A developer of upscale residential subdivisions north of Spokane says he plans to divide 763 acres into 73 lots for single-family residences that are expected to have a total combined value of more than $36 million when completed. A substantial portion of the property, however, will remain undeveloped.

The developer, Chris Heftel, owner of Riverbluff Land Co., of Spokane, says the proposed multiphase housing project, tentatively called River Bluff Rural Cluster Development, will be on property near River Bluff Ranch, River Bluff Estates, and Country Hills, three gated communities on forested land northwest of the Wandermere area about three and a half miles west of the U.S. 395-Hatch Road interchange.

The Spokane Home Builders Association's 2004 Showcase of Homes was held at River Bluff Ranch.

Riverbluff Land Co. has requested approval of a preliminary plat for the development and expects a decision from the Spokane County hearing examiner on its application within a few weeks, Heftel says.

The site of the proposed development is zoned rural traditional and rural conservation, two zones that have minimum lot sizes of 10 acres each.

Under the county's rural cluster development program, lots can be clustered on small parts of sites that are poorly suited to development because of hillsides, wetlands, or streams, says Tammy Jones, a senior county planner.

The rest of the property then is set aside in perpetuity in so-called "remainder parcels," she says.

"He's got quite a few steep slopes on his property," she says of Heftel.

Under the program, Heftel says, at least 70 percent of the property must remain undeveloped, although a structure can be erected on one remainder parcel.

The homes that will be built in the rural cluster project will be similar in value to those already constructed at the three other developments, which generally are valued at $500,000 to $1 million, although one is valued at $7 million, he says.

Finished home sizes in the gated communities range from 2,400 square feet to about 5,000 square feet of floor space, he says.

The rural cluster land is "totally inside those three neighborhoods," but outside of the boundaries of those subdivisions, he says. The rural cluster land-use designation will allow development of lots that could share infrastructure with the other developments and will protect undisturbed areas by reducing the number of roads needed to serve the new lots, Heftel says.

"Our remainder parcels have purposes," with some serving as buffers and others as wildlife corridors, recreation sites, and to deter impacts on county parkland, Heftel says. "We've got over a mile of property that's a buffer" to the Van Horn, Edburg, and Bass Conservation Area, which is just north of Painted Rocks and is managed by the Riverside State Park system, he says. Heftel says the remainder parcels will provide amenities to residents of the properties his company has developed. He calls the rural-cluster designation "a good tool for keeping homes closer together and taking advantage of fewer roads."

Eventually, the River Bluff Rural Cluster Development will bring the total number of lots in all three gated communities to about 200, he says, adding that more than 35 homes are completed in the developments already.

The buyers of the rural cluster lots will hire their own builders to construct their homes, Heftel says. The lots will be developed in phases as the market dictates, although infrastructure already is in place to serve 23 new lots, he says.

"We'll be able to offer lots right away," assuming that the project is approved, Heftel says.

Jones says Spokane County has had the rural cluster development program in effect since January 2002. "We have had several" of the developments, she says.

Pauletto Trucking & Excavation Inc., and Mountain Utilities Inc., both of Spokane, are doing most of the infrastructure work in the developments, he says. Steve Wallin, of Windermere North Spokane LLC, is the listing agent for the River Bluff Rural Cluster Development.

In a separate project completed last year, Heftel and his brother, Richard, converted a former church complex, at 1315 N. Lincoln into a 29,000-square-foot event facility called Lincoln Center.