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While the county’s Conservation Futures program has been used to protect environmental areas, it has never been used to secure land in the middle of an existing public park – especially in downtown Spokane.
That was at least one of the reasons Spokane County commissioners were a bit reluctant Tuesday to move too fast in committing Conservation Futures dollars to purchase the downtown YMCA building at Riverfront Park with the idea of one day razing the structure to provide riverside open space overlooking Spokane Falls.
“We’re not up against a drop-dead date,” Commissioner Mark Richard said. “Let’s do some fact finding and hold a public hearing.”
The Conservation Futures program has been popular with Spokane County residents, as it has been overwhelmingly approved by voters three times – the last being in November 2007 – who have agreed to give up 6 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value to fund it. Through the program, underdeveloped land such as timberlands, wetlands, species habitats, and agricultural and farmlands are placed on a priority list for potential county purchase to prevent them from being commercially developed.
In the case of the YMCA building, the Spokane Parks Board is hoping to prevent the construction of a potential condominium tower at Riverfront Park. The Y is moving from the building into a new complex on Monroe Street next spring.
According to Steve McNutt, a member of the parks board, the city in 2006 made a down payment of $1 million to stop the sale to the condo developer. However, the city has been unable to raise the $4.3 million balance to complete the transaction.
That’s where the county comes in – not to save the building, but to preserve the land it sits on from development.
“It’s unique because of the river,” said Gary Lawton, president of the Spokane Parks Board. “Once the building is gone, the public could sit and look over the falls. That’s the reason why this parks board wants to move forward.”
But all three county commissioners said there are plenty of unanswered questions – most notably, what the Spokane City Council and members of the public in the surrounding communities would feel about such a purchase.
As of last year the county had spent about $4.2 million to purchase about 4,300 acres of underdeveloped land to be used as recreational areas or buffers between urban and rural zones. While the county holds the majority of that property, there are areas managed by Spokane within its city limits.
If the commissioners were to agree to use Conservation Futures dollars for buying the YMCA site, it would not jeopardize final payment on the Antoine Peak area, a 3,375-foot hillside which is located about two miles north of Trent Avenue off Barker Road. Doug Chase, county parks director, said it is expected that property could be paid off this year.
No other Spokane Valley property appears on the county’s A-list for Conservation Futures funding at this time.
The YMCA building – described as a “concrete bunker” by McNutt – still has some years left in it, however, and would likely be used by the city, perhaps for indoor aquatics, until the “end of its life.”
That provision also worried county commissioners.
“Obviously, you could extend the useful life (of that building) for a long, long time.”
Richard also questioned why the city would necessarily want to give up on a potential housing opportunity when it seeks to annex other areas within the unincorporated county.
“There’s at least a philosophical debate there,” he said.
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By
Mike Huffman
