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Tuesday’s tour of the emerging Liberty Lake development known as the River District featured public transportation, a good deal of walking and plenty of talk about greenspace.
The discussion about sidewalk dimensions, 100-foot buildings and priorities for parks was another story.
Greenstone Homes, the Liberty Lake-based company that began constructing homes in the River District during the late 1990s when it was still known as River Crossing, conducted the excursion for representatives of the Liberty Lake City Council and municipal staff on Aug. 4. The city is in the process of reviewing the specific area plan for the River District, a document that Greenstone consultant Mike Terrell described as “a road map for the development over the next 20 to 25 years.”
The tour itself involved a quick overview of 650 acres as Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman and council members David Crump, Susan Schuler, Patrick Jenkins and Ryan Romney covered the terrain in a small bus provided by Greenstone. Council members Odin Langford, Judi Owens and Neal Olander were not present.
Terrell will provide a formal presentation of the River District SAP at the Aug. 18 City Council meeting.
Liberty Lake’s community development department has already reviewed the SAP and identified 12 “key issues” that are cause for concern. The items include the definition of appropriate signage in commercial areas, the zoning for multi-family residential development and width of sidewalks (Greenstone has proposed 5-foot-wide pathways as opposed to the city standard of 6 feet).
The city also has questions about other design elements including the possibility of buildings that scale up to 100 feet and the proposition of a retail area near the Harvard/Mission intersection that would resemble commercial sites along Interstate 90.
The city’s Planning Commission has also studied the design and agreed with municipal staff on 10 of the 12 key issues, choosing to defer to Greenstone on sidewalk widths and landscape island requirements.
The City Council will make the final determination on the SAP after a series of public workshops and hearings. A decision is anticipated sometime this fall.
Mayor Pro Tem David Crump said “there has been more collaboration than contention” between Greenstone and the city over the River District, emphasizing that the dozen differences emerged from a list of over 100 topics within the SAP.
“This is not adversarial,” Crump said. “I think Greenstone is trying to maintain the integrity of what they’ve started here.”
Part of the plan for the development includes seven parks totaling 67 acres. Another 30 acres would be set aside for open space. Terrell said one of the design goals within the River District is to provide connections to Liberty Lake’s existing trail system as well as nearby Centennial Trail.
Greenstone and current residents of the River District have indicated that smaller, neighborhood parks will be a priority while city officials have pointed to the need for athletic fields and other recreational amenities. Terrell said the SAP meets 95 percent of the requirements as outlined in the city’s parks plan.
Council Member Patrick Jenkins said the city’s stance on parks development has “never been a case of a 20-acre sports complex versus neighborhood parks.” Terrell added that Greenstone has merely “made commitments of acreage that could occur for parks” and would be willing to discuss the composition of greenspace with the city.
The topic of tax increment financing came up relatively few times throughout the tour, receiving the most consideration at a stop near Telido Station, the River District’s central commercial area. Established in 2005 when much of the River District remained a part of unincorporated Spokane County, the TIF utilizes money from property tax to pay for infrastructure upgrades such as new roads, stormwater drainage and water and sewer systems. Under the agreement, developers like Greenstone are reimbursed for the improvements by the city.
Liberty Lake officials have expressed frustration with their role in the allocation of TIF funds as Spokane County continues to serve as the lead agency in the process. In June, the Liberty Lake City Council passed a resolution stating the city’s intention to have “a united voice” in the prioritization of TIF dollars. The county has welcomed written comments from Liberty Lake on the topic, but continues to maintain final say in TIF matters.
Drew Benado, a project manager for Greenstone, told Liberty Lake representatives on Tuesday that the developer would appreciate a definitive answer from the city on the current design “so we can move forward” even if it meant building a portion of infrastructure that would not be reimbursed by the TIF.
“Right now, we’re kind of stalled,” Benado said. “We need the council to have a resolution.”
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By
Craig Howard
