Spokane County hearing examiner Michael Dempsey has approved preliminary plans for two phases of the Bella Terra Gardens development that could include up to 87 residential units just east of the Spokane city limits on the South Hill.

The applicant for the development is Bella Terra Gardens LLC, of which Roger Fruci, a prominent Spokane accountant, is a principal. Fruci declines to comment on the planned development, saying only that it's premature to describe plans that are in the conceptual stage and might change.

The Bella Terra Gardens development would be located east of Havana Street, and between 22nd Avenue to the north and 25th Avenue to the south.

The phases, Bella Terra and Bella Terra South, combined would include up to 29 detached single-family houses, 38 row-home units, and 20 duplex units on 15.5 acres of land just outside of the city limits.

Row homes are townhouse structures with three or more units that each share at least one common sidewall with an adjacent unit. Row-house units occupy individually owned lots, although they're usually smaller than conventional lots and have no side-yard setbacks.

The Bella Terra and Bella Terra South parcels are zoned for low-density residential use, which allows up to six residential units per acre. The land is mostly vacant and lightly wooded except for a single family residence near the northeast corner of the parcels.

In his written decision, Dempsey determined the development would be compatible with surrounding land uses.

The land west of Havana Street is within the city of Spokane and is developed for single-family residential use. Centre Court, a 53-lot residential subdivision currently under development, is just north of the Bella Terra parcels, and the 19-lot Pine Cliff plat is near the southwest corner of Bella Terra.

Fruci supported a Spokane County zoning code change in 2008 that allowed row housing in all residential zones in unincorporated areas of the county, subject to the hearing process for planned-unit developments.