Spokane County's planning department is in the process of updating the county's urban growth area boundaries, which determine higher-density residential zones as well as commercial- and industrial-zoned parcels of land around cities.

The current urban growth boundaries around the county's cities and towns have enough capacity to accommodate projected industry and population growth for the next 20 years, says John Pederson, the county's director of planning. He says the county's existing urban growth boundaries still could be altered based on input from citizens and property owners in several urban-growth buffer areas.

Many people giving feedback have the same message: Leave the boundaries as they are.

Pederson says several phases of the state-mandated UGA update process already have been completed, including updated population forecasts, land-quality analyses, and a study of potential environmental impacts as a result of any expansions or contractions of the UGA's existing boundaries.

The county planning department has identified—based on prior studies of the land surrounding the current urban growth boundaries and the potential environmental impacts if some of those areas were to be added to the UGA—four alternatives to revise the boundaries.

"Alternative one is to retain the existing boundary as it is because there is enough capacity," Pederson says. "Alternatives two, three, and four include different study areas that are identified in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Airway Heights, and those alternatives are based on input and direction from the county commissioners."

He says most of the areas that are being considered to be added or removed to the current UGA boundaries are zoned for residential development. The exceptions are two separate pieces of land on the West Plains that are zoned for light-industrial use.

The next stage of the UGA update involves deliberations by the Spokane County Planning Commission that are to begin Feb. 16, during which the commission will review public comments gathered thus far. Following those deliberations, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the county commissioners, who will make a final decision regarding the UGA update.

Pederson says there have been a significant number of comments from the public—mostly land owners and property developers—opposing the addition to the UGA of 1,600 acres of land referred to as the Geiger Spur. That parcel is located roughly southwest of the city of Airway Heights.

A smaller, 144-acre parcel nearby that's envisioned as the site of the future county jail also could be added to the UGA.

According to updated figures from the planning department, the estimated demand for commercial land between now and 2031 is about 8,000 acres, and the current supply of commercially-zoned land inside the UGA is around 12,800 acres. For industrial-zoned land, the county UGA currently has 5,900 acres, which is enough to meet the 20-year demand of around 1,050 acres.

Based on recently updated population projections, Spokane County could have around 612,200 residents in 2031, which would be an addition of about 113,500 people to the current UGA. In 2010, Spokane County's population was 470,300.

The current UGA boundary is estimated to have enough capacity to accommodate about 118,400 additional residents, meaning the existing area would meet the 2031 population projection with enough space to accommodate another nearly 5,000 people.

Pederson says the planning department received more than 200 written responses to the proposed alternatives to the UGA during a week-long public comment period that followed a Jan. 26 public hearing on the update process.

He adds that about 100 people also expressed their concerns or opinions about the UGA revision process at that January public hearing.

Some of the comments received by the planning department include several suggestions from prominent Spokane property developers that the county should leave the Geiger Spur area out of the UGA.

Some of those responses opposing the addition of that land came from Dick Vandervert, of Vandervert Construction Inc., Dick Edwards, of Hawkins Edwards Inc., and Pete Thompson of Stonemark Real Estate Co.

Pederson says some other areas of contention include a 461-acre area west of the Little Spokane River, called the Palisades. The majority of that land is located on a bluff above the river and includes recreational land owned by the city of Spokane called the Rimrock Conservation Area. Several property owners have said they want that area kept out of the UGA so it's preserved as a natural area, Pederson says.

A 1,570-acre area near Mount Spokane and Mead also is being considered as an addition to the UGA, and Pederson says many property owners there don't want to be included, because that would require that they connect to the city's sewer and water system.

Pederson says the UGA is reevaluated every eight years as required by the state. The Washington state Growth Manage-ment Act requires local governments to manage urban growth and in turn protect undeveloped and rural areas.

The County Commissioners are expected to make a final decision on any revisions to the UGA later this year, although it's not clear at this time when that decision could be made, the county planning department says.

This is the first time the UGA has undergone any updates since it was adopted in 2001 as part of Spokane County's Comprehensive Plan, Pederson says.