Update: Here are SNC’s comments that will be submitted to the Design Review Board. Please feel free to use them to craft your own comments. Get your comments in ASAP!

KXLY is moving forward with their plans to develop their property in the Southgate District Center in 2017. They submitted their draft site plan and designs to the City’s Design Review Board (DRB) last month and are scheduled to have a public hearing with the DRB at 5:30pm on Wednesday, January 25th in the City Council Briefing Room at City Hall.

This review process is part of the Developer’s Agreements that the District Center developers signed in 2009 to guide the creation of a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use shopping district in the heart of the Southgate Neighborhood. Part of that agreement was to have their site proposals be reviewed by the Design Review Board for conformance with the City’s Center and Corridor Design Guidelines as well as the Southgate District Center Integrated Site Plan (ISP). The DRB hearing is open to the public and there is an opportunity for public comment as well. If you can’t make it you can send your comments to the City liaison to the Design Review Board, Julie Neff at jneff@spokanecity.org and they will be presented to the DRB.

This review is an important part of the development process because it offers a chance for the neighborhood to make sure the proposed development meets the intent of the area’s designation as a District Center. Namely that it offer a variety of uses (retail, commercial, residential) that are designed to emphasize pedestrian and non-motorized use and offering opportunities for neighborhood residents to live, work, and play in a safe and inviting environment. When all 45 acres of our District Center are built out the result should be more like Kendall Yards, Garland, and Perry than North Division, Sullivan, or East Sprague.

When you look at the plans you’ll notice they are only reviewing the developments along Regal Street, the western buildings will apparently be part of a separate design review when they apply for those permits in the future. There are no tenants named yet, but the main building on the south edge is designated as a grocery store. There is also a single drive-thru restaurant depicted on the north side by the park.

Please take a look at the attached site plan and send your thoughts to the City. If you have any questions about the site plan, please email us at southgatecouncil@gmail.com.