Design rules for Spokane's centers, corridors being revised

Open House on proposed changes set for Wednesday

Julie Happy, 509.625.7773

Monday, February 2, 2015 at 11:27 a.m.

The City’s Planning & Development department, Council Member Amber Waldref and community stakeholders are working to update the City’s design guidelines for centers and corridors – areas targeted for vibrant, mixed-use growth in Spokane. Waldref says minor changes now will help address developer and neighborhoods concerns as the city updates the Comprehensive Plan in the coming year.

“Design standards for Centers and Corridors were created in 2002 prior to the City identifying all centers,” Waldref explains. “Some standards do not meet the intent of Centers and Corridors language in the city Code.”

Wednesday’s Open House will let the Spokane community learn about the proposed revisions and provide feedback.

  • WHAT: Open House (drop-in format) 
  • WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 4 (4-6 p.m.)
  • WHERE: West Central Community Center (Newton Lounge), 1603 N. Belt

The goal of the proposed changes is to support the development of vibrant, mixed-use neighborhoods for residents and businesses alike. Some of the changes include changing some of the discretionary language to required language (“should” to “shall”) and changing language to require building to the street and to corners when a site is on a corner.

To learn more about the revisions and the Centers & Corridors Design Guidelines, visit the project’s page at SpokaneCity.org.