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Landowners urge Spokane County Plan Commission to include parcels in Urban Growth Area; raise concerns about rural housing allocations
Summary
At the March 26 Spokane County Plan Commission meeting, landowners and their representatives urged inclusion of parcels in the Urban Growth Area (UGA) and flagged what they described as disproportionate housing allocations for rural areas in the draft EIS; staff said the draft EIS will be released in May with a 30-day comment period.
Toya Fitzgerald, representing WNML LLC, told the Spokane County Plan Commission on March 26 that her family has waited “more than 20 years” to have a parcel moved from the county's urban reserve into the Urban Growth Area (UGA) and urged the commission to include it in the ongoing UGA review. Fitzgerald said the family submitted a letter of interest on April 5, 2024, and described the site as adjacent to the city, near sewer and water, sized above the county's minimum lot thresholds and underlain by an "immense aquifer," all characteristics she said meet inclusion criteria.
Gary Lindblad, speaking with Fitzgerald's permission, supported the request and described the property as "stunning," saying it could accommodate housing or a golf-course community and emphasizing the parcel's adaptability. "It's a big deal," Lindblad said, arguing the land merits use and that the family has invested in waiting for UGA changes.
Elizabeth Tellison, representing the Angelo Luris Family Trust, asked the commission to consider that trust's urban reserve parcel for UGA inclusion and raised a separate procedural concern about the draft environmental impact statement (EIS). Tellison said she believes consultant materials circulated to the EIS may be allocating "more than 6,000 housing units in rural Spokane County," a total she called disproportionate compared with allocations for nearby cities and a reason to scrutinize how housing units are assigned in the EIS analysis.
Why it matters: Inclusion in the UGA can allow urban-scale development and connect land to municipal infrastructure; landowners said decades of holding property in reserve have resulted in continued tax obligations without the development opportunities they anticipated. Tellison's claim about housing allocations, if borne out in the DEIS, could influence where mitigation, infrastructure upgrades and service-level changes are proposed.
Staff steps and timeline: County staff told the commission the draft EIS is expected in May and will carry a 30-day public comment period; commissioners will review the draft comprehensive plan in full in the fourth quarter of 2026 with a board adoption target in December 2026. Staff also noted upcoming outreach events and workshops where members of the public and property owners can review maps and proposals ahead of formal decisions.
What's next: The DEIS public comment period (staff said 30 days) will be the first formal opportunity to submit written objections or support tied to the county's initial growth proposals. Commissioners directed staff to continue outreach and to provide maps and materials for parcel owners as the DEIS and draft plan move toward release.
