Northwood should be part of new Valley city

Incorporation of the Spokane Valley has become a hot topic once again.

The idea of forming a new city in the Valley has really piqued my interest, for it seems that my neighborhood of Northwood is not to be included in incorporation plans - for the time being anyway.

The governance committee of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, along with the Spokane Valley Business Association and a citizen group called the Community Action Committee are now behind the idea of forming a city of Spokane Valley.

There are many good reasons for incorporation.

In Liberty Lake, where residents recently voted to form a new city, folks saw incorporation as a way to enhance the future of their community. And now the rest of the Spokane Valley seems to be doing the same.

Improved government services is one viable reason that many Valley residents favor incorporation. And this leaves me with one burning question.

What about Northwood? Where will Northwood be in the grander scheme of things when improved government services are achieved for the rest of the citizens of the Spokane Valley?

Ever since moving to Northwood in 1994, my family and I have considered ourselves Valley residents. We work in the Valley. For the most part, we shop in the Valley. Our children have attended Valley schools.

But with the present proposal for incorporation, Northwood is to be exluded from the new city of Spokane Valley.

Northwood will be just another unincorporated part of Spokane County.

Neither fish nor fowl is likely to be our designation.

Bordered by Bigelow Gulch Road on the north, and Upriver Drive on the south, the ever-expanding community of Northwood is in a unique geographical position.

A color brochure found in a local hotel advertises Northwood for potential home buyers from out of town. "Minutes from the NorthTown shopping mall" brought a chuckle from me, as I recalled the tedious drive from Northwood to NorthTown.

Nothing is convenient about that drive!

No, we are not a part of the North Side, nor are we a part of the vibrant downtown Spokane.

We are part of the Spokane Valley.

As I filled out my survey in the Valley Voice a few weeks ago, I gave serious thought to such issues as adequate sidewalks and street lighting.

The survey also asked questions about schools and shopping. Most Northwood residents rely on, and support, schools located in the West Valley area. I don't see that changing.

What about emergency responses and road repair? When it comes to street sanding and plowing in the winter months, Northwood does not need to be left out of the improvement plans. The slippery slide down Columbia Drive is the reason many of us outfit our autos with studded snow tires, and believe me, after a significant snowfall, Columbia merits attention!

As for emergency response times, Northwood residents will admit that they are fairly vulnerable to the threat of brush or timber fire during the hot, dry summer months. We have a lot of old pine trees and far too many older, wood shake roofs. We need adequate protection.

In recent years there have been several burglaries in this area. We need to feel safe, and that means adequate police protection. Will we still have that protection if the Spokane Valley is a city, and we are not part of it?

Being left out of the new city also means that Northwood residents will be excluded from voting on new city issues as they come up. We might feel as I did when we first moved here, and listened to the television news about the goings-on in the city of Spokane. Ignored.

I'm afraid that the new city of Spokane Valley will ignore Northwood, kind of like the city of Seattle ignores Spokane.

Perhaps it will be only a matter of time before the newly incorporated city of Spokane Valley adds Northwood. Until that time however, the emotional side of the issue for me is simply that, as a Northwood resident, I will always feel like part of the Spokane Valley.

Even if it is a city.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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