PC101 Shannon Egbert Skidmore 09-17-2015From:Shannan Skidmore
To:Christina Janssen
Subject:Painted Hills project – SUB-2015-0011/PRD-2015-0001
Date:Thursday, September 17, 2015 5:28:43 PM
17 September 2015
Dear City of Spokane Valley,
I am writing to express my concern about the Painted Hills project that is planning to turn the
former Painted Hills Golf Course into a crowded, high-density housing development. This land and the existing infrastructure were not previously zoned to support this level of density.
With three schools in close proximity, our roads are already choked, particularly at school commute times, and cannot safely accommodate the estimated 5000+ car trips that will occur
with this level of density. Moreover, the roads that will be most affected—Madison/Pines and the narrow Dishman-Mica road—always have consistent pedestrian traffic, including kids and
families walking to schools, and the significant increase in automobile traffic greatly damages the safe zone that should surround our schools.
As this land encompasses wild wetlands, flood plains, and a natural creek, this development will not only displace wildlife, but fundamentally change the character of the Painted Hills
community. Changing existing zoning designations, in response to developer pressure, while ignoring the concerns and voice of the people who elected you, allows large real estate groups
to tromp into neighborhoods in robber baron style—they are so big and rich they do whatever they want, knowing that they can buy the city council and bully the surrounding community.
This particular developer, Black Realty, openly expressed complete disregard for community values and concerns in the public meeting held earlier this year—and we understand that their
studies on the impact of their proposed development on the area have been minimal and superficial, hoping to slide through a process that they have greased with their promises of
new tax revenue.
We beg you to take a more qualitative approach. Please listen to our concerns, support the
original zoning designations, and preserve the quality of life that drew so many of us to th valley. This trust is what we elected you to do—and we hope you can honor the commitments
you made to be stewards of our community.
Sincerely,
Shannan Egbert Skidmore
12113 E Nez Perce Ln.
Spokane, WA 99206
Sskidmore2@comcast.net
(509) 590-8854