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After dozens of meetings, scores of public comments and a more than just a little controversy, the Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan will become law on Oct. 1 of this year.
In a 5-2 vote – Council Members Rose Dempsey and Gary Schimmels said the plan, dubbed SARP is still too ambitious – the council agreed Tuesday it was time to move forward and gave its final approval.
“I’m very excited to see this come to a close,” said Deputy Mayor Steve Taylor, whose positive vote on the SARP will become one of his last official acts as a council member (see story on this page). He added that something “truly fabulous” will come from the plan, which concentrates commercial zoning in a proposed city center in the University City area and overhauls building requirements in the hopes of spurring Sprague Avenue redevelopment.
“We’re at a crossroads,” Mayor Richard Munson said before casting his own yes vote in support of the plan. “I look at Sprague and what’s happened on it for the last eight years – that’s not my vision for this city.”
Council members, in similar 5-2 vote, gave their tentative approval on May 29. At that meeting, Dempsey and Schimmels attempted to scale back the boundaries affected by the plan to between the Interstate 90 freeway overpass to the west and University Road to the east. That proposal was overruled by the rest of the council, saying the plan would only take hold if certain commercial uses are restricted farther east to Sullivan to concentrate new development to busy intersections and the city center.
On Tuesday, Schimmels reminded the council the city still does not have control of Appleway right-of-way east of University. Therefore, he said, it is premature to do any planning beyond that point.
“We don’t own the land,” he said. “I have to stick with my conscience.”
Dempsey said she had “almost been brought to the point where I could vote on it – but not quite.”
“That said, we’ve taken real steps to make it more palatable to the people who have objected (to the plan),” she said.
Despite the endorsement of both the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Spokane Valley Business Association, concerns about “down zoning” – the swapping of commercial zoning to residential in some sections of Sprague and Appleway – and operating as a “nonconforming use” in some areas were brought up by some business people.
“I don’t feel like I’ve been listened to,” said Nancy Nishimura, a business owner on Sprague. “You make (opponents of the plan) feel like we’re not members of the community.”
Dick Behm, who also operates a business on the arterial, said that existing uses will be “grandfathered” and allowed to continue indefinitely under the plan.
“My business has been a nonconforming use for over 30 years,” he said. “It hasn’t bothered me a bit.”
The council also agreed – with Taylor casting the lone no vote – to allow land owned by Dean Grafos to be removed from the plan. His property, which is just east of the Fred Meyer complex on Sprague Avenue, was a natural place to divide the boundary council members said.
Taylor, however, said that agreeing to Grafos’ request sets a “bad precedent” to allow others who may wish to opt out of the plan.
Before the final vote on the plan, Council Member Bill Gothmann said that the majority of Sprague Avenue businesses are in support of going forward with the SARP.
“It’s a good plan,” he said. “Is it perfect? No. Will it be changed in the future? Probably.”
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By
Mike Huffman
