City officials say no new developments will be approved until amount of water per residence levels are changed
By RYAN LANCASTER
Staff Reporter
Medical Lake developers are hoping for a spring thaw of the housing market before moving forward with more construction, while city officials are working to lower residential water requirements by the end of this year.
Water, sewer and road infrastructure has been installed at the 4.9 acre Fox Ridge North subdivision and the project has received final city approval, but A&K Development president Jeff Amistoso said his company will hold off on moving more dirt for now.
“It's a tough market right now and there's a lot of product out there already,” he said. “With things as they are we're not being too aggressive with this project.”
Over the past decade A&K has overseen construction of 455 homes in nearby Fox Hollow and Fox Ridge. Although no builder agreements or specific designs have been set, Amistoso said the plan is to build 10 homes on 62,000 square foot “view lots” at the crest of Olsen Hill.
The project received preliminary plat approval in 2006 and was granted final approval by the Medical Lake City Council this July after development conditions were met, allowing the land to be legally subdivided.
Because there have been issues with water pressure in the vicinity of Olsen Hill, preliminary plat approval required a minimum pressure of 30 pounds per square inch. Amistoso said the new homes will be fitted with pressure pumps in order to comply with this regulation.
Meanwhile Larry Pilcher, owner of the Silver Hill housing development in south Medical Lake, will build a 42-lot third phase subdivision there and is considering construction of a future 122-lot residential development on the city's north boundary.
Pilcher said since he initiated developments near Evergreen Drive off South Hallett Street in 2001, 68 houses have been built in two phases. Thirteen of those homes are still available, but Pilcher said in about six months he plans to start building the adjacent Silver Hill West, which has received final plat approval by the city. Condron Construction of Spokane has been the builder on all Silver Hill projects.
Pilcher also has tentative plans for a second development on 53 acres east of Brooks Road, but he said until the housing market picks up he will continue to wait on that project.
Any housing projects that have not already received final approval from the city will also have to wait due to a lack of water, according to Medical Lake city planner Glen Scholten. The city has no equivalent residential units left, which allow new building permits to be issued based on the amount of available water per residence. In Medical Lake, this amount is set at 1,000 gallons per day, which Scholten said could be changed based on a recommendation from the Planning Commission.
In order to do this, City Council needs to amend the city's comprehensive plan, lowering the level of service standard for potable water to 750 gallons per day per residence, which is more fitting for Medical Lake, Scholten said.
“This would allow us to free up about a quarter more water, on paper at least, but paper drives the decision making,” he said. “That's still a lot of water per person.”
In June the city examined 1,440 utility accounts from 2009 to determine water use during the summer, when demand is at its highest. The report shows the average summer usage for individual water accounts is between 20,000 and 49,000 gallons per month, including larger facilities such as schools, apartments and churches. The high summertime average of about 1,150 gallons per day is dramatically offset by low winter water use as low as 30 gallons per day, according to city officials.
In 2007 Medical Lake issued a moratorium on acceptance of land use applications and permits in order to develop a long-term plan to resolve how the city's public water system could meet projected needs. It was extended six months before the city wrote an ordinance emphasizing water conservation.
Medical Lake is now close to signing an agreement for an emergency water use intertie with Spokane. This only allows a limited amount of water on a contingency basis, but Scholten said a future agreement for purchase of potable water isn't out of the question.
Ryan Lancaster can be reached at [email protected].
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