Update May 12, 2021: The neighborhood group that is leading the opposition to the Sundance Meadows development, Shape Our Highway 291 Community, filed an appeal to the decision of the Hearings Examiner approving the preliminary plat for this property to Spokane County Superior Court. The appeal cited several well-arguable errors and transgressions (a sampling), committed mostly by planning staff, some by contractors that were hired by the developer and some made by the Hearings Examiner in the conduct of the virtual public hearing as well as his disregard for certain evidence in his decision justification. However, the group was not able to finance the expensive legal process and was forced to withdraw the appeal.

This situation of one again having resource-strapped working people going up against mega-financier developers to protect their quality of life, and failing for lack of funds despite having arguments with merit, has really brought home the need for a way to give neighborhoods and communities some legal resources to level the playing field. This could be a priority for Spokane Farmland to consider.

Before and after: Picture of the downed pine trees at the former Sundance Golf Course.
All the Ponderosa Pines on the former golf course were cut down in January and February 2021 even before the preliminary plat was approved.

Update March 21, 2021: On February 3rd, 2021 Chrys Ostrander testified on behalf of the Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group at a public hearing conducted by Spokane County on a Preliminary Plat application that had been submitted by Sundance Meadows, LLC of Otis Orchards which was seeking to develop a former 18-hole golf course into a large, 475 single-family-residence development in the Seven Mile Urban Growth Joint Planning Area adjacent to the City of Spokane's northeast extent. The Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group's interest in this property stems from the fact that 100% of the property is classified by the USDA NRCS as "prime agricultural soil" and that the City of Spokane's Comprehensive Plan designates the property as "Open Space" and therefore, according to the City, not eligible for a such a housing development.

On March 16, the Hearings Examiner for Spokane County, David Hubert, issued his decision granting conditional approval of the preliminary plat, paving the way for the development construction to proceed. Although not unexpected, it is still disappointing because it is yet another example of county government bending over backwards to accommodate the wishes of the land development industry at the expense of the quality of life of residents and the paving over of valuable open space and arable farmland. (See March 19 Spokesman Review article)

An organized group of neighbors articulated many problems with the proposed development during the course of the public comment period and public hearing. We cannot speak to many of the points that representatives from the neighborhood group brought up as we are not as familiar with them as they are, but we can remark on the main point that we brought up our testimony during the hearing, namely the inconsistency between the City and County Comprehensive Plans with respect to the land use designation of the property.

The property is in the Seven Mile Urban Growth Area (UGA) which is a Joint Planning Area. "Joint Planning Area" means an area where both the City of Spokane and Spokane County have equal jurisdiction over planning issues.

The Growth Management Act which under-girds how Comprehensive Plans are established, reads as follows (RCW 36.70A.100): "Comprehensive plans must be coordinated. The comprehensive plan of each county or city that is adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 [the GMA] shall be coordinated with, and consistent with, the comprehensive plans adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 of other counties or cities with which the county or city has, in part, common borders or related regional issues." The operative words in this regard are "shall" and "consistent."

The comprehensive plans of the City of Spokane and Spokane County are not consistent with each other because the County's comprehensive plan designates the property as "Low-density Residential" while the City designates it as "Open Space."

The Spokane County Comprehensive Plan, page S-4 under Subarea Planning, states "Joint Planning Areas (JPAs) may be identified by the Board of County Commissioners as areas where a coordinated planning process between cities, towns and the County may be conducted. JPAs are located adjacent to cities or towns within the adopted UGA and are designated in accordance with Countywide Planning Policies. The purpose of designating Joint Planning Areas is to ensure coordination between Spokane County, communities and jurisdictions for which the JPA was designated to identify and reconcile potential conflicts. The JPA designation indicates areas that may be appropriate for future expansion of the corporate limits of a city or town."

On page 10 of the Hearing Examiner’s decision document, he indicates upon which applicable development statutes and regulations he has based his decision. "The Hearing Examiner takes notice of the Spokane County Comprehensive Plan ("Comprehensive Plan"), the Spokane County Zoning Code (SCZC), the Spokane County Code (SCC), other applicable development statutes and regulations, and previous land use decisions for the site and area."

The above is patently false! Since the property is in a Joint Planning Area, it's obvious that in this case the City's Comprehensive Plan qualifies as among the "other applicable development statutes and regulations" he should have taken notice of, but he has chosen to wholly ignore the City's Comprehensive Plan. It is the position of the Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group that Spokane County is in violation of the Growth Management Act (GMA) by continuing to process the preliminary plat application and related permit applications submitted by Sundance Meadows, LLC in furtherance of the developer's project because the property is designated in the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Spokane as "Open Space" and as such it is not eligible for conversion to a housing development. Furthermore, all proceedings related to applications and permits pertaining to the proposed Sundance Meadows development should be suspended until the required public process for bringing the respective comprehensive plans into compliance with each other has been initiated and completed.

The Hearings Examiner identifies the property as follows on page 10 of his decision: "The subject property is within the Urban Growth Area Boundary (UGA) and within a Joint Planning Area for the City of Spokane."

Again, on page 33, he writes: "The subject site is within the Urban Growth Area boundary and is within a Joint Planning Area for the City of Spokane, which area is also under a Joint Planning Agreement between the City of Spokane and Spokane County" and on page 37, "The proposed development is "infill" development that is encouraged by the [Spokane County] Comprehensive Plan, is within the UGA boundary and a Joint Planning Area with the City of Spokane..."

Yet, on page 39, he simply states "The Hearing Examiner finds that as proposed and conditioned hereafter, the Preliminary Plat of Sundance Meadows, PN-2078-19, is consistent with the Goals and Policies of the Spokane County Comprehensive Plan" without mention that the preliminary plat is inconsistent with the City of Spokane's Comprehensive Plan, the existence of which he simply ignores.

Also ignored completely is the fact that we brought up in our testimony a matter of law. We specifically cited, as did at least one other testifier in her testimony, the Growth Management Act, RCW 36.70A.100, which reads: "Comprehensive plans—Must be coordinated. The comprehensive plan of each county or city that is adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 [the GMA] shall be coordinated with, and consistent with, the comprehensive plans adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 of other counties or cities with which the county or city has, in part, common borders or related regional issues." we furthermore stated that proceedings in relation to the developer’s applications be suspended until the matter of the inconsistent comprehensive plans is settled.

What we brought up in our testimony was a matter of law (and it is in the official record of testimony at the public hearing), and as such the Hearings Examiner was duty-bound to address it in his final decision and he did not. Apparently, he could not justify the obvious inconsistency and still reach his desired aim which seems to have been to green-light this development at all costs (even to his professional reputation), so he chose to simply, and very improperly, ignore the entire issue.

This, in and of itself, is grounds to appeal the Hearing Examiner’s decision, yet we are afraid the Hearings Examiner and Spokane County government are counting on the fact that it is unlikely potential appellants will be able to muster the financial wherewithal to mount an appeal. This reflects a fundamental flaw in our democratic process-- that to be heard requires money. So, this injustice will likely stand, but residents of Spokane who value their remaining open space must not be silent about this matter. Please contact the Spokane County Commissioners, your Spokane City Council members and Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs, City and County Planning Directors, and the City and County Legal Departments, in addition to your elected officials to voice your disgust that such malfeasance has occurred with apparent impunity. Only accountability stands between freedom and tyranny.

Spokane County is Acting Improperly Regarding
the Proposed Sundance Meadows Development

February 16, 2021: The Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group believes Spokane County is acting contrary to the law in respect to applications being processed in regards to the Proposed Sundance Meadows development off the northwest corner of Spokane. The Growth Management Act is clear on the issue of consistency between county Comprehensive Plans and the plans of cities within those counties. As citizens, we are expected to obey the law and not simply ignore the law if it strikes us as inconvenient. We expect our elected officials to be doubly adherent to the law and not act in violation of the law simply because they feel they can and that the only impediment to that is if citizens seek accountability in the courts, which they seem to bank on not happening due to the expense and time required.

We ask that you read our position and then take action by contacting your elected officials. Their contact information is below.

Aerial view of the former Sundance Golf Course. Note: All the golf course trees in the picture have already been cut down as a result of very questionable permitting on the part of the County. It's a tragedy that has neighbors heartbroken. View a recent video of the devastation.

Sundance Meadows, LLC of Otis Orchards seeks to develop a former 18-hole golf course into a large, 475-unit single-family-residence development in the Seven Mile Urban Growth Joint Planning Area adjacent to the City of Spokane's northwest extent. "Joint Planning Area" means an area where both the City of Spokane and Spokane County have equal jurisdiction over planning issues.

It is the position of the Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group that Spokane County is in violation of the Growth Management Act (GMA) by continuing to process the preliminary plat application and related permit applications submitted by Sundance Meadows, LLC in furtherance of the developer's project because the property is designated in the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Spokane as "Open Space" and as such it is not eligible for conversion to a housing development.

The Growth Management Act specifically states (RCW 36.70A.100), "the comprehensive plan of each county or city that is adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 [the GMA] shall be coordinated with, and consistent with, the comprehensive plans adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 of other counties or cities with which the county or city has, in part, common borders or related regional issues."

At this time, the comprehensive plans of the City of Spokane and Spokane County are not consistent with each other because the County's comprehensive plan designates the property as "Low-density Residential" while the City designates it as "Open Space."

The Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group also is of the opinion that the City of Spokane has been derelict in its duty to defend the interests of its residents by not strenuously objecting to the preliminary plat application on the grounds that the proposed development is not appropriate for a property in the Joint Planning Area that the City has designated as "Open Space" and which was so designated as the result of a legally binding process that included public participation.

The Growth Management Steering Committee is an interlocal entity made up of elected officials and responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Growth Management Act for the entire Spokane region. The Steering Committee is intended to serve as a regional forum for urban growth issues and growth management planning including overseeing joint planning within UGAs. It’s supposed to meet on the 3rd Wednesday of every month but it hasn't met once since October 2020. Meanwhile, development planning for the 88 acres of Open Space in Seven Mile forges ahead illegally and developers eye our remaining arable lands, so easy to build on, with greedy anticipation. They can see that our local governments are willing to ignore the law in order to accommodate their voracious appetite for building sites.

Local government is supposed to act lawfully and protect residents' environment and quaility of life, but when it comes to overseeing responsible growth, it's obvious both the City and the County are failing to do those things.

Spokane County should suspend all proceedings related to applications and permits pertaining to the proposed development until the required public process for bringing the respective comprehensive plans into compliance with each other has been initiated and completed.

Please contact Martha Thornton, Clerk for the Growth Management Steering Committee at (509) 477-7155 or mthornton@spokanecounty.org and ask her when the Steering Committee plans to take up the issue of resolving the inconsistency between the City and County Comprehensive Plans.

The Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group would favor an outcome of such a process that would designate the property as "Open Space" in both City and County comprehensive plans. Furthermore, the Working Group would also favor the property, which is completely comprised of "Prime" agricultural soils as determined by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and includes a well with the capacity to irrigate the entire property, be utilized for an urban farm and any water rights that had been in place that allowed the former golf course to be irrigated and are currently in trust, be reinstated to facilitate the irrigation of crops.

In addition, please contact the Spokane County Commissioners, your Spokane City Council members and Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs, City and County Planning Directors, and the City and County Legal Departments, in addition to your elected officials and demand that all proceedings related to applications and permits pertaining to the proposed Sundance Meadows development be suspended until the required public process for bringing the respective comprehensive plans into compliance with each other has been initiated and completed.

Spokane County Commissioners:

Josh Kerns
County Commissioner, District 1
Jkerns@spokanecounty.org

Mary Kuney
County Commissioner, District 2
mkuney@spokanecounty.org

Al French
County Commissioner, District 3
afrench@spokanecounty.org

Spokane City Council:

Breean Beggs
City Council President
bbeggs@spokanecity.org

District 1

Kate Burke
kateburke@spokanecity.org

Michael Cathcart
mcathcart@spokanecity.org

District 2

Betsy Wilkerson
bwilkerson@spokanecity.org

Lori Kinnear
lkinnear@spokanecity.org