Protect Underhill

East Central’s Underhill Park is threatened by a housing development on private land adjacent to public land. Called Ben Burr Estates, these high-end homes will mean the destruction of mature trees and natural habitat connected to the park, forever altering our neighborhood nature.

The city has OK’d road construction above the parking lot and through walking paths that have been used for generations. Our neighborhood isn’t always the easiest to live in, and we depend on the respite of these trees and natural areas. For kids in this mixed-income neighborhood, this is their forest, their nature.

Park users are mobilizing to save this land from bulldozers. Developers are willing to sell. Where else in Spokane can we add greenspace to one of Spokane’s oldest parks within the inner urban core?

Sadly, the city is hiding behind the argument for infill and more homes, pushing a false choice. Density is already coming to East Central. Done right, it will revitalize East Sprague and the Fifth Avenue business district. But considering we will bear the brunt of the new freeway interchange, the limited greenspace in East Central will be critical for neighborhood quality of life. Where does the city expect kids to play and people to walk who want to get away from the concrete?

The city should step up and publicly endorse protecting this land. For more information on how to right this wrong, contact Friendsofunderhillpark@gmail.com

Sam Mace

Spokane