Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can keep track of and fight for the issues you care about.
Here are highlights of what’s coming up:
- SpoVal is looking to establish criminal penalties for exposing another person to controlled substances, an expanded version of an ordinance they previously considered that would have just protected kids or vulnerable adults.
- The Spokane Regional Transportation Council is divvying out millions in funding for transportation projects across the region, and some of your favorites might be getting funded!
- As it sits, Spokane is not projected to have enough affordable housing to meet population needs by 2046. What will the city do about it? Tune into the Plan Commission to find out.
- Keep reading the words “transit-oriented development,” and feeling confused? The Spokane City Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board is getting a crash course on the concept, and you can too, by watching the meeting!
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board
- Spokane Regional Transportation Council
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Spokane Plan Commission
Spokane City Council
/5 peppers
The July 7 meeting is cancelled
Next week’s sneak peek:
- The council is set to vote on Special Budget Ordinances to accept grants and add them to the biennial budget, plus spend $730,000 of the opioid settlement dollars on “contractual services.” Contractual services for what, you may ask? Great question. No additional information was included.
- A vote on an ordinance to prohibit new housing developments receiving the city’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption credit from operating units in the building as short-term rentals (think Airbnb). This is intended to ensure projects receiving the tax credit are actually contributing in the long term to the region’s housing supply.
- A vote on the deferred ordinance to create a simplified civil infraction system.
- A first read on the ordinance to update the city’s old Complete Streets ordinance.
Spokane Plan Commission
/5 peppers
Too much unaffordable housing, not enough affordable housing
The results are in and they’re not looking good: Spokane will not have enough affordable housing units to accommodate estimated population growth by 2046 (that would be just over 20 years from now, but that doesn’t mean we have enough affordable housing as it stands now either). The report, prepared by a senior city planner, was a necessary step in updating the Comprehensive Plan and meeting the requirements of both the Growth Management Act and House Bill 1220…