Comprehensive Plan Amendment Hearing

The Spokane County Planning Commission will be meeting at 9 AM, Thursday, September 16, 2010, to hear public testimony on seven proposed amendments to the Spokane County Comprehensive Plan. The county's web page for these amendments is here.

The amendments include increasing the allowed densities in various locations around the county including Deer Park (10-CPA-02) and Garden Springs (10-CPA-06). There areas of proposed urban growth area expansion on the southeast side of the I-90 Geiger Field (10-CPA-04) and Medical Lake (10-CPA-05) exits. There is a commendable proposal to include the Spokane River as a water trail as part of the county's trail system (10-CPA-07). Additionally, a member of the well-known Douglass family is proposing a conversion of conservation lands into a mine (10-CPA-01).

Disturbingly, there is also a proposed amendment (10-CPA-03) which would bring the western half of the Saltese Flats into the urban growth area, even though it has already been established as a conservation area. At first blush, it seems apparent that this is just a cash grab as the county is investigating the possibility of turning the Saltese Flats back into Saltese Lake as a wetland to help deal with phosphorus problems in the Spokane River. If this property goes into the UGA, then the county would have to pay much more to acquire it. An alternative theory I've heard is that raising it to a higher level allows a greater amount of money to go to the owners in a transfer of development rights (TDR) scheme.

There's an interesting document provided by the folks who are proposing the urban growth area expansions. It is a land quantity analysis which states, in effect, that because the county has violated a COUNTY goal of having 4 units per acre within the urban growth area, it should violate a STATE goal by embracing sprawl.

Imagine that, a local appraiser laying bare Spokane County's violation of the intent of the Growth Management Act.