Letters

Invest in corridor; alternative is decay

I read Spokane Valley Councilman Dean Grafos’ letter in opposition to investing to improve the Sprague/Appleway corridor. Unfortunately the current Spokane Valley City Council is being shortsighted in its unwillingness to improve this area central to where the majority of Valley residents live.  

If our own city is now abandoning this centrally located area to decay, I don’t see how we can attract quality businesses.  Our city is not simply being passive by not investing to improve this area; we are contributing to the problem by spending our tax dollars developing new areas. New development will draw businesses and resources away from our central location adding costs to our police and fire services.

  As a newly incorporated city we must choose our foundation wisely.  Do we want urban renewal, which will improve our existing city and help our property values, or urban sprawl, which will add costs and spoil farmland and open spaces?

I would like to invite anyone interested in this subject to a free viewing of a movie called “A Crack in the Pavement” at the Spokane Valley Library on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to learn more about this problematic trend.

Clyde Cordero

Spokane Valley

Senior housing plan needs closer look

I’m a 28-year resident of the neighborhood where Catholic Charities proposes building a low-income senior housing project.  I own two other homes on my street, and my business is only a few blocks from the church. 

At a recent City Council meeting I was dismayed to hear the implication by a representative from Catholic Charities that opposition to this proposal equates opposition to the elderly and to Christian charity in general.  This is hardly the case.  Most of us contribute as we can to help those in need.

The issue is not about denigrating senior citizens, it’s about the reduction in our property values and the impact to a historic Valley neighborhood by the insertion of a multifamily, low-income property in the midst of well-kept single-family residences.  

I was told by a proponent of this project that neither the neighbors nor the City Council has any say, as the church has a federally mandated exemption from local zoning and permitting laws.  “The project will be built, whether you like it or not,” was the claim. That remark felt like the playground bully telling the skinny kid he can tattle if he wants, but the bully still gets the kid’s lunch money.

Is the project a done deal, despite the harm it will do to the neighbors and despite the opposition of the overwhelming majority of those affected? Does the church hold all the cards?  I would urge that this facility be built elsewhere. 

Judy Rapp

Spokane Valley