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After years in the making and dozens of meetings, city of Spokane Valley officials are getting nearer the Sprague-Appleway finish line.
Next Tuesday, Feb. 24, the City Council could conceivably finish its deliberations on the Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan, more commonly known as SARP. If that happens, there will be a brief digestion period before a public hearing, which has been tentatively set for April 14.
“I want to get done,” said Scott Kuhta, senior planner and project manager for the SARP. “But, as always, it’s up to the council.”
Kuhta said that there has been time allotted for March 3, March 24 and April 7 if the council needs more time.
No matter when the council finishes its review, there will be two weeks where city staffers will prepare a final draft of the document that will be available for public scrutiny for a month before the public hearing is scheduled.
“We want to hear from folks and make any possible changes,” Kuhta said.
Back on Feb. 3, the council clarified which types of animated electronic billboards can be located in certain areas. Council members made sure that it was understood that there would be a need for future street construction in years to come in order to create a more urban-like grid system, so there would be instances when businesses and property owners would not be allowed to develop on certain stretches of land. While property owners could lose some use of their land where future streets might be built, they would gain valuable frontage space for their businesses, city planners said.
None of these decisions, however, are definite: That won’t come until after the public has had a chance to comment before the council.
Those discussions laid the groundwork for next Tuesday’s deliberations, which will hopefully bring this round of SARP talks to a close. As the council finishes off the final section of the SARP, Kuhta says there are still a few issues to go over. Most pressing, he said, is street design standards in the AutoRow area east of Dishman-Mica Road. Many of the auto dealers have requested on-street parking along Sprague Avenue.
“That’s something we need to get a handle on,” Kuhta said.
Even after final passage of the SARP – which has been controversial from the get-go and heavily criticized by some Sprague Avenue business owners – council members can still make changes and tweak the plan as needed.
“I’m sure there will be a little bit of trial and error,” Kuhta said.
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By
Mike Huffman
