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County approves zone change
12/23/2009 9:51:15 AM
Splash Staff Writer
Spokane County Commissioners approved a zoning change Friday to a hotly debated parcel on the north shore of Liberty Lake, a decision that went against the recommendation of the county's planning commission and will likely be challenged legally.
The 3.6-acre lot, owned for more than 50 years by Liberty Lake's Lancaster family, was approved to change from a rural traditional zoning designation to low density residential.
Commissioner Mark Richard said the application was approved with the stipulation that a development agreement be reached between Spokane County and Lancaster Enterprises LLC, an agreement that would require the Lancasters to follow through with their stated intention of separating the parcel into no more than five lots used specifically for single-family residences. A low density residential zone normally can include as many as six units per acre. Richard also said he would ask the family to consider limiting building height to one-story on the property.
The requested change has been contested by neighbors and others who say they are concerned by the precedence that would be set by a rezoning of the land and the environmental impact of such a development on the lake.
Richard said he discussed the application with the county's legal counsel and determined that approval "met the test of the law" and thereby would not set a legal precedent. As far as a political precedent, Richard said the property is so unique it would be rare to find another that could be approved using the same case commissioners used in this instance.
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Richard said the Lancaster property was one of three proposed amendments to the county's comprehensive plan - out of more than 15 - where commissioners sided against the recommendation of the planning commission.
"People will say we went against the planning commission and shame on us," Richard said. "I would say they are advisory, and just like we take input from all over the county, the planning commission is one form of input."
Richard said one reason the commissioners didn't come to the same conclusion with the planning commission was that the planners "kind of wrangled with issues that are really supposed to be wrangled with at the building permit phase." Capital facility concerns can be expressed once the application reaches that phase, he said.
In the meantime, the commissioners' decision will become official by the end of the year, which will trigger a 60-day period during which it can be appealed, something Richard acknowledged is a likely prospect.
Among written testimony submitted to commissioners before the vote was a letter from a law firm representing CAUSE, an organization of local residents concerned with development in the Liberty Lake watershed.
"We have every intention of pursuing this in the legal system if you proceed with this action, which is clearly inconsistent with the GMA (Growth Management Act)," CAUSE President Steve Shirley wrote commissioners by e-mail before the vote.