North Greenacres Neighborhood

Valley Coach Estates - NGA Mtg. Pete Buster - Developer 1-26-07

Meeting Agenda & Answers Regarding Valley Coach Estates

North Greenacres Neighborhood January 26, 2007 2:00 p.m.
RE: Valley Coach Estates Consolidated Project

Meeting: Pete Buster – Valley Coach Estates Applicant
Mary Pollard – Chairwoman North Greenacres Neighborhood
James Pollard – Planning Committee
Pete Miller – Transportation Committee Chairwoman
Jan Austin – Neighboring Property Owner & Planning Committee

Agenda

1. Sewer Gravity Flow
Explanation – County stated sewer runs downhill to the south of Mission
How does the Boone property get to a sewer? Will you extend sewer down to Flora? (Other developments have been required to extend sewer along Flora to their development to try to bring it up Flora to the Overpass.) Why are you not required to bring sewer to Flora?
Answer: Direction of present sewer lines will not allow sewer to flow properly unless it connects further down near Mission on Flora.

Any topographical changes?
Answer: They do not expect to do any fill according to the engineer.

Neighborhood Comment: We noted that the Ferrell's property would be affected if they put a home by their north end where the land drops. We consider the type of sloping without a retaining wall to be very negative to property values. There will not be a way to determine the impact until the final drawings and decisions are made and so this should be followed.


Protection of Jan Austin during Construction
a. Provide Cell phone for emergency in event of power or telephone disruption
b. Dust Abatement critical on property as well as roads as they are constructed.
c. Diesel fumes extremely toxic – do not idle with engines on for lengthy peak hours of work – extremely hazardous respiratory conditions.
1. Watering of stripped land is imperative due to respiratory problems
2. Watering on weekends as well as days you are working
3. No disruption of dirt during wind conditions – poses a life threatening condition for Ms. Austin
4. Phoning and notification early of unavoidable problems and ensuring
Safe conditions for Ms. Austin.

Additional Comment: We must note that the residents on Arc should have it required that their road not be used for construction and that construction activity should enter the property through their property from Boone and stay off of Mission. Also, homes on Arc
should be ensured that children are not endangered with heavy equipment if they should necessitate to enter from present Arc. Rd.

2. Street Connectivity
How will street connect? Is this a PUD or development on Mission? Can you go back and change road connection. Road change on Valley Coach – in order for those roads to connect it seems like they would need to move a road it looks like it’s on Austin property – are your proposing to buy more property? Is the map misleading?

Answer: A 12 foot easement - half road is being required by Planning adjacent to the south end of Ms. Austin's property. Eventually, it is planned to bring the road through the PUD that has just been built and there is a fence across this future road.

Neighborhood Comment. This proposed through road is objectionable and will create traffic problems on Flora.
1. PUD should not have cut through traffic going through it.
2. Flora does not need more traffic existing from a large development since there aren't any connective roads. The people will likely end up on Mission to access the freeway and can utilize Boone as well.

3. Ms. Austin was never consulted about forcing her to buy into a future road by building half next to her - and any future development of her property would then assume she would have to build the other half. Two 12 foot easements will only create a private road and the city has been calling this a future public road. It will be 6 ft short and typically the city doesn't buy right of way. This would cheat Ms. Austin of not only the required frontage improvements of 12 ft easement but deprive her of useable property by taking another 12 feet or more off the back - and then there would be the setbacks from the property line on either side. This is unjust to plan private property without consulting the property owners that will be affected.

We object to this road for all these reasons.

Boone and Arc - Street Curb and Gutter on Both sides?
Answer: They are not building any sidewalks on Boone. They are only paving part of the street to the development
Sidewalks: both sides in the development
How wide will streets be constructed as?

SEPA report states only two roads effected are Arc and Boone - Impacts to Mission
Transportation Impact Analysis – What you have provided to the city?
(Answer - He did not do a Traffic Impact Analysis

SEPA report erroneous places traffic impacts from project at 50 trips – realistically at 11.7 trips per day that is 444 trips per day. How will this impact Mission as our main road and can you deflect this traffic to Boone without creating terrible dust problems for the rest of the community on Boone Ave.

Answer: Developer had help from someone and they put in erroneous answers - He realizes it will be more traffic.

3. Park being built on Long/ Boone
Tree Bank – no impact fees for park development but it would be nice to start

Answer: There will not be trees planted by the Townhouses because the frontage available will be utilized in improvements that will concrete over everything. Plantings will be in the front and they will consider a tree but there isn't room for street trees.

He is willing to write letters of support for Park Grant Project to build the park in 2008. He would discuss
support of park.

Donating toward trees in the park.

Line Development with trees – big enough size to ensure survival.
Answer - Homes they can consider puttingin street trees.
4. Consider on Boone development of 10 ft multi purpose path to the Park on Long.
Answer - They are not doing any sidewalks on Boone - it would not be an applicable project since nothing else is planned for Boone at this time.

Additional Information to Consider when Making Comment

Central Valley School District has made it known that they are out of space for students in the district by Fall of 2008. It may actually happen even sooner. Because exisitng ordinances do not require cities to do more than note there isn't capacity and there isn't any tool to enforce contribution toward new schools they will continue to approve developments despite there isn't room for more children in our school district.

Problems & Solutions CV School Dist. Full as of Fall 2008 -

1. Direct Concurrency - Presently it is indirect concurrency that only notes lack of space and does not require fixing the problem - Direct Concurrency would disallow approval of future developments unless we have a mechanism in place to provide for building the school needed for these future students.

2. RCW 58:17 Is the Washington State Law on Developments - It states that municipalities can require developments to pay toward necessary public services such as roads., schools etc.
Spokane County has an ordinance that allows them to collect impact fees but has failed to request them by ordinance - it only passed into being the right to collect them.
- This RCW is a state law that permits them to negotiate with the developer a sum that would be fair to ensure that the necessary school monies would be put aside for their impact to the community.

3. Presently Central Valley School District has a level of service on pg 10 of their district document. This has not been adopted as the level of service by the County or the cities that are within the boundaries that utilize Central Valley School District for their students. This must be enacted into their local ordinances and at the county level. Without a level of service established we cannot define the deficit in classroom space.

4. There are many studies regarding how to fund schools in a building boom - and impact fees by what our neighborhood studied are a vital part of the solution.This has become a political problem that bets a solution but the politicians in office in order to protect the development/building industry from paying anything toward the problem they are a part of creating continues to allow developments to be approved and are perpetuating the problem. Notably, residential housing does not provide tax revenue to pay for the infrastructure that is off site of the devleopment. Every dollar a home owner pays requires an additional 50 cents from the community to cover typical community services and infrastructure. Business and Industry typically pay the shortage but since building housing has become the major industry - every home built without a solution is endangering all home owners and especially those retired and on fixed incomes.

The average family of 4 in Spokane makes about $35,000 a year and with home prices ranging $150,000 - well over $200,00 for average homes - the tax burden alone may create a problem if taxes go any higher. We must find a solution and be creative.

4. First steps must be all the above and form a task force to actively search for answers - while enforcing responsibility for any contribution to this problem by further development. Do not be silent. Whether your children are in school or raised, this affects the entire community and the children only get one opportunity to attend school - we must find a solution.

Also, while Valley Coach Estates is a part of the problem - they are also a part of the solution if they desire - We hope voluntarily they will come forward and pay the $1,410 per home that CVSD has studied is needed for impacts. There isn't any law forcing them but morally they should do their share.

None of the developers in North Greenacres to this point have contributed to the life of our community
so we cannot vilify one in particular but it would be a step in the right direction to acknowledge their responsibility and to work to encourage the rest of their industry to step up to the plate.

Email us
marjam17216@msn.com