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With plenty of other places to locate, the Spokane Valley City Council reaffirmed Tuesday night that office buildings won’t be welcome on Sprague’s Auto Row. But certain types of restaurants and entertainment destinations will be.
The council concentrated discussions on the auto sales section of the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan (SARP) on Tuesday, specifically attempting to pin down what uses will be permitted in the new “Gateway Commercial” zones.
Car dealers between Dishman-Mica Road and the freeway overpass have been clamoring for the city help them redevelop the area into what some have termed an “auto Disneyland,” complete with restaurants, shops and a movie theater. Open space – even a theme park of some kind – are not out of the question, with an emphasis on more foot traffic as opposed to the four-wheeled kind.
“We want to take one of the worst things and make it into one of the most cool things in Spokane Valley,” Bonnie Quinn, of the Quinn Group Advertising and Auto Row advocate, told the council last May. “The biggest problem with Sprague Avenue is that it looks like a war zone.”
While some council members thought that assessment was a bit on the harsh side, they have repeatedly stated that the SARP would – in addition to build up development around the proposed city center at Sprague and University – reinforce commercial opportunities for businesses on Auto Row, which are some of the city’s largest sales tax generators.
In the areas just east of Interstate 90 overpass and west of Vista Road, “Gateway Commercial Centers” will be designed to entice tourists with full-service restaurants (though not necessarily “auto themed” as previously discussed) and entertainment venues such as movie theaters. Drinking establishments and casinos would also be allowed.
In the broader sections of Auto Row – the “Gateway Commercial Avenue” zone – car dealerships will sit side-by-side with other businesses that somehow tie in to vehicular theme. And while that won’t exclude repair shops, it will forbid offices to insure or license cars.
That created a point of contention among council members.
“I’d rather see the market dictate (what’s located on Auto Row),” Council Member Diana Wilhite said, with Mayor Richard Munson agreeing.
However, Council Member Steve Taylor and Deputy Mayor Dick Denenny pointed out there is already “plenty” of office space to be had in Spokane Valley and that this section of Sprague Avenue should be devoted to the auto dealers.
“The whole plan is so Sprague isn’t eight miles of willy-nilly ‘let’s do everything,’” Taylor said. “That may please some people. But the object is to concentrate on auto sales. I hate to start filling it up with other things.”
In the end, the majority of the council was in favor of excluding offices, which will be allowed in the neighborhood commercial zones on Appleway Boulevard and other major arterials such as Argonne and Sullivan.
It was also mentioned that there is currently an adult entertainment business in the Auto Row section, but it was pointed out that the new zoning would not allow for any more “dance clubs” like Déjà Vu in that section of Sprague.
However, the club – located just west of the Union Pacific viaduct – will be allowed to continue to operate as a nonconforming use.
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By
Mike Huffman
