Spokane to revise rules on shorelines

The city of Spokane is embarking on a yearlong effort to redefine how it will regulate uses of the shorelines along the Spokane River and Hangman Creek.

Spokane hasn’t updated its Shoreline Master Program since 1982.

City officials said Thursday they hope to find a balance between environmental protection and various uses along the river, including the river’s potential for economic development.

Shoreline uses have been controversial over the years, including a fight in the 1990s over a proposed Lincoln Street Bridge above the lower falls – a project that was ultimately abandoned – as well as debates over public access, trails and building heights.

Members of the region’s Indian tribes in recent years have sought to reclaim a cultural presence along the river, specifically at Spokane Falls, a traditional fishing and gathering place.

On Monday, members of the Spokane City Council are expected to approve a $108,000 contract for a consultant to help the city update its inventory and maps of shoreline conditions.

On April 3, the council will consider a resolution outlining a process for gathering public opinion as part of the master plan. Deadline for City Council adoption of a master plan is June 30, 2007.

“This will be a big process,” planning staffer Melissa Wittstruck told council members during a briefing Thursday afternoon.

She said the city’s original shoreline plan was adopted in 1976 under the state Shoreline Management Act of 1971 and then updated in 1982. An attempt to update the plan in the mid-1990s stalled at City Hall.

Now, the state is requiring another update and is providing the city with a $220,000 grant to help pay for the work. One of the requirements is to come up with a plan for restoring portions of the river shoreline.

“We either do it or (the state Department of) Ecology will do it for us,” Wittstruck said.

State law gives cities authority to impose regulations within 200 feet of streams and lakes and even larger areas where unstable slopes or wetlands are found. Development can be allowed within the 200-foot buffer zone, but only through a shoreline conditional-use permit. Typically, public access is added as a condition of any shoreline development permit.

Public sensitivity to shoreline uses is being played out in Spokane County Superior Court, where former City Councilman Steve Eugster is suing the city for turning over a small slice of riverfront land for development of a seven-story condominium tower overlooking the Upper Spokane Falls. The building will be at least 65 feet tall.

A judge is considering whether Eugster can take his case before a jury.

The shoreline permit granted to condo developer Don Barbieri requires restoration of a public trail between the condos and the falls. Findings in his application showed that Barbieri could have requested permission to build a tower as tall as 150 feet inside the 200-foot shoreline setback.

However, the state shoreline law sets a 35-foot height limit for buildings that would block views from other residences. The county hearing examiner found that Barbieri’s condo project would not block other residential views.

In the 1990s, the Barbieri-controlled company that owns the Red Lion River Inn upstream from the upper falls condo project resisted city requirements that it install a paved 12-foot-wide shoreline trail in front of the hotel under a condition in its original shoreline permit.

Residents in Peaceful Valley over the years also have resisted efforts by the city parks department to acquire a continuous strip of river frontage for future parkland and trails.

Shoreline laws have been used in part to establish Spokane’s Centennial Trail and the cross-river loop connections through the urban core.

Probably the most contentious shoreline issue in recent years was a fight brought by a grass-roots organization called Friends of the Falls to block a city plan to build a Lincoln Street bridge over the lower falls. The case was taken to the state’s Shoreline Hearings Board, and eventually the city dropped plans for the bridge when it was shown that the span wasn’t needed to move traffic into and out of downtown.

Friends of the Falls, along with property owners, Avista power company, Gonzaga University, Spokane Community College and other shoreline users, are being invited to participate in “stakeholder” group meetings to provide comment on the shoreline update.

In addition, the city planning department will hold a series of open houses this fall to solicit broader public input. Neighborhood councils will also be asked to comment on shoreline proposals.

“Our organization has long recognized that the river and river corridor are a unique and valuable resource for Spokane,” said Doug Siddoway, a board member of Friends of the Falls.