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Record of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Planning Commission Regular Meeting - July 23, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, July 23, 2026
BodySpokane Valley, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateThursday, July 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

2026 at 6 p.m.

0:02

And get my notes.

0:07

We could uh stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:15

I pledge to the flag of the United States of America.

0:20

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:23

One nation under God.

0:26

With liberty of justice for all.

0:31

Thank you.

0:35

Mrs.

0:35

McClain and Assistant Terra, if you would be so kind as to uh do roll call, I'd be greatly appreciated.

0:43

Chairman Robertson.

0:45

Present.

0:46

Vice Chair McKinley.

0:49

Commissioner.

0:50

He is not here, and I can't remember if he said he was going to be absent or not.

0:55

So I believe he did.

0:58

I think he did.

0:59

So Commissioner Weatherman.

1:02

Present.

1:03

Commissioner Jorgensen.

1:04

Present.

1:05

Commissioner Winkler.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Commissioner Dingus?

1:09

Here.

1:10

And Commissioner Poquell, I believe also requested an absence.

1:18

At this time, I would like to uh um have a motion for the excused absence of uh Commissioner McKinley and Commissioner.

1:33

Okay, thank you.

1:36

So move.

1:37

Seconded.

1:39

All those in favor say aye.

1:41

Aye.

1:42

All opposed.

1:44

I believe that is five.

1:48

Yes and zero.

1:50

No.

1:52

Um at this time I'd like to uh have a motion to approve the agenda.

2:00

Move for approval of the agenda.

2:03

Is there any additions or anything on that?

2:08

Any discussion?

2:10

If not, uh all those in favor say aye.

2:14

First of all, I believe I need a second.

2:16

Yeah, we just need a motion.

2:19

What's that?

2:19

We need a motion.

2:20

There was a motion.

2:21

Oh, okay.

2:22

I'm sorry.

2:22

Second.

2:24

Thank you.

2:27

And uh all those in favor say aye.

2:30

Aye.

2:30

Aye.

2:31

All opposed.

2:33

Uh thank you for accepting the agenda for this evening.

2:36

Um, and that was 5-0 as well.

2:40

Uh the approval of the minutes from our May meet 28th uh meeting.

2:46

Um do I have a motion or any amend amendments.

2:52

Move to approve.

2:53

Second.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection████████████████████████████28%
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Community Engagement███████████████15%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Transportation Safety█████████9%
Active Transportation████4%
Public Safety████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Planning Commission Regular Meeting – July 23, 2026

The Spokane Valley Planning Commission met on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting included approval of previous minutes, a public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the 2026-2046 Comprehensive Plan Update, and administrative reports on upcoming meetings.

Consent Calendar

  • Excused absences were approved for Vice Chair McKinley and Commissioner Poquell (5-0).
  • The agenda was approved (5-0).
  • The minutes from the May 28, 2026 meeting were approved (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Brent Heath (1820 North Eli Road, Spokane Valley) requested a traffic engineering study at the intersection of Knox and Vista, citing congestion and poor reaction time due to parked cars and power poles. Staff indicated the request would be forwarded to the traffic engineer.

Administrative Report

  • Planning Manager Mr. Roburge outlined the upcoming meeting schedule:
    • August 13, 2026: Dedicated to walking through the draft Comprehensive Plan, including new traffic analysis and maps.
    • August 27, 2026: Focus on state-mandated code amendments, without a draft code yet.
    • September 2026: Public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan and code amendments.

Discussion Items

Public Hearing: Comprehensive Plan Update 2026-2046 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

  • Staff presented the SEPA process, noting the DEIS was released on July 10, 2026, with a 30-day comment period ending August 10, 2026.
  • Three land use scenarios were analyzed: No Action (non-compliant with GMA), Scenario A (limited rezone to meet housing allocations), and Scenario B (higher densities citywide).
  • Commissioner Dingus asked if the commission would receive a summary of comments; staff confirmed the Final EIS will include responses to all comments.
  • Commissioner Winkler noted that a WSDOT scoping letter requesting inclusion of Sullivan, Pines, Argonne, and I-90/Trent corridors was not addressed in the DEIS transportation section. Staff replied that additional multimodal level-of-service analysis has been conducted and will appear in the updated Comprehensive Plan, and that coordination with WSDOT is ongoing.
  • Commissioner Weatherman had difficulty locating the draft Comp Plan chapters on the website; staff confirmed they are available on the dedicated Comp Plan page.
  • Commissioner Dingus asked for a definition of “walkable neighborhoods” (referenced in the DEIS). Staff stated the city has no official definition, but an active transportation plan is being developed by the City Council.

Commissioner Comments (Good of the Order)

  • Commissioner Dingus praised the recent sidewalk buffer improvement on Pines Road, noting it makes walking safer.
  • Commissioner Winkler commended the public input section of the DEIS as well-organized.
  • Commissioner Weatherman reminded the commission to consider wildfire smoke and regional fire impacts in future planning.
  • Chairman Robertson gave historical notes on Independence Day events and encouraged community involvement, urging neighbors to be “citizens rather than residents.”

Key Outcomes

  • The public hearing on the DEIS was opened and closed without public testimony beyond Mr. Heath’s earlier comment. No formal action was taken on the DEIS.
  • The comment period on the DEIS remains open until August 10, 2026.
  • The commission will next meet on August 13, 2026 for a Comprehensive Plan overview, and on August 27, 2026 for code amendment discussions.
  • The meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:45 p.m. by unanimous voice vote.

Meeting Transcript

2026 at 6 p.m. And get my notes. We could uh stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. With liberty of justice for all. Thank you. Mrs. McClain and Assistant Terra, if you would be so kind as to uh do roll call, I'd be greatly appreciated. Chairman Robertson. Present. Vice Chair McKinley. Commissioner. He is not here, and I can't remember if he said he was going to be absent or not. So I believe he did. I think he did. So Commissioner Weatherman. Present. Commissioner Jorgensen. Present. Commissioner Winkler. Here. Commissioner Dingus? Here. And Commissioner Poquell, I believe also requested an absence. At this time, I would like to uh um have a motion for the excused absence of uh Commissioner McKinley and Commissioner. Okay, thank you. So move. Seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed. I believe that is five. Yes and zero. No. Um at this time I'd like to uh have a motion to approve the agenda. Move for approval of the agenda. Is there any additions or anything on that? Any discussion? If not, uh all those in favor say aye. First of all, I believe I need a second. Yeah, we just need a motion. What's that? We need a motion. There was a motion. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Second. Thank you.

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