RICHLAND -- It was neighbor vs. neighbor and city council vs. planning commission in Richland on Monday night in a rematch over a controversial proposal to allow commercial development on Keene Road.
South Richland residents who once co-existed peacefully as neighbors accused each other during public comments of trying to trample property owners' rights.
And the council unanimously agreed to ignore a planning commission recommendation and instead approved a request to change the land-use designation for 12.5 acres of a 48-acre parcel at Keene and Queensgate Boulevard from residential to commercial.
That prompted the audience of about 60 people at the council meeting to turn on Mayor John Fox, repeatedly yelling out, "You don't listen!"
The land use application was one of a bundle of six proposed changes to the city's comprehensive plan that also included a new area-wide land use plan for the neighborhood formerly known as the Richland Y, but now called Island View in city parlance.
Only the Keene Road plan generated any controversy, although the council also had some unresolved debate about whether building heights should be restricted on the river side of Columbia Park Trail.
The council's conversation about Keene Road emphasized the city's need to extend Queensgate to connect with Shockley Road, despite Public Works Director Pete Rogalsky telling council members minutes earlier that the road will go through regardless of whether they approved the land-use application.
Fox told opponents of the land-use change that extending Queensgate will resolve some of the problems they've raised about traffic congestion in the area by drawing some traffic off Keene.
But some in the audience shouted back that they'd never said they didn't want Queensgate extended.
Fox went on to say that the new Keene/Queensgate intersection would be better suited for commercial development than houses.
The council will make a final decision on the comprehensive plan amendments on Nov. 18.
Also Monday, the council decided without discussion to take a 1 percent increase, or about $113,000, in its property tax collections for 2009. But with new construction added to the tax rolls, the property tax rate for the city will drop from $3.37 to $3.12 per $1,000 of home value, or $312 for a $100,000 home.
* Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com
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