PC351_Lelan_Doerschuk_11-14-2018From:Leland Doerschuk
To:Lori Barlow
Subject:Proposed Painted Hills Development
Date:Wednesday, November 14, 2018 9:56:39 PM
Hi Lori,
I am writing this on behalf of my wife and I. We are residents in the Painted Hills Neighborhood.
Leland and Cynthia Doerschuk
5805 S. Mohawk Dr.
Spokane, WA 99206
(509) 891-6100
I realize we are not residents of the Spokane Valley, but the decision that the City of Spokane Valley will
be involved in making concerning the proposed development of the old Painted Hills Golf Course will
have a huge impact on us.
Let me state that we are not against development and the growth that accompanies a growing city like
Spokane Valley. We are however, firmly against the development that has been proposed by Mr. Black.
It is simply too dense of a development and in its current state will have several negative impacts on the
surrounding areas.
The proposed development would have the following negative effects:
* With much of the planned development being high density apartment housing it will simply
overwhelm the surrounding area.
* Property values of the surrounding area (including our neighborhood) will undoubtedly see a
decrease.
* We don't want to sound biased, but with the increase of apartments, we would expect to see an
increase in crime.
* The amount of traffic on Dishman Mica and South Pines will increase substantially.
* There are only two ways out of the current Painted Hills neighborhood.
In the case of an emergency the two ways out would not be sufficient.
* Both of the aforementioned roadways see lots of foot and bicycle traffic.
The increase in traffic will make it more likely for accidents to occur.
* The local schools are already reaching capacity.
The addition of the proposed volume of housing would overwhelm the existing schools.
* We enjoy lots of wildlife in our neighborhood.
Much of the wildlife is dependent on the expanse of the old Golf Course and the Chester Creek
area.
The proposed development would negatively impact the wildlife.
* The proposed development is planned on land that is susceptible to regular flooding.
This is evident as we drive by the flooded area every spring.
It is our understanding that the potential flooding concern has been raised before. With the addition of
dense houses and apartments comes lots of roofs, roads driveways and parking lots, meaning there
would be less ground to absorb the increase of water runoff.
It is also our understanding that Mr. Black has recently submitted a "Cut and Fill" proposal that would
involve the movement of up to 450,000 Cubic Yards of dirt. Approximately 100,000 Cubic Yards would
be redistributed throughout the property (taking from high spots and filling in low spots). There would be
another 350,000 Cubic Yards of dirt that would be brought in from some offsite location. This would
require literally thousands of round trips of dump truck loads of dirt. The existing roads would not be able
to support this kind of truck traffic without significant damage.
The bigger concern with this is: If all the low spots of the Proposed Development are filled in and raised -
what happens to all the water that accumulates every spring. It has to go somewhere. The proposed
mitigation plan seems totally inadequate. The proposed series of waterways that would distribute all thatwater to a three acre area is insufficient. How is a three acre area supposed to allow all the water toinfiltrate into the aquafir. I'm certain that the proposed flood mitigation plan would fail and there wouldcontinue to be flooding in some of the existing areas as well as the surrounding areas that are currentlyunaffected by floodwaters. Again, that water has to go somewhere.
It is also my understanding that Mr. Black's proposal indicates that if later, his flood mitigation should fail,it would fall onto the HOA to make things right. That is not right to put that kind of burden onto an HOA. Ultimately, the responsibility could come back onto the City of Spokane Valley to rectify (if the cityapproves the plan). I refer to a similar situation that happened in King County - Phillips vs King County. In that case, King County was left with a significant financial burden. Does the city of Spokane Valleywant to be responsible for correcting the flooding of hundreds of dwellings?
We know that there are several governing agencies that will be required to approve Mr. Black's ProposedDevelopment. We simply ask that the City of Spokane Valley take the lead on this and reject hisproposal.
We would prefer that the property be developed by the City as a Park or multi use area for residents toenjoy. If however, it ends up being developed into some sort of housing, we would appreciate if it wasn'tsuch a dense proposal. A smaller development with less houses on larger lots would not have thenegative impacts that the current proposal has.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.
Lee and Cynthia Doerschuk