Avista Corp. and others involved deserve kudos for the quick decision to restore a portion of the South Hill bluff to its natural state after a road was mistakenly built through it. 

The events that led to the road construction are confusing at best, clouded by conflicting information from the city of Spokane’s parks and recreation department and a contractor hired to clear a route to a planned three-hole golf course for kids. Regardless, it’s an important step that all parties are working together to rehabilitate the natural area, located on the bluff below High Drive that leads into Latah Valley. 

The restoration work has started with erosion control measures and involves further forest and cultural assessments. Avista, which is involved because the road was built on part of an easement it holds, and the city plan to hold meetings in the coming weeks to finalize plans for the remediation efforts. 

Signs have been posted on the site asking people who hike and bike on the bluff to stay off the road and away from potentially destabilized trees. The signs are necessary, because despite an outcry, recreationalists began using the road as soon as it was created. Some have called for keeping the road, even if it was built in a controversial sequence of events, since it’s there and in use. Given the circumstances, however, Avista’s decision to move forward with efforts to undo what’s been done is an understandable and appropriate one. 

An unfortunate casualty of the road controversy is the golf course project that had been proposed by the Inland Northwest Golf Foundation, the nonprofit parent to The First Tee of the Inland Northwest. The organization, which has the mission of introducing low-income youth to golf, wanted to develop a kids-only, three-hole course on 6 acres north of The Creek at Qualchan golf course. The road project would have provided access to the proposed golf course site, but given the controversy, the foundation withdrew its plans for the course. 

Once the current flap has subsided and necessary steps to reclaim the natural area have been completed, our hope is that the golf foundation—and potentially others involved in the controversy—will revisit the feasibility of the project, which stands to benefit Spokane’s youth. 

City Council members Breean Beggs and Lori Kinnear have said they’ll seek clarity on the allegedly unauthorized road construction, as well they should. Kinnear has said she’ll work on the city’s tree ordinance in an effort to ensure such events don’t occur in the future, a positive step for a city leader to take. Their investigations should involve an introspective look by the city itself into how it might have handled the situation differently, as well as pursuing potential wrongdoers. 

In the meantime, it’s encouraging that all parties involved appear to be on the same page in terms of what needs to be done to restore the natural area to the extent it can be repaired. The hope is they will work in concert with one another through project completion, and the controversy can be put behind us as a community.