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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

City, developer disagree over including road in South Hill housing project

This property which was photographed on Mar. 5, 2018, could soon become a mixed-used development with commercial space, multi- and single-family homes. The property was owned by a doctor who ran for Congress several times between the 1970s and 1990s, John Sonneland. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

A developer planning a South Hill residential and commercial neighborhood says the city’s recommendation to approve the project might as well be a rejection.

That’s because city planners recommend that the neighborhood plan extend Crestline between 32nd and 30th Streets. .

“It won’t go through if they make us do a road,” said the developer, Jim Frank, founder of Greenstone.

Frank, city employees and more than a dozen neighbors of the proposed development made their case to a hearing examiner Wednesday afternoon, with some saying the pedestrian- and bicycle-focused project would be an inconvenience to drive around and others saying the city should focus on sidewalks on Crestline Street before building another road.

Greenstone, developer of the Kendall Yards neighborhood in West Central, plans to turn what has become an undeveloped park for many South Hill residents into a residential and commercial development. Greenstone would build 236 multi- and single-family units as well as 38,000 square feet of commercial space on about 25 acres.

Spokane Senior Traffic Planning Engineer Inga Note said building the development without a right-of-way running through it could add a half-mile to some drivers’ commutes to Hamblen Elementary School or the shopping center nearby. She said a street running through the development also would increase options and reduce commute times for drivers navigating the South Hill and provide easy access for public safety vehicles as well as school buses, post office vehicles, garbage trucks and other public services.

Frank said the lack of sidewalks and directive to build a street pushes people into driving instead of exploring other options.

“If you create development patterns that everybody has to have a car everywhere they go,” he said, “we can’t be too surprised that we have a lot of traffic on our roads.”

Note said the city is considering an application to build more sidewalks in the Crestline area, but it has not been approved yet.

While many community members supported Greenstone’s application, saying that adding a street won’t decrease pedestrian or bicycle use, some such as Andy Hoye were opposed to the development, saying that the extra time drivers would need to drive around the development could increase pollution.

Frank said if Greenstone builds the street the city is requesting, the company would need to redesign the entire project. He said he isn’t anti-car, but if he has to restart the project to include roads that make driving easier, the development might not go forward.

James Richman, an assistant city attorney, said if either party appeals the hearing examiner’s decision on the project, it will go before the City Council.

Due to the length of presentations and number of people signed up to testify, the hearing will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the lower level of the Spokane County Public Works Building.

This story was modified on Dec. 13, 2018 to reflect that city staff argued that a road running through the Greenstone development would decrease commute times and by increase options. Also, the proposed road would extended Crestline between 30th and 32nd Streets.