Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Sale 4 Lakes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spokane County to consider direct sale of parcel in 4 Lakes to resolve encroachments
Summary
County staff proposed selling roughly half an acre adjacent to a privately owned parcel in the 4 Lakes area to resolve long-standing survey and encroachment issues; staff said the county would require the buyer to pay associated boundary and recording costs and to relinquish an easement on the remaining acreage.
County staff briefed the Spokane County Board of County Commissioners on May 27 about a proposed direct sale of a portion of county-owned land in the 4 Lakes area adjacent to Ring Road.
Staff said the county acquired the original parcel in 1999 and that historic surveying errors in the 1980s and 1990s left property lines inconsistent, creating encroachments onto county land. A garage and outbuildings were cited as examples of encroachments on the county parcel. Staff said the assessor’s recent corrections revealed the encroachments and that the adjoining property owner on parcel 0830 cannot sell their property without the title and boundary issues being resolved.
The county previously sold the northern portion of the original parcel (parcel 0833) and had purchased the land for $8,700; staff said that 1.5 acres were appraised at $90,000 last year. The portion under consideration—just under half an acre—was estimated in the briefing to be worth approximately $30,000 based on that appraisal. Staff said the buyer would be required to pay for an underlying adjustment, recording fees and to relinquish an easement on the remaining county acreage. The sale would proceed as a public hearing item if the board directs staff to move forward.
A Commissioner asked whether a boundary line adjustment could solve the problem; staff clarified this is county-owned land and the recommended path is a direct sale. Commissioners also asked that staff make clear any future sale of other portions would be based on a current market appraisal so that later buyers would not assume the same price. Staff said they had contacted the adjacent owner to the south, who declined to buy the parcel at this time because of age and unwillingness to purchase.
No motion or vote was recorded during the briefing. Staff said the next steps would be to draft a purchase-and-sale agreement, initiate the boundary-line adjustment process, notice a public hearing and then return to the board for consideration and potential closing of the sale.
