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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Planning Commission Study Session on Comprehensive Plan Updates – May 14, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, May 14, 2026

BodySpokane Valley, Washington

SessionCity Council & Commissions

DateThursday, May 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 41:21

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:08

We're live.

0:11

There we go.

0:13

I'd like to call the um May 14th planning commission meeting together to order.

0:26

And uh can you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:32

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:39

One nation under God.

0:42

Indivisible with liberty and justice.

0:50

Um John is on his the chair is on his way.

0:55

Um it's but I thought we'd get go ahead and just get through the uh roll call and uh approvals, and then he can take over the real part.

1:05

If he's not here by the time we get down to the real work, we'll uh just take a break.

1:09

So roll call, please.

1:13

Commissioner McKinley.

1:15

Here recording in progress, Commissioner Dingus, Commissioner Pokal.

1:23

Here, Commissioner Weatherman.

1:25

Here, Commissioner Winkler here and Commissioner Robertson will be here soon.

1:32

Uh approval of the agenda.

1:36

Move to approve, second.

1:39

All those in favor say aye.

1:41

Aye.

1:41

Aye.

1:43

Any opposed.

1:47

And uh approval of the minutes from April 30th, 2026.

1:53

I move to approve the minutes from April 30th, 2026.

1:58

Seconded.

2:01

All those in favor say aye.

2:03

Aye.

2:04

Aye.

2:07

Aye.

2:08

We got every everyone.

2:11

Six to zero.

2:12

Um and then commission reports.

2:15

Let's see, let's start over with it with Commissioner Weatherman.

2:18

Nothing to report.

2:19

Commissioner Winkler.

2:22

Um, I uh just came from uh program by the kindergartners out at Liberty Creek Elementary School, and still seems like Central Valley's doing a great job.

2:34

So that's all Commissioner Pacall.

2:38

Uh nothing for me.

2:39

Okay, Commissioner Dominguez.

2:42

And uh my schedule has been too full this week, and I don't have anything to report either.

2:49

Uh Mr.

2:51

Robers, the uh um administrative report.

2:56

Yeah, I have a just a short summary of what we're gonna be doing for the next few weeks, our next few meetings, I should say.

3:02

So at our May 28th meeting, we're gonna be focused on a schedule for the next year.

3:06

So we're gonna look at scheduling out those next, like I say, the next six months till adoption of the comp plan.

3:13

Um got a lot of things planned in there and we'll get down to to details, but we'll be talking about um we'll probably do another open house like we did before.

3:22

We'll do probably a couple of hearings.

3:25

Um, and we'll probably look at some other outreach outreach items that we'll be doing over the next few months once we have our full plan put together.

3:33

You'll also be getting a copy of the updated public participation summary that summarizes what we've done from start till here, and then like you say, we'll be planning out the next six months.

3:44

Um we get a takeover right here, Mr.

3:55

Roberg, is there any movement on getting the vacant position filled?

4:01

Yeah, that uh it is open.

4:02

Um I haven't checked lately to see if we've gotten what we've got for applications, but I know that it is open.

4:10

Just wanted to note that Chairman Robertson arrived at 6 05.

4:16

Thank you, and I apologize for my tardiness.

4:20

So I guess we're at the uh public comment section.

4:25

So this is an opportunity for the public to speak on any subject except items listed as public comment opportunity or public hearing as comments will be taken when those items appear on the agenda.

4:40

Do we have available for you?

4:51

Thank you.

4:53

I think it might work best if we just thank you for helping me.

5:01

Thank you for helping me.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████33%

Procedural████████████████████████████28%

Parks and Recreation█████████████13%

Transportation Safety█████████9%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%

Community Engagement██████6%

Historic Preservation█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Planning Commission Study Session on Comprehensive Plan Updates – May 14, 2026

The Spokane Valley Planning Commission held a regular meeting on May 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The primary agenda item was a study session reviewing draft elements of the Comprehensive Plan Update, specifically Transportation, Capital Facilities, and Parks, Recreation & Open Space. The commission also received an administrative report on upcoming planning milestones and heard public comments regarding procedural concerns and suggestions for enhanced citizen engagement.

Public Comments & Testimony

Former Commissioner (name not provided): Expressed strong procedural concerns about the city's expedited comprehensive plan update process. He argued that the public has had minimal participation—approximately 1,000 citizens—and that draft components (over 60 pages) have been presented without formal hearings or opportunity for public comment on language and intent. He questioned the legality of annotating plans without hearings and highlighted the difficulty of addressing complex plan language in three-minute comment windows. He urged the city to provide more meaningful opportunities for public and commission input.
Linda Clesh, Spokane Valley resident: Recommended creation of official public boards (Capital Facilities Board, Park Board, Transportation Board) with the ability to hold hearings and provide formal input. She expressed concern that the city is losing autonomy to state rules and argued that parks are not being used efficiently. She opposed a planned stadium, advocating instead for family-friendly music venues similar to Liberty Lake. She also noted a lack of support for events like ValleyFest and emphasized the need for better communication and community involvement.

Discussion Items

Administrative Report: Staff announced that the May 28 meeting will focus on scheduling the next six months through comprehensive plan adoption, including additional open houses, hearings, and outreach. A public participation summary will be provided. Chairman Robertson arrived at 6:05 p.m. and was welcomed.
Study Session – Draft Element Review (Transportation, Capital Facilities, Parks, Recreation & Open Space): Staff (Mr. Roberg) explained that the Transportation and Parks Master Plans are being developed concurrently and will feed into these three elements. The draft elements are being submitted to the state for grants by mid-June, but this does not end the process. A full, formatted draft of the entire comprehensive plan is expected by end of July. Key updates to the transportation element include alignment with new GMA requirements for a multimodal level of service and coordination with the Spokane Regional Transportation Council's Horizon 2050 plan. Capital Facilities updates include new data tables and will incorporate multimodal and parks level-of-service data. Parks element updates incorporate findings from the draft Parks Master Plan, with added text on partnerships and non-city-owned resources as requested by the commission.
Commission Discussion: Commissioners inquired about the schedule for public participation and how public input will be processed. Staff indicated that input will be categorized by element and presented to the commission. Commissioners also discussed the need to review relevant RCWs (Revised Code of Washington) ahead of code amendments and requested a list of statutes that may be affected. The commission noted that the full draft will be available for public review on the city website once completed.

Key Outcomes

Decision: No formal votes were taken on the draft elements; this was a study session for discussion and to receive staff updates.
Next Steps: The draft elements will be presented to the City Council on June 2, 2026. The Parks Master Plan and Active Transportation Plan are scheduled for completion by the end of June. A complete, formatted comprehensive plan draft will be delivered to the planning commission by the end of July 2026. The commission will hold a scheduling discussion on May 28, 2026.
Public Engagement: Staff will plan at least one open house and two public hearings between July and October 2026, along with an Environmental Impact Statement process. Written public input will be accepted throughout.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m. following brief remarks from commissioners on history and community engagement.

Meeting Transcript

We're live. There we go. I'd like to call the um May 14th planning commission meeting together to order. And uh can you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice. Um John is on his the chair is on his way. Um it's but I thought we'd get go ahead and just get through the uh roll call and uh approvals, and then he can take over the real part. If he's not here by the time we get down to the real work, we'll uh just take a break. So roll call, please. Commissioner McKinley. Here recording in progress, Commissioner Dingus, Commissioner Pokal. Here, Commissioner Weatherman. Here, Commissioner Winkler here and Commissioner Robertson will be here soon. Uh approval of the agenda. Move to approve, second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed. And uh approval of the minutes from April 30th, 2026. I move to approve the minutes from April 30th, 2026. Seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. We got every everyone. Six to zero. Um and then commission reports. Let's see, let's start over with it with Commissioner Weatherman. Nothing to report. Commissioner Winkler. Um, I uh just came from uh program by the kindergartners out at Liberty Creek Elementary School, and still seems like Central Valley's doing a great job. So that's all Commissioner Pacall. Uh nothing for me. Okay, Commissioner Dominguez. And uh my schedule has been too full this week, and I don't have anything to report either. Uh Mr. Robers, the uh um administrative report. Yeah, I have a just a short summary of what we're gonna be doing for the next few weeks, our next few meetings, I should say. So at our May 28th meeting, we're gonna be focused on a schedule for the next year. So we're gonna look at scheduling out those next, like I say, the next six months till adoption of the comp plan. Um got a lot of things planned in there and we'll get down to to details, but we'll be talking about um we'll probably do another open house like we did before. We'll do probably a couple of hearings. Um, and we'll probably look at some other outreach outreach items that we'll be doing over the next few months once we have our full plan put together. You'll also be getting a copy of the updated public participation summary that summarizes what we've done from start till here, and then like you say, we'll be planning out the next six months. Um we get a takeover right here, Mr. Roberg, is there any movement on getting the vacant position filled?

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