Brian Walker, Communications Manager, 509.655.1387
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 11:34 a.m.
WHAT: Public Comments Requested on Proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments
WHO: Adjacent Jurisdictions, Developers and Citizens
WHEN: Public Comment Period Runs through June 7
WHERE: City of Spokane Planning & Economic Development
The City of Spokane's Comprehensive Plan addresses many facets of city life, including land use, transportation, capital facilities, housing, economic development, natural environment and parks, neighborhoods, social health, urban design, historic preservation, and leadership.
As housing represents a critical need in the city and the region, changes to the Comprehensive Plan can help address that need through policy and text amendments seeking to make housing easier to develop and obtain in the city.
The City of Spokane has initiated a public comment period through June 7 regarding a proposed suite of text and policy changes to Chapter 3 of its Comprehensive Plan. Chapter 3 concerns land use in the city, providing the long-term vision, values, goals, and policies for development of the City for the next 20 years and more.
The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments are the first phase of Building Opportunity for Housing, a project seeking to make middle housing types (duplex, triplex, fourplex, etc.) easier to build in all neighborhoods in the city. The proposed amendments make middle housing types of up to six units per lot appropriate within low-density residential areas, in part as a first step toward complying with new state housing law.
This proposal is the culmination of countless hours of work engaging with many different parts of the Spokane community. Staff have spent the past five months in presentations, meetings, small group discussions, public events, tabling exercises, resident forums, and one-to-one meetings discussing the critical need for more housing in Spokane. The City also received a record number of more than 3,000 responses to its “Housing Journey” survey and has had hundreds of conversations about this topic.
The proposed changes will be subject to a public hearing before the Spokane Plan Commission, tentatively scheduled for June 14, with a City Council hearing to follow in July.
These efforts are part of the larger Shaping Spokane Housing strategy, a range of projects and efforts that seek to address the ongoing housing crisis in Spokane.
If you have questions regarding the Comprehensive Plan amendment or would like to provide a comment on the proposal, contact the Planning team at (509) 625-6500 or compplan@spokanecity.org.
