of this,” King-Hunt said near the end of the hearing.
City Administrator Doug Ross said he felt everyone had a chance to offer input despite resident concerns about legal restrictions on the commission.
“Some people didn’t like that it was a process,” Ross said. “That’s the process and you have to follow the process.”
After the testimonies, the Planning Commission voted to delay deliberations until members could review all the development studies, letters and petitions.
The commission will debate and announce its recommendation for the City Council during its next meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 25, Ross said. A location has not yet been determined.
City Council members will then vote on the final decision.