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Last September, the city of Spokane Valley completed work on its uniform development code, a document that outlines design, zoning and construction standards for projects within city limits.
Just a few months earlier before the final draft of the UDC was approved by City Council, Spokane Valley hosted a meeting for local developers designed to clarify just how the building process begins. The gathering last June emphasized steps the city was taking to improve the level of response and efficiency, including the consolidation of several municipal divisions under the banner of the Community Development Department.
Since that first meeting, the city has brought on a new Community Development director – Kathy McClung was hired from Federal Way last fall – and added six full-time staff positions. Spokane Valley has also sponsored two additional development forums in that time, the latest taking place last Friday at City Hall.
About half as many people showed up for the April 4 meeting as compared to the inaugural forum where most of the questions centered around how developers were losing money and time waiting for a permit to be reviewed.
Now when developers submit a design, a representative from the city responds within one business day. McClung said the staff has also benefited from customer service training over the past few months.
“We’re working better as a team,” she said.
In addition to the UDC – now officially known as the Spokane Valley Municipal Code – the Community Development Department is working on the establishment of street standards as well as guidelines for stormwater management. The stormwater document will be a collaborative effort between Spokane Valley, the city of Spokane and Spokane County and will take effect in May.
JUB Engineers is working on a draft document of the street standards that should be ready by the end of this month. As with the UDC, the city has referred to Spokane County’s rendition of street regulations since incorporating in 2003. The problem, according to John Hohman, Spokane Valley senior engineer, is that the county’s guidelines deal more with rural development.
Hohman said the draft document will be discussed in focus groups involving entities like the Spokane Valley Fire Department and area homebuilders before going to the Planning Commission and the City Council for further review. Part of the process, Hohman added, is making sure that guidelines in areas like pavement design align with standards drawn up in the city’s street master plan.
“We want to make sure it’s a clear, concise document,” he said.
A few developers at last week’s meeting brought up the issue of snags in the permitting process that are still resulting in unanticipated costs, though the general volume of grumbling was several levels below what was heard last June. One issue that emerged last week involved developers dealing with the variety of utility companies throughout Spokane Valley. One project, for example, could begin in an area facilitated by Vera Water and Power and end in an adjacent block where Avista runs the power lines.
“Halfway through the parcel, the utility company has changed,” said Jack Kegerreis of Waynco Construction.
Currently, the city alerts each utility company affected by a particular project. The company then submits written comments that become part of the pre-application process.
Some attendees raised questions about design standards mentioned in the Sprague/Appleway subarea plan. McClung and others made it clear that the document is still in the works.
Scott Kuhta, project manager for the Sprague/Appleway plan, said the city continues to make a concerted effort to make the development process more efficient.
“I think we’ve definitely made a lot of improvements in the system overall,” he said.
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By
Craig Howard
