Check our Minutes and Agendas page for the agenda for our March meeting.
Don’t forget we’ve moved our meetings to the 1st Wednesday instead of the 2nd Wednesday this year. So we’ll see you on March 1st at 7pm at ESD 101!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
February SNC Materials
Check our Minutes and Agendas page for the agenda for our January meeting.
Don’t forget we’ve moved our meetings to the 1st Wednesday instead of the 2nd Wednesday this year. So we’ll see you on February 1st at 7pm at ESD 101!
KXLY Development Scheduled for Design Review
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.
January SNC Materials
Happy New Year! Don’t forget we are moving our meetings to the 1st Wednesday instead of the 2nd Wednesday this year. So we’ll see you on January 4th at 7pm at ESD 101!
Check our Minutes and Agendas page for the agenda for our January meeting.
December SNC Materials
Check our Minutes and Agendas page for the agenda for our December meeting. See you Wednesday, December 14th at ESD 101!
SEPA Comment Period for Moran Estates South
Southgate received a notice yesterday about a SEPA comment period for a proposed 13-home subdivision along Freya Street called Moran South Estates. You’ll remember this project held a Community Meeting back in August.
You can take a look at the preliminary-site-plan and SEPA Checklist for the project and send comments to the City’s SEPA coordinator, Dave Compton, through November 22nd.
The project is very similar to the developments on 45th Court and 47th Avenue directly to the north and south of this area. A couple comments related to pedestrian accommodation that I would supply would be to ask if the right-of-way improvements along Freya Street will be completed per Spokane Municipal Code. As you can see, the sidewalk ends as the cul de sac goes out to Freya. Anyone living on the east side of Southgate knows how unaccommodating Freya is to pedestrians and bikes. If we don’t ask developers to fill in the sidewalk between 44th and Palouse Hwy it will never be built.
Another pedestrian accommodation (supported by the SMC, the City Comp Plan, and our Southgate Neighborhood Connectivity Plan) would be to add some non-motorized connection to the west. A mixed-use Centennial/Ben Burr style trail punching out at the end of the cul de sac or out of the southwest corner of the development across a County-owned stormwater swale would allow residents easier and safer access to the shopping area of our neighborhood’s District Center via Palouse Hwy. It would take some discussion between the developers and the owners of Clare House or the County, but it would be a great amenity and help prevent the continuation of the pervasive lack of east/west connectivity in our neighborhood. Without this type of connection residents would have to walk a 1/3 mile south or 1/4 north to find a route towards the District Center.
The SNC Land Use Committee will draft and submit comments as well, we will upload those here when we have them drafted. In the meantime, please send in your comments so the City knows what you think.
Community Development Block Grant Project Menu
Last night at our neighborhood council meeting, we were introduced to the City’s new Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Neighborhood Project Menu.
The CDBG program provides funds to neighborhoods for community-oriented improvement projects based on income. Traditionally, Southgate has not received any CDBG funds. However, a new dispersement formula put in place a few years ago results in us now receiving about $1800 annually. The minimum cost of a CDBG project is $10,000, so we don’t get enough to do anything with that money except donate it other neighborhoods for their projects.
This year, instead of directing the money at a neighborhood, the City has developed another option called the Neighborhood Project Menu to provide area non-profits the opportunity to have their projects considered for CDBG funding. If you follow the links on the Project Menu document, you will see a collection of local non-profit projects vetted by the City to meet HUD requirements for use of CDBG funds.
Please review the list of projects and come prepared to vote for where SNC’s $1800 should go at the next neighborhood council meeting on December 14th.
SNC Officer Election Happening at December Meeting
Every year Southgate Neighborhood Council votes for its officers for the upcoming year. This week we opened up the nomination period for 2017 with the vote to take place December 14th at the next neighborhood council meeting.
The officer positions are as follows: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Community Assembly Representative. All positions have a one year term. Descriptions of the duties for each position can be found in the SNC Bylaws.
The nomination and voting process follows the policies laid out in the SNC Bylaws. Eligible nominees need to be voting members of the council as defined by the bylaws (a resident of the Southgate neighborhood 16 years or older having attended two consecutive neighborhood council meetings).
Last night the council moved to nominate all existing officers for another term. We will take nominations from the floor during the next meeting and conduct our vote then.
If you want to have a say in the development in our neighborhood, if you want to work to improve the quality of life for our area, please consider volunteering for one of our officer positions.
Get informed/Stay involved!
City Council Approves KXLY Comp Plan Amendment
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.
November SNC Meeting Materials
Check our Minutes and Agendas page for the agenda for our October meeting. See you Wednesday, November 9th at ESD 101!
Southgate Neighborhood Council 