Housing Update

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Dear Community Member,

As school comes to an end, guardians and caretakers may be looking for ways to distract their littles.

Why not teach them about city planning and potentially inspire the urban planners of the future!

City Planner KayCee Downey wants to inspire youth to be aware of and involved in the planning of our community’s future, so she made the "Color Me Planning" coloring book in her free time.

“It’s important to reach all ages,” she says. “Everyone is part of the community and should be involved in the planning of the place they call home.”

Also check out these kids’ books that include planning-related content that you can check out from Spokane Public Library!

• A Day in a City by Nicholas Harris
• Kitten Construction Company by John Patrick Green
• Cities: Discover How They Work by Kathleen Reilly
• Shapes Lines and Light by Katie Yamasaki
• The World is Not a Rectangle by Jeanette Winter
• Green City by Allan Drummond
• Butterfly Park by Elly MacKay
•  If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
• Martian Ghost Centaur by Mat Heagerty (Young Adult)
• Tunnel of Secrets by Franklin Dixon (Young Adult)

Phase 1 of Building Opportunity for Housing

Plan Commission Public Hearing on June 28

The Spokane Plan Commission will hear the Comprehensive Plan Amendments for Phase 1 of Building Opportunity for Housing at their June 28 public hearing. Members of the public who wish to speak at the hearing may sign up using the link in the Plan Commission agenda packet.

At its June 12 public hearing, City Council voted to extend the Building Opportunity and Choices for All interim ordinance through December 18, 2023. Originally approved through July 18, 2023, the interim ordinance has the opportunity to be extended by intervals of up to six months until the workplan is completed.

The extension allows City staff to continue to work on creating permanent comprehensive plan amendments and development code changes to ensure housing choice for all of Spokane.

City Council Defers Short-Term Rental Ordinance to July 10

At its June 12 agenda briefing, City Council voted to defer the proposed Ordinances C36391 and C36392 for short-term rental amendments to a First Reading on June 26 and final public hearing on July 10.

You can watch the briefing [click here to view] and view the City Council agenda with the proposed changes [read agenda]. City Council will consider several proposed substitutions from various council members to the draft and may vote to amend either at the First Reading on June 26 or Public Hearing on July 10. You can review City Council agendas on their webpage. 

According to research conducted by Pew Trusts, restrictive zoning polices can make it harder and more expensive to build new housing, driving up home prices and rents. This can cause problems when rents already tend to rise quickly when an area has rapid job growth or an influx of new residents – just as Spokane has seen recently.

However, Pew Trusts discovered that the construction of new housing has the potential to slow the growth of rental rates by reducing competition among tenants for each available home, lowering displacement pressures at the same time. While there is no one solution to rising housing costs, flexible zoning that allows more units may help ease some of the strain.

Read more read about the four jurisdictions studied.

City of Spokane

Plan Commission

Meeting Schedule

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the Month in City Hall

WHAT HAPPENED?

• June 14: Plan Commission heard a range of public comments on the Building Opportunity for Housing Comprehensive Plan text amendments and discussed staff supported amendments to that language based on feedback from Plan Commission and the public during the public comment period. [watch workshop recording]

WHAT'S NEXT?

• Wednesday, June 28, Public Workshop: Phase 2 of Building Opportunity for Housing, which will focus on development code changes to increase housing choice, will be introduced at the Plan Commission public workshop, which begins at 2 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 28, Public Hearing: The Comprehensive Plan Amendments for Phase 1 of Building Opportunity for Housing will be at the Plan Commission public hearing starting at 4 p.m.

We want your feedback!

Provide written comment in email to DevelopmentCode@spokanecity.org. This email list will be notified regarding additional opportunities for participation.

Sign up for Shaping Spokane Housing email updates and announcements here.

Interested in requesting an outreach event? Email us!

Development Services Center is Open to Serve You!

Monday-Friday | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• In person - 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd - 3rd Floor of City Hall
• Online - Skip a trip to City Hall with online permitting, an email to permitteam@spokanecity.org or Electronic Document Review
• Phone - A representative can assist you at 509.625.6300

You are receiving this email because you signed up via the Spokane Housing Action Plan website, have been identified as an individual or stakeholder in the discussion, or expressed interest in receiving planning project updates from the City of Spokane. Please feel free to share this email with others who are interested in receiving email announcements about this project. To unsubscribe, please email developmentcode@spokanecity.org.