Steady growth in area calls for planning
Cheney
The city has been growing steadily over the last 10 years. Community development director Brian Jennings said the city is on track to grow by 3,285 people by the year 2030. The city’s current population is listed at 10,180.
New housing developments include Golden Hills, currently under construction, and Harvest Bluff, a new development on the northern edge of town in the planning stages.
“I think Cheney’s obviously on the minds of developers,” Jennings said.
But the development is slowing down, and Jennings looks at that as an opportunity for his department’s housekeeping.
“The downturn has given us a breather,” he said. “During this time we’ll take some inventory of our processes.”
The department is rewriting its comprehensive plan, and it recently took a look at the city’s Urban Growth Area, which was redefined and sent into the Spokane County for approval.
Jennings thinks that Cheney has a lot to offer potential developments. He noted the industrial park, the short distance from Spokane – and the people.
“There are a lot of personalities in Cheney,” he said.
He thinks that the city will be prepared for the future. “We’re very much in control of our destiny,” he said.
Lisa Leinberger
Medical Lake
Medical Lake is growing, but more slowly than other communities in the West Plains.
Doug Ross, the city administrator, said there were 450 new homes built in the city in the last 13 years. The state institutions in the area are included in the city’s population of 4,810.
In many ways, the poor economy of the nation hasn’t really hit Medical Lake, as there are no big businesses in the city and they are not so reliant on sales tax.
The lack of water resources has been a concern to the city, and after recent building moratoriums, the city still only has around 20 water hook-ups left for new developments.
The city is in talks with the city of Spokane to use a new water main along Craig Road during summer months when water usage is high, but nothing has been settled.
Ross said that when a developer comes to the city with a proposal, it must allow the development to go forward as long as the area is properly zoned and hook-ups are available.
But city staffing is thin, and the city council recently decided to take a look at the cost of staffing the fire department full time with paid employees. Both fire and emergency medical services are all volunteers now, and there has been concern over response times.
“The Urban Growth Boundary really is the way you can control growth these days,” Ross said. At a council meeting earlier this year, a developer wanted Medical Lake to annex land both inside and outside of that boundary, and the council felt the city didn’t have the resources to serve the area properly. The council decided to reject the annexation.
Lisa Leinberger
Airway Heights
More people and more businesses have been steadily flowing into Airway Heights over the past five years, as the city grows in step with the rest of the West Plains.
The struggling economy has been slowly putting a damper on the number of businesses moving in, but the housing market is strong.
With a population of approximately 5,400 (an increase from 5,000 last year), an average of 75 to 100 new homes are built every year. City planner Ian Horlacher said they wouldn’t know until spring whether the Airway Heights housing market will continue its upward swing.
The city budget is feeling the economic slide. Two city employees were recently laid off, and about $500,000 has been cut from the 2009 budget, a move that will trim excess across many departments. There is also a hiring freeze.
City manager Albert Tripp said building permits began slowing down about last January and haven’t picked up since. The dropping value of the dollar and the economic downturn are at fault, he said.
Northern Quest Casino, Spokane International Airport and Geiger Correctional Center are all close to the city’s main stretch and employ many people.
“All those folks have to live and play somewhere,” Tripp said.
Airway Heights has added to its urban growth area, a 600-acre parcel near city property, but governed by the city of Spokane and Spokane County.
Property owners, including Dick Vandervert of Vandervert Construction, are seeking to have the land annexed from the city of Spokane. Other large businesses include Wal-Mart, Triumph Composite Systems plant and Dealers Auto Auction.
Jeslyn Lemke
Eastern Washington University
Students have been pouring into Eastern Washington University, making for almost five years of unparalled rise in the school’s enrollment. State officials have told universities to prepare for up to 20 percent in budget cuts. The school is currently getting an idea for where they may cut finances, said spokesman Dave Meany. The university also has a hiring freeze.
Over the past five years, the school has expanded its campus with a state archives building, a recreation center, a state crime lab, and a computing and engineering building.
Meany also added that people tend to go back to school in a poor economy, so Eastern numbers may continue to rise next year.
Jeslyn Lemke