River District to be annexed by Liberty Lake sewer, water

The Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District is in the midst of annexing 402 acres encompassing what is known as the River District on the western edge of the city of Liberty Lake.

The district is currently serving the area through an extension agreement. Annexing the area will remove a nominal monthly surcharge for customers and eliminate the risk that the area would be the first cut off if the district ever ran out of capacity. Since the district’s recently built sewage treatment plan has a 2 million gallon capacity, that option was unlikely.

The area to be annexed is south of the Spokane River, north of Interstate 90 and mostly west of Harvard Road. Most of the land is owned by Centennial Properties and is planned for development. Centennial Properties is owned by the Cowles Company, which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Centennial Properties requested the annexation, with other existing business owners also signing a petition, said LLSWD manager Lee Mellish. At least 60 percent of landowners in an affected area must request the annexation under the petition method. Most of the area is still undeveloped, but the Bitterroot Apartments were recently completed. “That’s the first time we’ve had people living there,” Mellish said.

The district decided it would be easier to annex the land now rather than wait until it was developed. “The more different owners you get, the harder it is to get 60 percent,” he said.

Adding the area will not tax the district’s capacity even after it is fully built up. The new treatment plant can process 2 million gallons a day, but the district usually only uses about 700,000 gallons a day, Mellish said.

The district’s board of directors approved the annexation and it was presented to the Boundary Review Board this week for preliminary approval. After a public comment period, it will return to the board for final approval.

Mellish said he doesn’t expect any problems during the process. “It’s in the urban growth boundary,” he said. “It’s mostly vacant land.”

This is the district’s second large annexation since Liberty Lake incorporated in 2001. A 300-acre chunk of land that is now the Rocky Hill development was annexed several years ago. Mellish doesn’t anticipate any more annexations, with the exception of a nine-acre parcel near Appleway and Starr Road. “We’re not out there looking to annex,” he said.