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Since incorporating as a city in 2003, Spokane Valley has adhered to street standards established by Spokane County in areas such as design, construction and maintenance.
Now, the city has decided to take a turn in the road.
By June, Spokane Valley is hoping to have its own set of street guidelines in place, supplanting the Spokane County Standards for Road and Sewer Construction that have dictated local development for the past six years.
“The goal is to take the county standards and improve them so that developers are clear what street improvements are necessary with new projects,” said John Hohman, Spokane Valley senior development engineer. “We want a document that is well-organized and easy to reference.”
Hohman said the county guidelines go back to the early 1980s and include substantial revisions from 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2003. As Spokane Valley has transitioned from its rural roots to an increasingly urban area, the function of roads has changed, according to Spokane Valley engineer Henry Allen.
“It’s important that the street standards match city development,” Allen said. “The county standards are more rural-based.”
Approximately two years ago, J-U-B Engineers, a consulting firm that worked with the city to establish the Street Master Plan, an inventory of municipal road conditions, took on the task of creating a rough draft of new street standards. After receiving the draft last summer, city officials modified the document and added several new chapters.
Last Friday, Spokane Valley sponsored a Development Services Forum at City Hall which featured an overview of the standards. A near capacity crowd of local developers provided input and questions for city staff at the Jan. 23 meeting, the initial phase of public feedback in a process expected to reach the city planning commission by March.
“The purpose is the introduce the draft document and get questions answered,” Hohman said. “We’re hoping to address any questions or concerns that developers may have as we go forward with this document.”
Hohman explained that certain aspects of the city’s standards will not vary from the county’s version with guidelines for traffic analysis, plan submittal and utilities integrated directly into the Spokane Valley’s rendition.
There will be significant changes in areas such as the establishment of private streets and driveways, traffic calming measures, land disturbing and pavement design.
Allen described how a number of private streets throughout the city “are not built to the same standards as public streets” creating problems with durability, maintenance and connectivity to existing roads.
“Home owners don’t realize if they don’t maintain a road, in 10 years, they’re going to have to replace the entire thing,” Allen said.
The city is proposing a change to private streets that would ensure better access for emergency vehicles and concur with a newly established fire code, Allen continued. Under the new standards, such streets would be restricted to two to nine lots and be utilized only if a public street is not a possibility.
After the draft document goes to the planning commission for review, a public hearing would likely take place sometime in early April, Hohman said. A City Council study session regarding the new standards is tentatively scheduled for May 19 with the first reading of the ordinance set for May 26. A second reading and vote on the document would take place June 23.
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By
Craig Howard
