The City of Spokane is located at the eastern edge of Washington State at the center of Spokane County. Distant neighbors included Idaho (18 miles east); British Columbia, Canada (110 miles north), and Oregon (130 miles south). Seattle, the largest city in Washington State, is 278 miles west. Spokane is the economic and cultural center of eastern Washington and a larger region known as the "Inland Northwest". That area includes eastern Washington, North Idaho, western Montana, portions of northeastern Oregon, and portions of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

This region has abundant natural resources and varied geography. The gradually sloping Columbia River Basin provides dry land farming and rangeland to the west. The Palouse to the south provides agricultural lands that produce world-record crops of peas and lentils. Northeastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana have timber and mineral-rich mountains and provide recreational areas.

Spokane is the largest of 12 incorporated cities in Spokane County and accounts for over 95% of the incorporated county population and over 45% of the total county population. The entire county encompasses over 57 square miles and is approximately 54 miles north to south and 36 miles wide for a total area of just over 1,758 square miles. Population figures for the last 10 years are summarized in the following table.

Neighborhood

The subject neighborhood is known as the West Plains, a large, relatively flat area located on a bluff approximately ten minutes west of the Spokane CBD. The West Plains is in the southwest portion of Spokane County and consists of many small cities and communities, single-family residences on large acreage tracts, farmland, scablands, rock outcroppings, several small lakes, and large undeveloped open and timbered areas. The predominant improvements in this area include the Spokane International Airport, Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB), Eastern Washington University, and the cities of Airway Heights, Cheney, and Medical Lake. The subject is located west of the City of Airway Heights in Spokane County.

The City of Airway Heights is the nearest municipality and is a small community with a population of 4,590 in the year 2003. It provides off-base housing and local commercial services for FAFB personnel. Most of the commercial uses in Airway Heights are located along Highway 2, also known as the Sunset Highway, and typical uses include mobile home dealers, convenience store/gas stations, agricultural equipment dealers, banks, shops, restaurants, and other services.

Two major aviation facilities dominate the West Plains. Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB) is a major federal installation located two miles south of the subject. FAFB occupies approximately 5,400 acres and employs over 6,000 people, making it the largest single site employer in Spokane County. Spokane International Airport is a regional facility located southeast of Airway Heights, and is the hub for air transportation in the Inland Northwest, serving commercial airlines, private aircraft, and airfreight operators. The airport recently completed a major remodeling and concourse expansion project.

Major developments in the area include the 500,000 sf Spokane Boeing Plant (now the Trident Plant) located east of Hayford Road along Highway 2, which was constructed in 1990 and manufactures airplane components.

The State of Washington has constructed the Airway Heights Correction Facility, a 400 bed, minimum-security facility and a 1,024 bed, medium security prison, both located on 160 acres just north of Highway 2 between Garfield Road and Hayford Road. In recent years, there has been significant interest in properties along Highway 2 between Airway Heights and the Boeing Plant. Metropolitan Mortgage is developing the Airway Business Center at Highway 2 and Garfield Road. This is an 11 O-acre, mixed use commercial/industrial subdivision that began in 1995 and now includes a McDonald's, full-service C-Store with Burger King, Napa Auto Parts Store, Microtel Inn, and 10 light industrial buildings.

The Kalispell Tribe recently completed a 20,000 sf casino on Hayford Road, north of Highway 2. The facility offers video poker, table games, keno, and a large restaurant, convention rooms, and a small gift store. A large residential subdivision called Hunter's Crossing is currently under development. That development covers 230 acres and includes single-family, duplex, townhouse, and apartment uses and could eventually contain 247 single-family homes and 377 apartments.

Several industrial business parks are planned along Highway 2 between 1-90 and Airway Heights. The most notable is a large park being developed by a prominent local developer that will have a biotech emphasis, with several tenants secured. This park will also serve as a northern entrance to the Spokane International Airport.

Primary access to the neighborhood is via Highway 2, a four-lane arterial with center refuge/turn lanes that intersects I-90 approximately 4.5 miles to the east. I-90 bisects the West Plains area from northeast to southwest, with interchanges at Highway 2, Geiger Boulevard, Hayford Road, and Medical Lake Road. Time distance relationships for I-90 and the Spokane CBD are considered good for the neighborhood.

Municipal water and sewer is available within the Airway Heights City limits. The city has several deep wells, providing an ample water supply. The City of Spokane has agreed to connect Airway Heights to its sewer system, and a bond issue was passed to fund this project. Properties located outside of the city limits are not connected to public water or sewer. Either Avista, or Inland Power and Light provide electricity and natural gas. Telephone and refuse services are available. Spokane County or the City of Airway Heights provides police and fire protection.

The neighborhood can be characterized as a rural area that has average access to consumer services, and good access to a major freeway, a university, and an airport. Most areas outside the cities are not in the Interim Urban Growth Area and require a 10-acre minimum size for development. Public water and sewer will not be available to these areas in the near future and individual wells and on-site septic tank/drain fields are required. The general outlook for the neighborhood is continued moderate growth. If most of the proposed projects that are currently on the drawing board materialize, more rapid growth will likely occur.