SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane City Council will vote next week on whether or not to rezone six different areas in the city. One of those is the Excelsior Wellness Property in the Balboa South Indian Trail neighborhood.
Some residents in that neighborhood are not happy with the potential rezoning.
“Hillside Park residents and all the other residents of the Balboa purchased their homes because of the current nature of the surrounding area. Single-family homes,” said Jim Davis, the Homeowners Association Vice President for Hillside Park.
Davis said the Excelsior Wellness plans to rezone and build 300 multi-family homes will change the neighborhood and could lower property values.
“It will change the character of the neighborhood significantly,” Davis said. “It’s going to increase traffic noise pollution, light pollution, all that.”
The proposed rezone would take Excelsior Wellness’s 33-acre property from a residential zone to a residential multi-family and commercial business zone. The building height limit would also increase from 40 feet to 55 feet.
“They are planning on doing a phased-in master plan that serves public health, behavioral health, at-risk youth and possibly elderly and then tries to create somewhat of a full-served neighborhood for them on site,” said Spokane City councilmember Kitty Klitzke (District 3).
Klitzke is the city council liaison for the planning commission. She said they approved this rezone and having a health center like Excelsior Wellness is a good asset for the city.
“With comprehensive planning and rezoning, we are supposed to consider what’s best for the entire city not just the opinion of the immediate neighborhood,” she said.
Davis said they don’t want to stop the rezoning but hopefully come to an agreement with Excelsior Wellness in the form of a development agreement.
“Perhaps a reduction in the number of dwelling units and also limiting the height of something below 55 feet,” Davis said.
The City Council will vote on whether to rezone this area or not at the next meeting.
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