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Effort Underway To Save Farmland Inside Spokane City Limits

Photo from Spokane Farmland Preservation Working Group

A local group has formed to try to save 48 acres of farmland in the Vinegar Flats neighborhood in southwest Spokane.

The current owner of a parcel known as the Pilcher property has applied for and received conditional approval for a permit that would allow for 94 homes to be built on land that is zoned agricultural. There are no immediate plans yet to build the development.

The Farmland Preservation Working Group has emailed its concerns to several local officials, asking for help in preserving the property.

Doug Phelps of the Spokane County Conservation District says the property represents a third of all of the agricultural lands inside the Spokane city limits.

“Development could potentially increase traffic on that section of State Route 195 there, and also potentially increase runoff to Hangman Creek, which is already one of the more polluted waters in the state. I mean preserving farmland in general, there’s a number of reasons we’d love to do that. Food security, local food supply, I mean most of our food in Spokane County is imported," Phelps said.

The group is looking to the county's Conservation Futures Program as a funding source that might be used to purchase the property. That program uses a property tax levy to purchase open space, streams, rivers, and other natural resources.

The county Parks, Recreation and Golf Department oversees that program. Its director, Doug Chase, says that property is the number five priority on the list, which is constantly being updated, depending on current levels on funding or ability to get matching funds.

“When we look at the funds we have available, and the projects we have ahead of this one on the list, we do not anticipate having enough funds to acquire this, as we hope to accomplish purchasing those properties that are ranked higher,” Chase said.

Spokane City Councilwoman Lori Kinnear says there could be another move in the works to save the Pilcher property from development.

“This one in particular, there are some other parties that are preserving it as well, that do have, or potentially have the money to do so. And I can’t talk in any detail about that, but it has attracted the interest of others,” Kinnear said.

Kinnear said additional development in that area will be problematic because there is only one road into the neighborhood and it crosses a single small bridge.

She has been talking with Council President Breean Beggs about long term protections for agricultural lands in the form of some sort of “farmland” trust that could use private and perhaps even state money for land preservation.

Steve was part of the Spokane Public Radio family for many years before he came on air in 1999. His wife, Laurie, produced Radio Ethiopia in the late 1980s through the '90s, and Steve used to “lurk in the shadowy world” of Weekend SPR. Steve has done various on air shifts at the station, including nearly 15 years as the local Morning Edition host. Currently, he is the voice of local weather and news during All Things Considerd, writing, editing, producing and/or delivering newscasts and features for both KPBX and KSFC. Aside from SPR, Steve ,who lives in the country, enjoys gardening, chickens, playing and listening to music, astronomy, photography, sports cars and camping.