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Resident says required 80‑foot sidewalk for narrow Falls Avenue project won’t connect or improve safety
Summary
A Lower Crossing resident told a Spokane town hall the city is requiring an 80‑foot sidewalk for a new multi‑unit project on a narrow, single‑lane street; officials responded that new development generally must add sidewalks under recent code changes but that planned‑development approvals can limit council influence.
At the town hall a Lower Crossing resident urged officials to reconsider a sidewalk requirement attached to a proposed multi‑unit development on Falls Avenue, a narrow, nonconforming street that serves 12 homes.
"The city is requiring the developers to provide an 80 foot sidewalk... The sidewalk will not connect to anything," said Marta Cenneno, who described the street as single‑lane with no turnarounds and noted the fire chief has restricted parking on the north side to preserve a fire lane. Cenneno said the new sidewalk would not resolve the neighborhood’s access challenges and accused the planning process of lacking public participation.
Council and staff response
Council members and staff said recent municipal code revisions generally require new development to provide sidewalks, which explains why sidewalks appear on piecemeal new projects even when adjacent older blocks lack sidewalks. Zach Sapone acknowledged the concern and said the town hall would let staff collect information and report back. Kitty Klitsky said planned‑development approvals limit council authority unless a project seeks exceptions such as conditional use permits; she also noted that once the city upzoned areas, reversing those decisions is difficult.
Officials agreed the situation raises broader land‑use questions — including wildfire evacuation planning in the wildland‑urban interface — that go beyond sidewalks and will require more public engagement and interdepartmental coordination. Staff said they will research the specific Falls Avenue project, follow up with the resident and provide more information on how the code applies to the development.
Next step
City staff committed to looking into the project specifics and to returning to the resident and council with findings; they also encouraged residents to use the planning department channels and the town‑hall sign‑up to receive follow‑up information.
