Traffic Is Residents’ Main Worry For New 35-Unit Apartment Plan

Plans for a 35-unit apartment complex on East Carlisle Drive met with mild opposition from residents in the North Side neighborhood.

James A. Reugh is asking Spokane Hearing Examiner Greg Smith to reinstate a special permit and shoreline permit that was approved in 1992, but has since expired.

Reugh is planning to build a 24-unit apartment building, five-unit townhouse and six-unit townhouse on Carlisle, near Upriver Drive, Greene Street and Ralph Street. There will be off-street parking for 67 cars.

Reugh said he has included landscaping in the $1.5 million project. He expects the complex, with rents ranging from about $650-$800, will appeal to mid-to-upper-range professionals.

A swimming pool is no longer a part of the plan. Increased traffic was the neighbors’ main concern. “I object to that concentration of units in an area of family housing,” said Betty Chase, who lives on Montgomery Avenue, near the project.

Another neighbor, Patricia Doyle, said the project is too big, especially when impacts are combined with another apartment complex recently built across the street.

The hearing examiner is expected to announce his decision within two weeks.

In other planning matters, the hearing examiner has approved, with conditions, construction of a juvenile group home in the Hillyard area to treat up to 20 youngsters. It replaces a smaller existing center.

Riverview Youth Center is located at 2513 N. Regal Street.

The new 8,300-square-foot building will include rooms for therapy and educational programs, and administrative offices. There will be 11 parking stalls for staff and visitors. There will also be outdoor play areas and courts.

As part of the approval, Riverview Center is required to improve Regal Street with paving and curbing and add a sidewalk on the west side next to the project.

, DataTimes