CHENEY - City planning commission recommends resolution to change boundaries of urban growth area. This recommendation was made to council on Nov. 22, but due to the absence of two council members, voting was deferred to the next council meeting.
Brett Lucas, Senior Planner, said "Spokane County board of commissioners makes the ultimate decision, but we recommended that city council adopt a resolution of support which directs staff to make the application."
"We would be changing the location of the boundaries of the UGA by moving 10 acres from the south to the north. It is a net-zero change. Last night there was no decision because two council members were absent, so postponed to Dec. 13." Lucas said
Todd Ableman, public works director, said "There will not be an expansion of the UGA, and this is not a public hearing, this is a proposal to consider the resolution to submit an application."
The proposed addition is slightly north of the orchard development. The southern portion of the addition border Paradise Rd.
Councilman Vince Barthels said "According to fish and wildlife priority habitat, roughly 40% of the proposed area is shrubsteppe habitat. That's the first thing that I want to point out."
Barthels cited finding located in the UGA narrative document, saying "The finding states that the 10-acre land swap does not address the larger issue of Cheney's UGA, and the current UGA located to the south of the railroad tracks in Cheney is over sized. Well we need to right-size our UGA."
Barthels discussed the need for the council to take a more "holistic" approach to addressing the needs of the community for growth.
"The bottom line is, we do need to take a hard look at our UGA. A targeted spot zone of a ten acre swap doesn't do our citizens or tax payers any justice."
Lucas is a former Cheney Free Press managing editor. He is a nationally published author who contributes regularly to several publications across the country.
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