A proposal allowing the Department of Transportation to lease state property near Interstate 90 and the North Spokane Corridor back to the community won final approval from the Legislature Wednesday.
The proposal, sponsored by Spokane Democrat Sen. Andy Billig, would allow the Department of Transportation to lease surplus land to the Department of Commerce or a community-based nonprofit organization, which can use it for affordable housing, new businesses or parks. The bill will need Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature to become law.
“This bill really is a unique opportunity to work with the community to provide some options for affordable housing and help basically undo some of the historical injustices that have occurred,” Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, said on the House floor Wednesday.
When construction began on Interstate 90 in the late 1950s, hundreds of homes, mostly in the East Central neighborhood, were demolished to make way for the highway. When planning for the North Spokane Corridor began, hundreds more were demolished. Now, much of the land, still owned by the Department of Transportation, sits unoccupied.
Community members will have the final say about what to do with the land, Billig said. The bill just provides a mechanism to make it easier and less expensive for the land to be repurposed.
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