County’s planning board now full

The Spokane County Planning Commission has a full membership for the first time in more than a year, a gap that leaders say won’t repeat.

“I’m certainly committed to making sure it doesn’t happen again,” Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard said. “We’ve got to do a better job of making that a priority.”

Peter J. Ice, president of the Glenrose Community Association, was appointed earlier this month to the last open seat on the seven-seat commission.

Each of the three county commissioners recommends two people to represent his district on the planning commission, which makes many of the county’s land-use and development decisions. The seventh member represents the whole county.

The planning commission hasn’t been at full membership since June 2005 when a position was vacated; that opening wasn’t filled until December. Ice was selected by Commissioner Todd Mielke for a seat that had been unfilled since the end of last year.

Planning Commission Chairman Doug Kelley had been critical of county leaders since at least April for not acting more quickly to maintain a full board.

“It’s just another voice of the public that’s not being heard,” Kelley said in April.

Ice will replace former planning commissioner Lindell Haggin who left the board after Mielke decided not to reappoint her.

Haggin said it was important for the commission to be at full staff, in part, because the county has been examining its long-term growth proposal and its shoreline management plan, which will govern development along waterways.

“It’s a very complex plan and something that can be controversial,” Haggin said. “You would like to have a variety of views on the commission to get a balanced look at that.”

All seats of the planning commission are filled by men. Haggin, interim president of the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County, said commissioners should do a better job of appointing a diverse membership.

Richard said he hadn’t noticed the gender composition of the commission, but said the concern about not having women on the board is valid.