CALV Meeting Nov 19th 6pm St Johns Lutheran Church
Author: Adam Marshall -
uncategorized -
Nov. 18, 2024
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Special Guest - Council Member Paul Dillon CALV Community Meeting on Tuesday, Nov 19th 6pm @ St John's Lutheran Church
CM Dillon will be providing status/updates regarding: Current Moratorium Latah Valley Fire Station upgrade Latah Valley Sub-Area Plan Thorpe DNR property transfer vs sale Additionally Patricia Nault will present information on Home Owner's Insurance in Latah Valley
**Meeting location St. John's Lutheran Church 5810 E. Meadowlane Road Spokane 99224 Your voices are making a difference! Preserving an important part of Latah Valley for future generations: DNR natural area @ Thorpe Rd **PUBLIC HEARING** Dec 6th 6:15 pm Spokane Central Library 906 W Main Ave Proposal for 1000+ houses adjacent to Victory Heights
Bottom line up front - YOUR public comment supporting the DNR Thorpe Road natural area parcel designated for conservation as opposed to development into 1000+ homes is needed NOW. See attached email address list and talking paper for your comment points. Even a simple "My name is _____. I am a resident of Latah Valley and I strongly support DNR acting to prioritize preserving this precious natural area instead of promoting the sale of this parcel for another high density development." is sufficient. The more letters we can send to this email list (*see below) of decision makers...the better.
BACKGROUND: The decision is currently pending regarding the fate of the Thorpe Rd/Dept of Natural Resources (DNR) natural 192 acre parcel located just west of the I-195/Thorpe Rd railway tunnels. A developer, Blue Fern Development has offered $7M to purchase the land from DNR with their goal of building 1000+ additional homes next to their Victory Heights 1000+ housing development. Alternatively other interests have supported this property for preservation including the City, Parks, Friends of the Bluff, CALV and numerous residents who continue to request that DNR Trust Land Transfer it to the city or Tribal sale for conservation.
Serious concerns abound including impacting resident safety, access, evacuation, wildfire risk, and importantly the permanent loss of a precious natural area. Also, there is also a legitimate question whether the Tribal scoring (25% of the total score) was done correctly. This was confirmed by John McKee on the Advisory Committee and Nick Hamad at City Parks. The question remains if DNR Thorpe would be in the Funding Range if the Spokane Tribe got an opportunity to express their support. This is the summary provided by Jeff Lambert, President Friends of the Bluff - "In summary, the DNR mishandled the scoring process especially with respect to Tribal Support, the Thorpe Property has strong community support, community benefit, and the funds flowing to the Beneficiary will be the same whether transferred via the TLT process to the City of Spokane or to a developer to build high-end homes in an area with a moratorium because of multiple limitations in infrastructure."
