Spokane Valley City Council Special Meeting – Comprehensive Plan Update – April 14, 2026
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Spokane Valley City Council Special Meeting – Comprehensive Plan Update – April 14, 2026
The Spokane Valley City Council held a special meeting on April 14, 2026, at 5:00 PM to review the Comprehensive Plan Update, including the housing, utilities, and climate elements. The meeting featured presentations from city staff and three consulting firms. Councilmembers discussed compliance with state mandates, land use scenarios, and community values. No formal public comments were taken, and the meeting concluded with a consensus on moving forward with Scenario A for the land use map.
Discussion Items
- Housing Element (Elliot, consultant): Presenter emphasized managing growth through intentional land use, focusing on the Sprague corridor, corridor mixed-use zoning, and infrastructure. Key state requirements include House Bill 1220 (disaggregated housing unit allocation by income), House Bill 1110 (middle housing in single-family zones), and House Bill 1337 (accessory dwelling units). A racially disparate impacts analysis (RDIA) found that 15% of residents identify as BIPOC, with higher housing cost burdens and lower homeownership rates among these groups. Councilmember Merkel questioned the statement that “current policies” contribute to disparate impacts, noting no specific policies were identified. Staff agreed to review and clarify language. Adequate provisions to address barriers to affordable housing were discussed, including multifamily tax exemption, incentive zoning, and permit streamlining. Councilmember Kelly raised concerns about a statement on page 20 of the RDIA referencing “past and current policies” and a discrepancy in BIPOC percentages (15% vs. 23% in different parts of the document). Staff will follow up on consistency.
- Utilities Element (Bill Grimes, SCJ Alliance): Focused on private utilities (energy, natural gas, telecommunications) and coordination with providers. Councilmember Merkel raised concerns about predatory solar marketing and battery storage (BESS). Councilmember Wick suggested right-sizing utility corridors to free developable land. Councilmember Haley noted the importance of hydropower and natural gas. Staff acknowledged these points and will consider edits.
- Climate and Resiliency Element (Nicole Gutierrez, Cascadia Consulting): Required by House Bill 1181, includes greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and resilience sub-elements. Priority hazards identified: extreme heat (average summer temperatures projected to rise 13°F by 2100), snowpack decline (86-100%), wildfire risk (62% higher than U.S. average), and increased precipitation (18% by 2100). GHG inventory shows 63% from transportation, 24% from buildings. Councilmember Merkel criticized the exercise as unrealistic, noting that state targets (95% below 1990 levels by 2050) are unattainable. Councilmember Wick asked for goals to support industrial and business sectors. Councilmember Yeager questioned the definition of “community health” in land use patterns. Councilmember Kelly requested removal of goal CE-G8 (expand EV infrastructure) to avoid financial obligation. Mayor and staff noted that the city must have a compliant climate element but can tailor policies. Staff will work with consultants to refine language.
- Land Use Map Scenarios: Staff presented two scenarios (A and B) for accommodating housing unit allocations. Scenario A involves rezoning to lower densities (32 du/ac in multifamily zones) and Scenario B maintains current densities (40 du/ac) without rezone. Councilmember Merkel expressed concern about preserving Auto Row, but staff noted state law prohibits restricting multifamily in commercial zones. After discussion, the council reached consensus (4 votes in favor) on Scenario A, with the understanding that development regulations will be crafted to encourage homeownership and creative housing types (e.g., cottages, townhomes). Future meetings with developer Jim Frank of Greenstone were announced to explore alternatives.
Key Outcomes
- Consensus on Scenario A for the land use map (4 votes in favor, with Councilmembers Merkel, Wick, Haley, and Yeager supporting; Councilmember Kelly and Deputy Mayor Hattenberg (excused) did not vote).
- Directives: Staff will review and revise language in the RDIA to clarify that no current policies create racially disparate impacts, and will ensure consistency in BIPOC percentages.
- Future Meetings: A presentation by Jim Frank on vertical mixed-use and affordable housing options will be scheduled. The next comprehensive plan workshop is expected in approximately six weeks (early June 2026) to review remaining elements.
- Compliance Path: The city will submit draft elements to the Washington Department of Commerce by June 12, 2026, to meet grant obligations. The full plan must be adopted by the end of 2026.
- Informal Comments: Councilmembers emphasized the importance of homeownership, economic development, and practical, community-specific language in the plan. Staff will continue to work with consultants to refine goals and policies.
Meeting Transcript
I'm sure I'll be here. I think he's I don't even have to do that. Yeah, uh legislative their legislative conferences in DC. I think you meant he was on the bus. Mayor Patton, it's five o'clock when you're ready. Okay. Thank you. We will bring this special meeting of the Spokane Valley City Council for Tuesday, April 14th to order. Um, and we start with the Pledge of Allegiance. If you will all stand. Will the clerk call the roll, please? Certainly. Mayor Patton? Here. Councilmember Merkel. Here. Councilmember Wick? Here. Councilmember Haley? Councilmember Yeager? Yeah. And Councilmember Kelly. Present. And Deputy Mayor Hattenberg. Move to excuse Deputy Mayor Hattenberg. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed. Deputy Mayor is excused. We now have the approval of agenda. Move to approve the agenda. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed. Okay, the agenda is approved. And before we begin our discussion of the comprehensive plan, which comes up next, um, I would like to provide a reminder to all council members and everyone in the public about some of the processes that we go through so they can understand what happens here. So the mayor is the presiding officer of the city council meetings, and among other things, the mayor's role as providing officer is to ex to expedite business and of the council and decide all questions of order, subject, of course, to appeal to the council body. To keep the council meetings moving forward in an orderly and expeditious manner, the mayor may stop any council member who, in my view, is not abiding by the rules, guidelines, and procedures or decorum. The points of order, on the other hand, are made by other council members when they feel that the presiding officer has missed something or is in dereliction of their duty. As referencing uh Roberts rules, these points of orders are non-debatable. Uh the mayor's ruling is also non-debatable. It can be appealed. It has to have a second, uh, and then it goes to a void of vote of the entire council. And this is one of the checks and balances that is in the system so that the presiding officer is uh not allowed to become a tyrant. Uh regarding asking about making a ruling by the from the parliamentarian, that is done on the request of the presiding officer alone. So with that said, and with that in mind, I think we can proceed to the meeting. Uh and our only non-action item is report on the comprehensive plan update uh by quite a number of people, but I guess primarily uh Steve Roberts and Mike Basinger.
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