It's Up to Us to Protect the Latah Valley May 1st Neighborhood Rally/Meeting
Author: Adam Marshall -
uncategorized -
April 14, 2023
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Latah Valley Residents Rally/Meeting Monday, May 1st @ 6pm St. John's Lutheran Church 5810 E. Meadowlane Road
It's time to get together again to keep up the advocacy for the Latah Valley. A lot has transpired since this organized effort has gotten off the ground but we still have a long way to go. At the May 1st meeting we will cover the following: Pushing for a new moratorium Updates from CALV activity Pushing additional impact fees: fire, parks, schools Generating new ideas to generate awareness, create real pressure for real change
* We are inviting our District 2 council members and District 3 state legislators
We'll see you all on May 1st!
Bottom line - No Infrastructure, No Development! As CALV has been doing since day one, we have been engaging and challenging the leadership of Spokane to lead. This has meant meetings and emails going back and forth between CALV and city hall. In the latest demand to adopt a new moratorium for the Latah Valley we received the email response below from Councilwoman Kinnear. Councilpeople Beggs and Wilkerson were cc'd along with state legislatures Ormsby, Riccelli, and Billig.
There are some good things here but also items that fall short as well as conflate what has actually occurred. The conflation is in regards to the General Facility Charges (GFC). As you know the city adopted accurate fees based on having done nothing in 20+ years but then took back their decision to adopt an increase in GFC's to a level that barely matches the inflation rate. Also, though higher transportation impact fees were adopted they did not rise to the highest level possible so that developers would actually pay something more akin to the true cost of their endeavors.The email also makes it seem that it's our responsibility to mobilize the other agencies like schools and parks when the city - city council and mayor's office - should be doing this already. The good thing here is that Councilwoman Kinnear believes in the need for a moratorium and is committed to doing more for the Latah Valley. She gets it right when she says, "...The only way forward is for the City to fund necessary improvements, which means the administration needs to make it a priority. Right now, it is not."
Thank you for the email. I understand your neighborhood’s frustration and I am glad to see you organizing for better outcomes. I suggest also contacting Spokane Parks, Schools, Libraries, and Transit to make your voice heard. The moratorium that I sponsored last year was a first step toward making sure your neighborhood has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. The moratorium allowed us to make long-overdue updates to impact fees and GFCs in your neighborhood so that future development pays the true cost of their projects. I know that your neighborhood is a high priority for our planning department moving forward. Frankly, I do not have support – either from other Council Members or Legal – to pursue another moratorium. Additionally, future development projects that are conditioned on infrastructure improvements will be necessary to fund improvements in the area, especially those concerning 195. WSDOT also has a role to play when it comes to safety and congestion along this corridor - they have said repeatedly that they will take action to mitigate their concerns. Meanwhile, I will be working with City Planning to move a sub-area plan forward. I want to remind everyone that these are concerns 20 years in the making when development first occurred and people started moving into the area none of these amenities were provided for. We are being asked to turn back the clock to create a plan in hindsight, which is an impossible task. I’ve been involved with this issue since I have been on Council and have been meeting with WSDOT regularly. The only way forward is for the City to fund necessary improvements, which means the administration needs to make it a priority. Right now, it is not.
Lori Kinnear Spokane City Council District Two
Please continue sending emails and making phone calls, it really does work!
