AIRWAY HEIGHTS—As city population is anticipated to continue growing and the mission expands at Fairchild Air Force Base, the city planning and public works departments are developing plans for future city growth, business expansion and transportation improvements.
The downtown plan is one major development in the works. Three scenarios have been posed for public feedback, as reported in the Aug. 27 edition of the Cheney Free Press.
A decision on which scenario to proceed with is expected by April, principal planner Heather Trautman said. New standards for commercial and housing developments will also be developed by next year, she added.
Trautman said that interactions with citizens indicate that residents want to maintain a small town feel. The city hopes to facilitate multi-mode access to the highway for bike and foot traffic. It also hopes to retain local businesses while helping them adapt to city growth, she noted.
The city is looking at ways to integrate additional housing downtown. Trautman said townhouse-style homes are a future possibility.
The Highway 2 corridor is always a major topic of discussion in the public works and city planning departments. Public works director Kevin Anderson said one of the city’s goals is to divert traffic off Highway 2 through the future 6th/10th/12th corridor, which the city is working on acquiring funding for. That will be followed by an industrial 21st Avenue corridor, which is still several years down the road.
The city is looking at the possibility of adding medians, additional pedestrian crossings and landscaping through town, per Anderson.
Anderson added that the city’s 2018 circulation plan, which decides what projects the city will invest in, is available on the city website.
Smaller projects that residents can expect in a shorter timeline include a new left turn lane eastbound from South Hayford Road onto Highway 2 toward Spokane. That project will occur this fall. There will also be a new roundabout at Highway 2 and Craig Road in “1-2 years,” Anderson said.
The city is also dealing with an issue concerning the location of several blocks of trailer parks south of Highway 2 and north of McFarlane Road. Those trailers are located in an Accident Potential Zone, or APZ, due to their location in a flight path of planes coming into Fairchild Air Force Base. Residential buildings can’t go in Accident Potential Zones due to the low flight path of planes, proximity to base and sound concerns.
“It’s incompatible with Fairchild’s mission,” Anderson said.
The city’s plan, per Trautman and Anderson, is to figure out a way to help move residents from those trailer homes to the Highland Village developments on the northwest side of the city limits, just east of Craig Road and north of Highway 2.
Possible resources to help the city move the residents include Habitat for Humanity and/or state funding that would go to the county, which would then buy out a trailer park.
A plat has been finalized for the Highland Village project. The city has submitted permit applications for two of the buildings.
Developments that are allowed south of Highway 2 include industrial and manufacturing warehouses and businesses. Trautman said the city is in the process of approving a 187,000 square foot warehouse building on McFarlane Road.
The city is also partnering with Spokane Community College for an outreach where people can learn about business sectors anticipated to come to the subarea and the skills needed for those professions.
Potential businesses in the subarea include aerospace, metals and manufacturing, Trautman said.
Trautman added that the population of the city is younger than the county average. 18% of residents are between ages 20-29, but only 11% have a bachelor’s degree. Industrial expansion could bring job opportunities to that younger population, she noted.
The city is also working on follow-up interviews with stakeholders and plans for extending water and sewer lines and roads to accommodate business growth within the subarea.
“Not all roads (in the subarea) are paved,” Trautman said, adding that paving those roads could help drive investment interest in an area where there’s already been some inquiry.
The city hopes growing industrial businesses will help stimulate the economy in an area growing quickly. Trautman added that the city is taking the subarea plan for the industrial area south of Highway 2 to the public. A virtual presentation is planned for Sept. 15 at 4 p.m., which the public can tune in to.
Drew Lawson can be reached at [email protected].
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