7/19/2022
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The Spokesman-Review
Spokane City Council OKs one-year zoning change allowing multifamily housing
Letter to the Editor from George Taylor
KREM
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The Spokesman-Review
Spokane City Council OKs one-year zoning change allowing multifamily housing
By Greg Mason
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Make way for the “missing middle.”
The Spokane City Council signed off Monday on a temporary zoning change to open up the city to more multifamily housing styles and townhomes, options that have been defined as ”missing middle” housing.
The interim zoning ordinance will allow duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhomes in all residential zones citywide for one year. The ordinance has no restrictions on the allowable number of attached townhouses.
Known as the Building Opportunity and Choices for All initiative, the interim zoning change was first introduced last month with endorsements from Mayor Nadine Woodward and the City Council as a way to help solve the city’s housing crisis.
Spencer Gardner, the city’s planning director, has said the one-year time frame allows the city to expand housing options now so officials can work toward permanent changes in the future.
State law allows the city one year to institute this kind of program, said Gardner, who added that the City Council could extend the pilot once the year is up and permanent changes are not in place. “Our hope is we will have those permanent changes done in that one-year period,” he said. “We don’t anticipate a need to extend, but if that arose, it is a possibility.”
Councilman Michael Cathcart touted the initiative as one that will increase rental access, homeownership opportunities and affordability citywide.
“Suddenly, there’s options,” Cathcart said. “You can live in the lifestyle that you want to live in because we’re creating a pathway to all of these different options. And as we build these houses, it creates a compression effect, and people are able to move up and down that ladder as a result of the increased supply.”
Back when it was first introduced, the Building Opportunity and Choices for All initiative limited triplexes and quadplexes to areas within a quarter-mile of major transit stops and a half-mile of busier commercial areas.
Councilwoman Lori Kinnear sought to reintroduce those restrictions on threeand fourplexes Monday with an amendment, but failed to garner enough support from the rest of the council.
“Reflecting on this being a one-year interim zoning change, I think I would like to see citywide up to fourplexes to see what that would look like in the next year and then next year potentially consider that,” Councilman Zack Zappone said, “and also look at how can we work with developers to make sure we’re going to incorporate some affordability in the long term, too.”
Despite this, the council’s vote to authorize the interim zoning ordinance was unanimous.
“I was going to vote no on this, and I realized that we need more housing. By the way, we need more housing,” Kinnear said. “I have to support it. I still have an issue with the fourplexes everywhere, but if that’s my only issue, I still need to go forward and support this.
“I think this is important for our city,” she continued. “We absolutely have to do something to lower rental prices and increase housing and affordability for everybody.”
The change received significant public support from the majority of those who spoke during a public comment period prior to the vote.
A public hearing is scheduled for September to evaluate the changes. Greg Mason can be reached at (509) 459-5047 or gregm@spokesman.com.
Letter to the Editor from George Taylor
Mayor Nadine Woodward is quoted as saying at her July 6 news conference that, “we make it easy to be homeless in Spokane.” Nothing could be further from the truth. As a former night manager with the Cannon St. shelter of Spokane, I have interacted and talked in depth with hundreds of homeless people. I have not met one of them who would agree with such a callous statement. To the contrary, the city of Spokane has made it very hard to be homeless. It has failed continually to provide enough shelter beds for the existing homeless much less the wraparound social services needed to lift them up out of homelessness. If the mayor would take the time to talk to the homeless and include them at the table of decision-making she would find the answer that she claims to seek to this question: What do the homeless need? They would answer, “We need someone to care, we need affordable housing, we need living wage jobs, we need access to health care.” Why is the mayor not working on these issues? Rather than advocating for stronger “sit and lie” laws and building fences under railroad bridges to keep out the homeless? The mayor needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
George Taylor
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KREM
The resolution passed by a vote of 4-3.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane City Council has voted in favor of a resolution requesting city administration to enter into negotiations with the owner of the proposed shelter on 4320 E. Trent Ave.
The resolution passed by a vote of 4-3 during city council's legislative session on Monday, July 18.
City Council President Breean Beggs said that the City's purchase of the Trent shelter would be the cheaper option over leasing.
Councilmember Karen Stratton, who voted against the resolution, said she believes the Trent building is "not an appropriate place" for a homeless shelter.
"It's warehousing people," Stratton said. "I think we can do better."
According to the resolution, the council is requesting to buy the property so the city does not end up paying for needed improvements to the building, which would increase the purchase price.
The resolution also states, "the city is poised to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars" on property improvements that will "greatly benefit the owner of the property."
The city has identified three potential funding sources that could be used to purchase the shelter space, according to the resolution: American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Commerce Department Relocation funds and 2021 unallocated general fund budget reserves.
The total cost of purchasing the building will not be known until after negotiations have finished.
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