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Spokane County defers Fish Lake shoreline easement after residents raise environmental and trespass concerns
Summary
A public hearing on a requested access easement to a 0.15-acre parcel on Fish Lake was continued to Feb. 4 after residents testified about alleged unpermitted dock construction, vehicle access across park land, and wetland destruction; the applicant said he has worked with permitting agencies.
Spokane County commissioners voted unanimously to close the public hearing and defer action to their Feb. 4 consent agenda on a request for an easement across county parkland to access a 0.15-acre parcel on the southwest shore of Fish Lake.
Parks staff said the parcel (APN 23051.9005) sits largely within the ordinary high-water mark and that the proposed easement would extend from Cheney–Spokane Road across county park property to the privately owned lot. Staff said the easement was appraised at $16,500 and that the easement-holder would be responsible for maintenance and any improvements; staff and the applicant noted that any improvements would require permits from planning, the Department of Ecology and potentially other agencies.
At least nine area residents testified in opposition during the hearing, raising a consistent set of concerns: they said the applicant has been driving vehicles and clearing vegetation on county parkland without permission; built an elevated ramp and a moored structure described by witnesses as a houseboat; installed a fixed-foot dock and metal grating; and damaged wetlands and shoreline habitat. Kathy Krause told the board, “Mister Morrow has already built an extensive dock, but over wetlands and water without an exemption or permit,” and said he had “trespassed on our property, tore down a rock wall on our property, and anchored a cable into a historic hundred year old…rock seller [rocks].”
Other neighbors documented steep grades on the proposed access route, urged county financial sureties for potential contamination or erosion, and said seasonal high-water conditions sometimes inundate the applicant’s parcel. Harry Green and other neighbors described visible removal of shoreline vegetation and asserted that the site’s wetlands had been disrupted.
Doug Chase of Spokane County Parks and Jonathan Smith (real estate and planning) described Fish Lake’s unusual acquisition history, noting prior dock licenses granted historically for some established lots and saying parkland easements for private access are rare. Chase told commissioners that Improvements to an easement would require separate permitting and could need shoreline variance, Department of Ecology approvals, and possibly Joint Aquatic Permits (JARPA) or hearings before the county hearing examiner.
The applicant, Michael Morrow, told the board he had worked with “all the government agencies, Department of Ecology, permitting, code enforcement,” and said he had submitted JARPA materials and an appraisal. He described the moored structure as a pontoon “houseboat” and said, “I followed all the laws, all the rules,” adding that he uses the site for recreational and therapeutic activities for people with disabilities. Morrow said an adjacent landowner (Bill and Shelley Hanson) sent an email supporting his maintenance of the access road.
After receiving oral testimony and noting more than 17 pieces of written testimony in the record, a commissioner moved to close the hearing and defer action to Feb. 4; the motion carried unanimously.
The Feb. 4 meeting will be the next opportunity for the board to take formal action. Commissioners indicated they will use the intervening time to gather additional information and permitting records.
