Last night the City Council approved the KXLY Comp Plan amendment in a unanimous 7-0 after hearing a presentation from staff and supporting comments from the developer’s representative and the Chair of the Southgate Neighborhood Council.

The proposed amendment would change the zoning of a 2-acre parcel of city-owned land along Regal Street next to the Southeast Sports Center. The current zoning is single-family residential and the new zoning will be Center and Corridor Core (CC-2), similar to KXLY’s existing property in our District Center. The Southgate Neighborhood Council voted to support this amendment back in June and provided supporting comments during the SEPA comment period back in July. For deep background on this amendment, look at the City’s website on the amendment.

Of broader implication for the neighborhood is the proposed sale of this small parcel to KXLY by the City. By purchasing this land, KXLY will gain access to the new stoplight at the intersection of Palouse Highway and Regal Street. This will unlock their 15-arce District Center property for rapid commercial development. The approval of the Comp Plan amendment is the first domino in a line of many land use actions needed to begin development.

Next the developers will sign agreements with the Park Board for a perpetual easement across part of the soccer center for their access road, a shared parking agreement where users of the Southeast Sports Complex can park in the future parking lots of the KXLY development, and a ground lease to develop a new soccer field near the radio tower on the western side of KXLY’s property. After those agreements are signed KXLY will begin the process of applying for building permits.

These conditions (approved comp plan amendment, CC-2 zoning, and easement) are part of the purchase and sale agreement between KXLY and the City. There are other conditions proposed by the neighborhood that are part of the agreement as well. Namely settlement of the Regal Plaza Appeal dealing with road design and implementation of the Integrated Site Plan in the Southgate District Center, commitment from the developer to “guaranteed substantive input/collaboration” with the neighborhood on the design of the KXLY development, and $300,000 from the sale price of the land to help develop multi-use trails around the Southgate Neighborhood.

This was the first domino to fall in a rapid chain of events that will culminate in the development of the next large commercial center in our neighborhood sometime next year. Our hope is that the proactive communication that has taken place so far between the developer, the City, and the neighborhood will continue as KXLY moves into the building phase of their project. I encourage all of you to follow Southgate Neighborhood on Facebook and Twitter for updates on this process.