Revitalization area reduced

The Sprague-Appleway Revitalization got a little smaller Tuesday, and a little nearer completion.

Spokane Valley City Council members devoted nearly three hours to its ongoing review of the plan, and found several more points of agreement.

One of those was that the plan’s eastern boundary should be Sullivan Road, not Conklin Road as proposed.

A small amount of land just east of Sullivan would remain in the plan to control development on all sides of the intersection of Sullivan Road and Sprague Avenue.

The tentative decision came as the council reviewed written comments from several constituents with concerns about the plan.

Owners of commercial property near the intersection of Sprague and Conklin wanted out of the plan, and most council members saw no need to restrict uses between Sullivan and Conklin.

Councilman Bill Gothmann was an exception.

“The object of the whole plan was to reduce the amount of commercial,” he said.

The plan seeks to reduce commercial zoning not only because a glut is driving down Sprague Avenue values, but to reduce competition with the city center district planned at the University City Shopping Center.

Still, Mayor Rich Munson said he thought the area east of Sullivan was too far from the city center district to pose a threat worse than the stores that line Sullivan Road.

“The whole Sullivan corridor is going to be competing with the city center,” Munson said. “We can’t get around that.”

At the suggestion of plan manager Scott Kuhta, a residential area south of the undeveloped Appleway Boulevard right of way also is to be removed.

The council was deadlocked 3-3 on whether to remove two other unwilling property owners, Jim and Susan Scott, from the plan.

The couple operates a boat dock-manufacturing and mini-storage business, Lark Inc., along the Appleway Boulevard right of way just east of Evergreen Road.

Gothmann said his analysis of nearby property values showed the Scotts wouldn’t suffer financially from a reduction in commercial uses for their land and might benefit. Councilwoman Diana Wilhite wasn’t so sure.

Munson and City Attorney Mike Connelly cautioned against basing a decision on fluctuating assessed values instead of planning goals, and Councilman Dick Denenny opposed creating an “island.”

Gothmann, Munson and Denenny wanted to keep the Scott property in the plan, while Wilhite and council members Rose Dempsey and Gary Schimmels favored removing it.

Councilman Steve Taylor, who was absent, is expected to resolve the issue later.

Council members rejected the complaints of another longtime manufacturer, Rick McCartney, who operates Valley Best-Way Building Supply at 118 S. Union Street.

McCartney questioned whether a grandfather clause would adequately protect his use of crane trucks and tractor-trailer rigs on city streets to deliver the roof trusses he builds.

“That has nothing to do with the zoning,” Denenny said.

“This business can go on forever, and it can expand as long as it’s on the same property,” Munson said.

Council members decided to stick with the plan’s proposed grandfather protections, as modified in previous discussions.

Nonconforming uses may continue if they’re not interrupted for a year or more. Also, other nonconforming uses may be substituted as long as they are not more at odds with the new zoning and don’t increase traffic or adversely affect neighbors.

The new zoning would be enforced if a renovation added more than 20 percent to a building’s floor area. Standards for exterior appearance would apply if a renovation costs more than 20 percent of the assessed or appraised value of the building and land.

Damaged buildings may be replaced if the work begins within a year and costs less than 80 percent of the property’s market value.

Another public complaint is that the proposed zoning is befuddling, and council members demonstrated some confusion of their own Tuesday. However, they became more comfortable with the code when Kuhta walked them through several examples.

“It does make sense pretty quick once you start working with it,” Denenny said.

Munson called for a “frequently asked questions” document to help laymen understand the code, and Community Development Director Kathy McClung said she considered that essential.

John Craig may be contacted at johnc@spokesman.com.