It has been a long process for a few recent rezones in the city limits of Airway Heights.
The most discussion came in the first rezone requested by the city. The properties were proposed to change from an R-1, single family residential to R-3, multi-family residential located in the northwest quadrant of the city and south of Hunter’s Crossing North Subdivision. This was to accommodate the alternative housing for residents located south of Highway 2 and within the Fairchild Air Force Base APZ (accident potential zone).
The plan is to build “cottage-style housing” and to make it affordable as an option for the residents inside the APZ. Although it is targeted for those citizens, it is not limited just to them. Anybody could try and live in the allotted area.
After hearing concerned citizen’s comments and having a deep discussion on the matter over the period of multiple meetings, the Planning Commission voted 3-1 in favor of the rezone on Dec. 13, followed by approval from the City Council on Dec. 18.
“I haven’t heard any feedback after it being approved,” Development Service Director Derrick Braaten said. “I totally understood their side of the matter. It is just the nature of it. I am hoping that when they start seeing the product, they will not be as upset.”
Now that it is a new calendar year and the rezone was approved, the planning department is trying to get to the process of creating a timeline.
“We currently don’t have a timeline with the APZ housing,” Braaten said. “We are in the middle of seeing impacts on the New Year. A glitch popped up on the federal level that nobody really saw coming on Jan. 1. It is too fresh to go into too much detail or comment on it though.”
One of the other four proposed plans was a request from the Kalispel Tribe. The rezone had two properties comprising 49.37 acres proposed to change from general commercial to a multi-family residential. This area is near the Airway Heights Corrections Facility and all three Planning Commission members were concerned about the location.
After hearing the comments on the plan, the Kalispel Tribe decided to pull back on the request and the commission, along with the City Council, agreed to table the matter and come back to it later.
“We decided to table it instead of just denying it because they have a plan that wasn’t what people were just assuming what it was going to be,” Braaten said.
What will happen next is that the Kalispels will come up with a developer’s agreement and talk to the city about what the plans are going to be. This will protect the density in the allotted land so it isn’t’ as broad as the first time.
“Now it is on them (Kalispel Tribe) when they want to come back and propose the plan,” Braaten said.
The other two rezones didn’t cause as much discussion and there is nothing more to it now. One rezoned the recreation center property of 70 acres off Deno Road from I-1, light industrial to open space. The other one changed 7.8 acres from residential manufactured to general commercial for the development of a church located west of Aspen Grove Park, at 815 South Craig Road.
Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.
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