Arger seeks zone change for Spokane Valley lot
A short hearing drew a small crowd Thursday as Arger Real Estate moved forward with a request to rezone a piece of vacant land east of Evergreen Road located immediately northwest of where Alki Avenue ends.
The hearing before Spokane Valley Hearing Examiner Mike Dempsey was held to consider changing the zoning from single family to single family-urban.
“It would allow for a greater opportunity for development on that parcel,” said Spokane Valley planner Marty Palaniuk. Single family-urban allows multifamily housing such as duplexes, nursing homes and assisted living centers.
There are no firm plans for the property, said Gene Arger. “There’s no project in place at this time,” he said. “We think it’s a prime candidate for the zoning application.”
The land is surrounded on three sides by single-family homes, the land to the west that fronts Evergreen is zoned garden office.
Arger said his company also owns a parcel on Evergreen Road to the west of the property that will have a medical office building constructed on it. A home on the property has been torn down.
Dempsey asked if there would be access from Evergreen Road to the land Arger wants rezoned.
“Spokane Valley has given us two options, either off Evergreen or off Alki,” Arger said.
A few neighbors expressed concern about the possible rezone and said they worried about decreasing property values and increased traffic. Resident Daniel Lafser said a nursing home or assisted living center would see a lot of fire trucks and ambulances responding to medical calls, too many for a dead-end street. “There should be access from Evergreen,” he said.
Linda Lafser said she worried about just what would go in on the property. “Is it going to be a retirement type home or duplexes?” she said. “If it’s duplexes I’m so against that. Those are usually rentals.”
Greg Arger assured the neighbors that his company puts in the time and effort needed to develop nice projects that may even enhance nearby property values.
Dempsey is expected to rule on the rezone request within two weeks.