Development of former Painted Hills golf course on hold

Development of the former Painted Hills golf course is on hold, awaiting an updated traffic analysis and other details from the property owners.

The Spokane Valley City Council received an update on the development Tuesday evening, mostly to bring new council members up to date on the project.

Owners Dave Black of Black Realty Inc. and Bryan Walker, a broker with NAI Black, are proposing 580 housing units on the former golf course: 228 apartments, 206 single-family homes, 52 ranchers and 40 estate homes, plus seeking permission to add 52 loft units on top of a commercial development that will face Dishman-Mica Road.

The Painted Hills Preservation Association organized in opposition to the project that Daniel L. Pavelich, a neighbor and one of the organizers, calls “a travesty.”

As outlined, the development does not require a change of zoning as long as 30 percent of the property is left open.

Pavelich said the association wants an environmental impact statement prepared for the project because the area is prone to flooding and wetlands are on the site.

Senior planner Lori Barlow said in an email that once the developer submits the required information, the city will continue to review the project, which will then be heard by the hearing examiner at a public hearing. A date for the hearing will not be set until all updates have been received, Barlow wrote.

Barlow added that the time line for the project is primarily driven by when information is submitted by the developer.

Pavelich said the preservation association has hired lawyers and advisers and plans to fight the development every step of the way. The group has raised $3,000 through a GoFundMe campaign, as well as “much more” from other sources, though he declined to say how much.

Among neighbors’ concerns are wetlands and flooding on the property.

State Department of Ecology wetland manager Jacob McCann said in an email that there are wetlands on the site, but, according to the property designs on file, they would not be impacted by the development.

Neighbors said the area floods, sometimes covering Thorpe Road, and that building on the land will make flooding worse.

Walker maintains any flooding issues will be mitigated.

Pavelich said it’s too bad the city didn’t buy the land and turn it into a park.

“It’s the last big parcel of land available in the Valley,” Pavelich said. “It’s a shame.”

The city did contemplate a purchase in 2013 but at the time, a group of neighbors said it wanted to buy the land and persuaded the city to stay out of eventual bidding.

That didn’t work out, and Black and Walker purchased the property for $1.1 million in 2013.

Since nothing has been built there, rumors have been swirling about what’s going to happen and who owns the land.

Walker said ownership has not changed; he and Black are 50-50 partners.

“We had a couple of verbal offers on the property but nothing worth looking at,” Walker said. “We are getting closer to finalizing our plans and may be ready to move forward in the next couple of months.”