Spokane Valley Homeless Housing Task Force Meeting – November 21, 2025

The Spokane Valley Homeless Housing Task Force met on November 21, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. The primary agenda items included approving previous meeting minutes, receiving a presentation on the five-year plan to prevent and end homelessness, and hearing an overview of Spokane Housing Authority programs and data. The task force voted unanimously to recommend the five-year plan to the Spokane Valley City Council.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of September 2025 Meeting Minutes: A motion was made and seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously (all members present voted aye).

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were made during the designated periods, both at the start of the meeting and after the motion on the five-year plan.

Discussion Items

• Five-Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness: Staff presented the Continuum of Care (COC) five-year strategic plan, which had already been submitted to HUD in March 2025. The plan is also required by the Washington State Department of Commerce with an end-of-year deadline for city adoption. The presentation highlighted that HUD is making significant funding changes: permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing currently comprise 80% of the COC's portfolio but will be capped at 30% in the future, and 70% of funding will become competitive nationwide. However, Spokane Valley does not directly receive COC dollars, so the city's funding is not directly affected, but regional resources may shift. The task force discussed the need for a consistent regional plan, noting that Spokane County and the City of Spokane have already adopted the plan. A motion was made to recommend the COC five-year plan to the City Council; this passed unanimously. The recommendation will go to the City Council in December 2025 for a vote.
• Spokane Housing Authority Program Presentation: Kelly Keenan, director of housing assistance programs, provided an overview of the housing authority's work. Key points included:
  • The authority administers HUD's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program for Spokane County and five surrounding counties.
  • It operates approximately 6,000 vouchers total, including 4,700 tenant-based vouchers, project-based vouchers, and special purpose vouchers (e.g., VASH for veterans, Foster Youth to Independence).
  • Landlord incentive programs include one-month rent bonuses for new or returning landlords and bonuses for renting in high-opportunity areas.
  • The Family Self-Sufficiency program has 33 families enrolled, with one graduate who purchased a home. The authority aims to expand to 50 families.
  • The tenant-based voucher waitlist, opened for one week in July 2024, received 5,205 applications representing over 11,000 people. Of those households, 30% were elderly/near-elderly, 45% were disabled, and 40% were homeless. Issuance of tenant-based vouchers has been paused since fall 2024 due to rising per-unit costs exceeding HUD's flat funding. The current waitlist stands at 11,202 people.
  • Current voucher holder demographics: 68% single-person households, 60% female-headed, 72% with Social Security as major income source, 21% with wages.
  • Development projects include Orchard Vista (240 units of workforce housing with on-site childcare in Spokane Valley, completion December 2026), Haifumi Inn (88 one-bedroom units for 55+ in Spokane, halfway done), and Chalice Place (85–100 units for 55+ in North Spokane, timeline pending funding).
  • Members requested a jurisdictional breakdown of waitlist applicants by Spokane Valley residency; staff agreed to provide it later.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to Recommend Five-Year Plan: Passed unanimously. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Spokane Valley City Council for adoption at its December 2025 meeting (deadline end of year).
• Next Meeting: The task force’s regular meeting date (fourth Thursday of December) falls on Christmas; a rescheduled date the week prior was suggested but no formal decision was recorded. Members were reminded of the upcoming holiday.
• Follow-Up: The chair noted a contact regarding an annual housing facility and planned to discuss further after the meeting.