A Vision Board is now open for community input. Before diving into policy and goal discussions, we must pause and reflect as a community on what future we hope to create for the City of Spokane in 2046. The Planning project team invites the community to share their vision for Spokane by contributing to an online vision board, a collection of images and words that identify and inspire you to reach your goals. Find more details, including information about the Periodic Update themes – “Resilient,” “Connected,” and “Livable” – on the Spokane Vision Board.
Community members can weigh in on Spokane’s periodic update efforts and long-term vision through Engage Spokane, an online community space to offer input and help shape the future of our thriving city.
The City of Spokane is commencing a periodic update to the City’s Comprehensive Plan as required by the Growth Management Act (GMA). A “periodic update” is the state’s term for a full review of a Comprehensive Plan to make sure it’s in conformance with any legislative changes to state law. The last periodic update was completed in 2017. Since the last periodic update, state law has added additional considerations especially around Climate Planning and Planning for Housing for all income levels that need to be added to the City’s plan.
Due in June 2026, the periodic update will identify policies and future regulations to guide the next 20 years of our city. View the current Comprehensive Plan.
The periodic update will include robust community outreach and engagement around climate, housing, economic development, land use, transportation and much more.
As part of this periodic update, the City of Spokane is working on integrating climate and resiliency planning into the Comprehensive Plan, as directed by HB 1181 and with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. Since this is a new topic to the comprehensive plan, engagement work has already started around climate. Learn more about the Climate Planning effort.
Do you have a question about the project? Want to ask for more details or have a suggestion for possible solutions? Contact the project team at PlanSpokane@spokanecity.org or 509.625.6500, or engage with this project on Engage Spokane.
As the project moves through engagement and development in 2024, 2025 and 2026, updates will be issued through the PlanSpokane newsletter to those on our contact list. Sign up for email updates to stay up to date on the latest developments and engagement opportunities for our planning efforts.
Plan Commission Workshop – December 11, 2024
City Council Periodic Update Resolution 2024-0099 Adoption – October 28, 2024
City Council Periodic Update Introduction – October 24, 2024
Plan Commission Periodic Update Introduction – September 25, 2024
The Washington Growth Management Act (GMA), first adopted in 1990 as a series of statutes developed to address ways to accommodate growth, requires the fastest-growing cities and counties to complete comprehensive plans and development regulations to guide future growth. Under the GMA, every county and city in the state is required to conduct a thorough periodic update of its comprehensive plan to bring it up to date with any relevant changes in the GMA, recent case law, and to respond to changes in land use and population growth.
Spokane’s next periodic update is due in 2026.
Download the full PlanSpokane FAQ (PDF 401 KB)
The Comprehensive Plan is a long-term planning document that establishes a vision, goals, and policies that guide all aspects of Spokane’s growth and development over the next twenty years. The plan guides the City’s actions related to land use and growth, housing, economic development such as workforce and business opportunities, natural environment protection, as well as infrastructure, parks, emergency response, wastewater and stormwater, and more.
Spokane’s current Comprehensive plan – Shaping Spokane – includes the following chapters:
The PlanSpokane periodic update the Comprehensive Plan will update the document to help guide Spokane’s growth through 2046. Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) requires each city and county to periodically review and update their Comprehensive Plans to ensure consistency with State, Regional, and County policies. The update also provides an opportunity to review population and other growth forecasts with the most up to date data, allowing for policies to be reviewed for Spokane’s evolving needs and wants.
Spokane’s Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2017, with the next due in 2026.
Recent legislative updates that will need to be incorporated into this periodic update include House Bill 1181 which requires cities to incorporate climate considerations into their Comprehensive Plans, as well as House Bill 1220, requiring provisions for housing of all income segments.
HB 1181, the state legislation requiring the integration of climate considerations into jurisdictions Comprehensive Plans, allows for two ways to meet the bill’s intent: create a stand-alone Climate Element (also known as a chapter) or integrate climate policies throughout the document. The City of Spokane has opted to integrate climate policies throughout in order to identify co-benefits that increase Spokane’s future resiliency while also supporting other goals.
Learn more about Climate Planning efforts.
House Bill 1220 passed in 2021, specified that Comprehensive Plans must have policies regarding the provision of housing for all income segments. It also requires each community to identify the number of new housing units needed at each income level. Those housing units include supportive housing for incomes that are 0 to 29 percent of Spokane’s area medium income (AMI), housing for 30-50 percent AMI, 50 to 80 percent AMI, 100 to 120 percent AMI, housing for over 120 percent AMI, and emergency housing units.
As part of the Comprehensive Plan periodic update, Spokane will be performing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This document allows the City to identify potential growth options for the next twenty years, the potential environmental and other impacts of those growth options, and what mitigation may be required to prevent any negative effects of those options.
The potential growth options are known as Growth Alternatives and will be reviewed in the Draft EIS.
The community will then be provided the details of each Growth Alternative, allowing for feedback to refine and determine which types of growth meet the community’s future vision.
A Final EIS will then be developed, based on a Preferred Alternative. The Preferred Alternative is developed from the community’s feedback of the Growth Alternatives and may include various components of one or all of the Growth Alternatives. The Preferred Alternative will be the foundation of the final Comprehensive Plan policies.
A City’s Comprehensive Plan guides future growth and development of the community for the next twenty years, through visions, goals, and policies. Those policies then filter down into regulations, such as the Spokane Municipal Code, and decision-making, such as budget allocations.
On a property-by-property basis, the periodic update will potentially look at modifying existing land uses within the City. Depending on the Preferred Alternative that is selected, this could result in the land use of your or surrounding properties changing, which could impact what future development could occur. However, regardless of any changes that occur, existing uses are permitted to remain and there are no requirements to redevelop or otherwise modify the existing use or structure.
The City of Spokane is working on robust and diverse community engagement to hear from as many residents and visitors as possible. To get involved:
Like many required plans and updates, the periodic update to the Comprehensive Plan is a standard local government requirement and part of the City’s standard working process. The City of Spokane Planning and Economic Development Services Department is tasked with managing the Comprehensive Plan, in addition to other obligations. In addition to internal staffing, the state has issued several grant opportunities to support local governments in implementing new legislative requirements. Spokane has received the grants to provide resources to conduct analysis, community engagement, and other work to inform the Comprehensive Plan update. Those grants include the Periodic Update Grant for up to $325,000 and the Climate Planning Grant funded by the Climate Commitment Act for up to $700,000, which are partially being used to hire consultants for technical assistance.
The City is also leveraging recent and current projects to reduce the work necessary to complete the periodic update. Those projects include, but are not limited to:
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City of Spokane
Department of Planning Services
809 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99201
509.625.6500
PlanSpokane@spokanecity.org
Tirrell Black
Assistant Planning Director, Project Manager
tblack@spokanecity.org
Maren Murphy
Senior Planner, Climate Element
mmurphy@spokanecity.org
KayCee Downey
Planner II, Outreach and Engagement
kdowney@spokanecity.org
