Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.
Some things that stick out to us this week include:
- The Spokane City Council will vote on a number of items related to wildfire recovery, including an emergency ordinance to cut demolition fees and a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce to direct $1 million in state funds to residents impacted by the Spokane Complex Fire.
- At the council’s Finance and Administration Committee meeting, they’ll consider an emergency ordinance to implement eviction protections for renters who lost income due to the fires — protections that would also be available to people impacted by future emergencies.
- Spokane City’s Plan Commission will be discussing a policy to allow accessory dwelling units on properties with no primary dwelling unit — a technical way of letting people who are rebuilding in the wake of the fires start smaller, with a tiny home or other structure to get them back in stable housing even as full home rebuilds take more time.
- The Spokane County Planning Commission will host its first workshop on slate of data center zoning regulations the County Commission made way for last week.
Spokane City Council Agenda Review
Up for a vote next week:
- A contract to give Liberty Lake-based Frank Family Investments an 8-year Multifamily Housing tax exemption for the creation of 200 housing units in the Kendall Yards neighborhood.
- An ordinance to allow existing funds to be used to expand access to cooling, heating and weatherization services to individuals who meet the criteria established by the HEART Fund
- An ordinance that would get rid of a city requirement for charitable organizations to obtain a free “charitable solicitation” license. Because this duplicates state requirements, Spokane could cut this requirement at the city level.
- An extension on the interim zoning ordinance that temporarily removed height limits on new buildings downtown
Up for a vote in two weeks:
- A contract to address a lack of culturally responsive treatment services for the opioid crisis — i.e. services specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of marginalized communities. The city council could contract with four organizations: Center for Growth and Empowerment through Compassionate Addiction Treatment, The Native Project, Nuestras Raices and Washington State University with Spokane Tribal Network. The total cost of these services is under $500,000, which was already approved in the 2026 budget.
- An ordinance that would create a process for vacant and underutilized commercial spaces to be temporarily activated. That means spaces like, say, the former Rite Aid downtown, could be more easily transformed for temporary commercial events like, say, the Punk Rock Flea Market.
If you want to provide public comment on any of these items, you can do so at the city council meeting on Wednesday!
Agenda here when available.Tuesday, August 25 at 11 amCouncil Chambers808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Wildfire recovery is still top of the list for the Spokane City Council, which is set to approve a slate of contracts and policies aimed at helping Spokanites rebuild…