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“Calming” traffic in neighborhoods and better quality roadways were two of the hallmarks of new and improved street standards reviewed by the Spokane Valley City Council on Tuesday night.
While the new standards won’t be adopted until sometime next year, council members got their first look at some of the proposed changes. Many of the city’s existing standards – which were adopted to match Spokane County’s rules -- have been in effect since Spokane Valley incorporated in 2003.
“Some of it just isn’t as clear as it could be,” said John Hohman, senior engineer for the city, adding that the public will get the chance to review some of the proposals on Dec. 15.
Many of the county’s standards were put in place to serve a more rural environment, Hohman said. Many areas were allowed to develop with dead-end streets or long, wide roads that encourage excessive speed in growing neighborhoods.
There are also safety factors at stake as many housing developments with private roads and driveway are too narrow for emergency responders. For example, some roads are narrower than the 28-foot width as required under existing fire codes.
Also under the new rules, housing areas also cannot be “landlocked” by private roads that don’t readily access public streets.
Hohman said new standards, which will be incorporated into the uniform development code (UDC), would encourage greater connectivity of neighborhoods. But traffic would also be slowed by roundabouts or other means for safety purposes.
While council members had no specific suggestions or changes on Tuesday, they did suggest that the new rules should not be too cumbersome – or costly – to developers.
“We don’t want to fall back to having problems with added requirements or added costs,” said Mayor Richard Munson.
Council Member Steve Taylor said he also “really questioned” putting too many constraints or “warm and fuzzy ideas” that could stifle future development.
City Attorney Mike Connelly said that all of the new requirements would match the overall standards already approved in the city’s comprehensive plan.
“Ultimately, that’s what this does,” he said.
Taylor added that it’s unfortunate the way Spokane Valley was allowed to develop in some areas, but for many years Spokane County had much looser standards prior to the city’s incorporation.
“I really wished the Valley had developed in a more organized fashion,” he said. “But we have our predecessors to thank for that.”
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By
Mike Huffman
