Answers wanted about development
Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin HeraldInterstate 90's exit 175, as shown in this photo, will be one topic of discussion at a meeting on Tuesday night. There have been discussions at a recent Moses Lake City Council meeting about the closure of the exit, but no decisions were made.
Moses Lake holds meeting Tuesday
By Lynne Lynch
Herald staff writer
MOSES LAKE - Residents living on the edge of western Moses Lake want answers about plans to build three housing developments near their existing homes.
A related and hotly contested issue is a city proposal to close I-90's exit 175 and 200 feet of nearby Westshore Drive. The Westshore Drive closure would make room to add a park for one of the proposed developments. The city also wants to remove the intersection at Hansen Road and Westshore Drive.
All of the proposed changes could likely affect hundreds of people, said former state Sen. Joyce Mulliken, who lives in one of the affected areas.
Earlier this month, 175 people wrote letters to the city against the Westshore Drive closure, with six people wanting Westshore Drive closed and one person asking for a roundabout.
A public forum is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club to talk about the possible changes. Officials with the state Department of Transportation, Grant County and Moses Lake will be at the meeting to answer questions.
The City of Moses Lake was moving ahead as if the DOT was going to close exit 175 as a city official claimed that was the case, according to an April 9 article in the Columbia Basin Herald. But the DOT does not have plans to close exit 175, the article indicated.
Mulliken said a goal of the meeting is to have an open dialogue, so residents can have the facts in front of them and understand what's going on.
"City meets county all the time and that's how growth occurred," Mulliken said. "I'm not against growth, my question is how much is it going to cost and who will pay for it?" She was referring to the costs of expanding the water and sewer systems and bringing county streets up to city standards.
The Growth Management Act requires the recognition of an existing residential neighborhood, said Mulliken, who is also a member of the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board.
Moses Lake City Manager Joseph Gavinski said developer Ed Greer is waiting to learn if Westshore Drive is being closed before starting work on his development. The topic of closing Westshore Drive was tabled at the April 9 city council meeting.
Nearby, a gated community is also being discussed, Gavinksi said. The gated community could be built between Hansen Road and the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club, according to Feb. 13 minutes from Moses Lake's park and recreation commission meeting.
Sun Terrace, a 340-lot development to be built, received preliminary plat approval with conditions from the Moses Lake Planning Commission and Moses Lake City Council, according to minutes from the Feb. 7 city council meeting.
One of the conditions is that internal streets are allowed to be built less than 60 feet wide and full-width improvements are not required on North Frontage Road, a state road which parallels I-90.
Fairway Drive resident Michael Shannon unsuccessfully appealed the condition.
Randy Printz, representing the developers, told the city council that the street improvements will meet city standards, but the improvements will be less than the city's requirement, city council minutes state.
Printz added that the city cannot require improvements to a state road.