Cheney rezone moves ahead

Cheney’s City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance changing the zoning of a 3.6-acre parcel of land at the corner of Cedar and North Eighth streets from multifamily residential (R-3) to high-density multifamily residential (R-3H). The increased density will allow the Parkside Commons student-housing project to move forward once the other two readings and final passage are held.

Parkside Commons’ request for the zoning changes have been the subject of several well-attended council and planning commission public hearings, with virtually all citizen comments running opposed to the rezone, if not the project itself. Under the current zoning, property owners Greenstone Development and management company Eastmark Capital Group can build a complex with up to 76 units.

The rezone would allow a density up to 115 units, but Greenstone owner Jim Frank and Eastmark’s Sean Barnes previously agreed to cap that at 96 units while providing a minimum of 2.4 parking spaces per unit. At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Frank requested increasing that to 100 units, citing financial considerations for off-site improvements they would make to address traffic and parking concerns raised by residents.

Frank said they will retain the 2.4 spaces per unit ratio, noting the original plans called for 2.09 and that many apartments around the city currently have two spaces per unit. Comments from residents at a community meeting Greenstone and Eastmark held in May raised a number of “legitimate issues,” one of which is the current state of off-street parking, Frank said.

“It’s an existing condition, but we wanted to make sure we weren’t adding to that problem,” he said.

City attorney Stanley Schwartz said that in discussions with Greenstone attorney Stacy Bjordahl, the developer had agreed to install a lighted crosswalk at the existing crossing at North Eighth and Oakland streets to help with pedestrian safety. Greenstone and Eastmark will also take water conservation measures into account when designing landscaping as well as impacts to the surrounding neighborhood when installing lighting.

The developers had already planned for sidewalks around the complex, and agreed to additional pedestrian safety measures by finishing the sidewalk system on Cedar between Erie and North Ninth streets. Frank said in 35 years of building residential developments he had never installed sidewalks next to curbs, citing risks to pedestrians with such proximity to traffic.

Instead, there will be a six-foot grassy strip between sidewalks and curbs, providing a place for the city to move snow during plowing. Frank said they employ drip irrigation systems to use the lowest amount of water, as well as low-flow fixtures in the apartments.

Frank also said in visiting the site he observed Eastern Washington University students commuting to classes, particularly from Eagle Point on Betz Road, use Sunrise Drive to find parking on North Eighth. He said that might be reduced by instituting parking restrictions on North Eighth as a traffic calming measure, something Mayor Tom Trulove said the city was looking into doing.

During council discussions, Councilman John Taves noted it didn’t appear previous discussions about linking the number of parking spaces to the number of bedrooms, rather than apartment units, in the complex had been accomplished. Public Works Director Todd Ableman said the 2.4 spaces per unit ratio would ensure no less than 230 spaces on site, and that attempts to add more could be too restrictive.

“I don’t know what that mix (bedrooms per unit) is,” Ableman said. “I know that during design phase, those numbers could change.”

Prior to the vote, Trulove suggested the changes be put into an agreement with the developer, something Frank said they were willing to do, adding they and the city were all pursuing the same goal of adding value to the community in the long term.

The council will consider the second and third readings along with final passage at a meeting this month.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].