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Landowners vote against proposed 100-acre housing subdivision in Pasadena Park

Landowners rejected a housing development proposal on about 100 acres of undeveloped land in the Pasadena Park Neighborhood between Garland Avenue and state-owned land along the Spokane River that includes the Centennial Trail. The developer needed the project to be folded into an existing water district to have access to water. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Emily White emilyw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5444

Landowners in a Spokane County water district voted against a proposed housing development in the Pasadena Park neighborhood north of the Spokane River, where Cowles Real Estate wanted to build around 400 homes on 100 acres of land.

Fewer than 5% of voters cast a ballot to approve the of annex the 100-acres into water district 17 for the proposed housing development.

The election had 751 voters, with 715 of them voting against annexing the proposed housing development into the water district. Irrigation district 17 has less than 2,800 customers, however, not all of its customers are land owners, the district’s office manager Amy Smith said.

“Pasadena Park neighbors are united in protecting our limited water resources,” said Elizabeth Braun, who lives in Pasadena Park. “With only 190 water units remaining in our district and the Cowles Company requesting 100 units through annexation, the threat of a moratorium … was real.”

Braun voted with her neighbors and witnessed voters waiting in line for up to an hour. She and other residents worked to inform the neighborhood about what annexing the land into the water district would mean.

“We must safeguard our water for current and future generations,” Braun said.

The in-person election was on Oct. 7 and 106 ballots came in by mail. Those ballots were counted Wednesday night.

These results mean the land in question will not be annexed into the water district, but that does not necessarily mean the housing development will never be constructed. In September, vice president of development and acquisitions for Cowles, Doug Yost, said the company could create its own water district. However, annexing the land into the existing water district was the easiest way to get the development started.

The Spokesman-Review is also owned by the Cowles Co.

Cowles is still planning on developing the property, Yost said, and will begin looking at other opportunities to get water for the property now.

“Change is difficult in areas like this,” Yost said. “Everybody got to vote on the opportunity whether they wanted the property development or not.”

The results were not surprising, Yost said.

“I understand that people are always nervous when there’s developments,” he said. “… I just need to do a better job of educating everybody on what we plan to do there.”

The proposed neighborhood was planned to be near the Maringo Trailhead of the Centennial trail in unincorporated Spokane County. When the proposed development was discussed during a board meeting the Pasadena Park Irrigation District 17 held in August, residents raised concerns about the development’s potential impact on water rights, traffic and schools in the area. Testimony during the meeting lasted several hours, according to Aaron Dunham, the irrigation district’s attorney.

People in the area have used the land the Cowles owns as open space for decades, but Yost says the land is zoned for residential development. The land was previously zoned for commercial and industrial development, according to a 2004 a real estate tax affidavit.