Spokane Public Schools (SPS), Spokane Parks and Recreation (Parks) and the Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC), invite you to a free community open house at the MAC, 2316 W. 1st Avenue, on Friday, October 3rd, from 5:30 – 7:30pm.
Representatives from SPS, Parks, and the MAC will be on hand to discuss upcoming November ballot measures and our historic opportunity to improve education and recreation for all Spokane residents.
All MAC exhibits will be open, including Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight.
As promised, EGNC is sharing information regarding the Public Comment period and Public Hearing for the 601 W Mansfield site / “Mansfield Grocery Conditional Use Permit (CUP)”. You can find the developer and City provided documents around this CUP here.
PLEASE NOTE: Public Comments are DUE by 4/3/2025 (by or before 5pm). Please send your personalized email to the following individuals: Steven Bafus, Project Planner, sbafus@spokanecity.org Kitty Klitzke, District 3 City Council Member, kklitzke@spokanecity.org Zack Zappone, District 3 City Council Member, zzappone@spokanecity.org Spencer Gardner, Director of Planning Services, sgardner@spokanecity.org Re: Application/Permit Number: Z25-047CUP3
This has been an ongoing concern of the neighborhood for some time, per our council vote in February, 2025 the EGNC sent an agency letter in opposition to the proposed change of use. As many of you know, neighbors Clay and Ron have been instrumental in sharing information and even engaging with legal council to address issues and concerns around this permitting process. Clay’s most recent email is below:
Dear Concerned Neighbors,
I hope this message finds you well. I want to share an important update regarding the Mansfield “Grocery” CUP that requires our community’s attention.
This week, residents and stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of 601 W Mansfield were informed that Ramka Properties, LLC’s application for a Type III Conditional Use Permit has progressed to the public comment phase (See attached Hearing Letter PDF). This is a crucial opportunity for anyone to express concerns regarding the pending approval of this permit. The deadline for written comments for this application is April 3rd, 2025 at 5 PM.
I have attached the formal notice and a picture of the posted sign for your reference. Our neighborhood needs to voice our opinions on this matter. I strongly encourage everyone who feels passionately about this issue to submit their comments. Based on experience, please remember that emailing directly without attachments before the deadline is most effective, as the city will disregard late submissions.
For those unsure of what to write, I have included the Neighborhood Position Statement below, highlighting key talking points we have been advised through legal counsel to be the most effective.
“We respectfully urge the city to deny all Conditional Use Permit (CUP) requests that plan to convert 601 W Mansfield back to retail use. This request aligns with the 1987 hearing examiner’s findings, which identified retail use as a substantial crime risk in the area. This is also supported by documented robberies that occurred during the 60 years before its conversion to a dental lab. These retail-related issues have been resolved for 40 years because of the conversion and commitment to non-retail use. We seek to protect our community’s safety and stability by preventing a return to these historic challenges.”
Following the comment period, a public hearing will be held at City Hall on April 10th at 9 AM. This coincides with Spokane Public Schools’ Spring Break, which may be a strategic timing by Ramka Properties. As a teacher, I will be canceling my family’s vacation plans to ensure our representation at the hearing. I hope many of you can attend, but rest assured we will be there to represent our collective voice.
If you have any further questions regarding either the Public Comment requirements or the Public Hearing and how it works, please reach out to me directly.
⚠️Important update regarding the Mansfield Grocery Conditional Use Permit – Public CommentsUpdate, 2/4/25: The Agency / Department comments are due by Wednesday, 2/12/2025 at 5pm.⚠️ EGNC is one of the agencies that would be able to provide comments, and so, we are holding a special meeting on Monday, 2/10/25, at 6pm (location TBD and via Zoom) in order to discuss any comment that we wish to submit as a council.
Update, 2/4/25: We received clarification from Steven Bafus via email with the following:
Just wanted to provide some clarification on the current status of the Mansfield Type III Conditional Use Permit.
The application is currently in the 14-day agency/department comment (aka Request for Comments (RFC)) period which ends on 2/12/2025. This period is intended for various agencies (including the E-G Neighborhood Council) and city departments to provide their comments on the proposal. Comments received from citizens during this time will be added to the record for the Hearing Examiner’s decision.
There will be a 15-day formal public comment period after the agency/department comment period is complete. Citizens can submit their comments during this time. Citizen comments received during the public comment period will be added to the record for the Hearing Examiner’s decision. A citizen who provides a comment during the above-mentioned RFC may also submit their comment during this public comment period. All owners, taxpayers, and occupants within a 400’ radius of the site will receive a mailed notice of this public comment period. A sign will also be posted on site. Both the mailed notice and sign will also contain information regarding the forthcoming public hearing.
I wanted to provide this clarification as I noticed the E-G website has a posting for comments due on 2/12/2025, which again is deadline for agency/department comments. Citizens will have a chance to provide their comments during the forthcoming 15-day public comment period as mentioned.
Mansfield Grocery Conditional Use Permit – The applicant is proposing a Retail Sales and Service use (grocery store) in the existing structure located at 601 W Mansfield Ave, parcel 35074.2512. Spokane Municipal Code 17C.370 – Existing Neighborhood Commercial Structures in Residential Zones will allow existing neighborhood commercial structures that once housed a legal neighborhood commercial use to be reused for low impact neighborhood scale and neighborhood serving businesses.
👉Please send all comments to Steven Bafus, Planner at sbafus@spokanecity.org by 5pm 2/12/2025.
This is a Type III application and there will be a Public Hearing in front of the City Hearing Examiner.This proposal was initially processed as a Type II application under record number Z24-217CUP2. The decision for this record was appealed and remanded by the Hearing Examiner to be processed as Type III application. No changes to the original plans are proposed.
For more information about this application and how it relates to the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood council, you can read EGNC meeting minutes from April 2024 – now, and read this previous post. Please note that the City posts updates like these on the City’s project webpage: https://my.spokanecity.org/projects
The City of Spokane is set to receive over $80 million in funds to spearhead emergency economic relief for businesses, residents, and communities negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their first step is to collect community feedback on the distribution of the American Recovery plan funds.
Using ThoughtExchange, they hope to capture and gauge community sentiment and opinion to help inform City Council on allocation decisions for our community.
