[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6096734,"mediaKeyId","2830848-f191c53117127307ff528c6055da7094","parentId",2830848,"title","Council approves consent agenda and multiple municipal code updates; bicycle advisory board slate confirmed","audioSeconds",50,"startMs",1490000,"endMs",1540000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2830848-f191c53117127307ff528c6055da7094&start=1490&end=1540","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2830848-f191c53117127307ff528c6055da7094/thumbnail_1490000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6096734/Spokane/Spokane-County/Washington/Council-approves-consent-agenda-and-multiple-municipal-code-updates-bicycle-advisory-board-slate-confirmed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6096734-15848c97880b8575084c1d4c2b673aa4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123233&Signature=GiMoszrMBOQ3uiiIcvJoSR4tSUgPQyPFC0DQa9eGpQ~PLBIps~6eDJY11mV5t271PJVcR~0LiSlzgNWyyaqOgd424OUwZKmjPmG4gqW0J9MKAMtW59wtvi0q0zUYgITJJ-izc-YesMBCeawEG0BDt~8O0Yf6Alho-8W5LGEkFmJveYtNOpNyPf77GW4NemaNVJaCWhmCI-0KueHHq8LyVpI-UdaEI3UO06ALb7ofEaS7HWrYrf0h1KYcYkfjjvgQ9qF2GSUF~cgJ0FDCBdAVeew6g-3rp5sIzOGjl1lHC3MxgSP8Ee0hRUMW5iRNUn~DRkCFbkU02CHg~n9RzV6NQA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Spokane City, WA","date","2025-04-01T10:10:55.467Z","article","Spokane City Council approved its consent agenda and passed a series of ordinances and resolutions during the April 1, 2025 legislative meeting, enacting multiple code updates and confirming appointments to advisory boards.

The consent agenda passed by voice vote. Council members highlighted items including a Thorpe Tunnel study and funding for career-path services downtown as part of the clean and safe program. The council then proceeded through a list of resolutions and ordinances that updated municipal code chapters on animals, business licensing, purchasing and contracts, public ways and utility cost recovery, and advanced a plan commission work program for 2025–2026.

Bicycle Advisory Board appointments

Council considered four appointments to the Bicycle Advisory Board (appointees: Clark Tucker, Claudine Zinder, Daniel Powell and Jared Sweeney Demas). Public commenter Justin Holler raised concerns about the selection process and whether appointees have local riding experience; several councilmembers said they welcomed outside perspectives while others said they would vote against the slate because of the composition. After discussion the council took a voice vote; the slate passed.

Votes at a glance (items recorded in the meeting transcript)

- Resolution 2025-0021 — set hearing for April 28, 2025, to vacate Lataw Place between Inland Empire Way and Union Pacific Railroad: approved (voice).
- Resolution 2025-2022 — Plan Commission work program for 2025–2026: approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-647 — recodify animal-related section, repealing SMC Chapter 10.24 and related sections and adopting new SMC 10.74.075: approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-648 — repeal of mechanical newspaper dispenser rules (SMC chapter 10.38): approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-649 — amendments to purchasing and contracts department code sections: approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-651 — consolidate general business license and regulatory license codes into a single section (adopt new SMC 8.01.321; repeal several sections): approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-652 — correcting municipal code references after licensing streamlining; repealing and amending numerous SMC sections: approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-653 — additions to public ways and property chapter 12 (new sections): approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-654 — relating to utility cost recovery methods; repealing and adding sections to chapters 13.03 and 13.08: approved (voice).
- Ordinance C36-641 — mid-biennial review amendments to SMC 7.01 and related sections: approved (voice).
- First reading: Ordinance C36-657 — relating to fees and charges (building code/development fee schedule/historic preservation fees); further action deferred on first reading.

Why it matters: The ordinances collectively recodify and streamline licensing and regulatory language, adjust purchasing and contracting sections, and update utility cost recovery and public-ways rules. These changes are largely technical and administrative but affect permitting, licensing, code enforcement and municipal procedures.

Public comments and council discussion

- Justin Holler and other speakers raised general concerns about city spending priorities and the selection process for advisory boards. Derek Azaro questioned a listed mayoral payment to Catholic Charities that appeared on the consent agenda, prompting public debate about non‑profit contracts (see separate public-comment coverage). Councilmembers responded that some operational oversight rests with boards (for example, the library board) and encouraged public engagement.

Implementation and next steps

- Most items were adopted by voice vote and are effective per the ordinance language (effective dates set in the respective ordinances where specified). The first-reading fees-and-charges ordinance will return for later action.

Details on appointments

- Appointees to the Bicycle Advisory Board were named on the record as Clark Tucker, Claudine Zinder, Daniel Powell and Jared Sweeney Demas; the transcript records objections from some members about the slate’s composition but records the appointment as passed by voice vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","March 31st, 2025 Spokane City Council Legislative Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Spokane City Council passed its consent agenda and approved multiple municipal code updates by voice vote, including consolidated business licensing rules and revisions to purchasing, public-ways and utility cost-recovery chapters; the council also confirmed four Bicycle Advisory Board appointees amid public comment.","taxTitle","Spokane, Spokane County, Washington","taxId",2644,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6096739,"City council adds draft letter urging full funding for North–South Corridor; members and residents press legislators to finish project",1099,1906000,3005000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2830848-f191c53117127307ff528c6055da7094&start=1906&end=3005","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2830848-f191c53117127307ff528c6055da7094/thumbnail_1906000.jpg","/articles/6096739/Spokane/Spokane-County/Washington/City-council-adds-draft-letter-urging-full-funding-for-NorthSouth-Corridor-members-and-residents-press-legislators-to-finish-project","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6096739-d4240ef0f33cb428b92a39fe9cf33255/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123233&Signature=TqGcbY2yeKMCs6NURPkgxve6PhemjGwGKMSDUCEPFhlDRE5bKPhxSM8TZJziCvIHHSl~nIt2CVHGtvClgzUpjZoqU2qzqJfSMPAnTLDdWZQ2aaCoNaAUWueOy2ESFarYgm6VNEBvRXAZmf3LLdU4A00ibQhKhm0umo5DyLarma6RV48RJS6EJVkfBaV-dpB4AiNyhnfYdGZL6rmpp71srA55FkI7V69Pe4PvMjjZs~s4AXgyz6NWqd7OPj9DNGBwPSjK8afGNwrO4FIVH3j4MHPNUxnxhMT4T9QQxQorlpOWuLgfhjQU5jEoF3NI8dllYXWUGdmzHoLVrmaclERqrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Councilmember Cathcart introduced a draft Spokane City Council letter asking the Washington State Legislature for “full funding, on time delivery” of the North–South Corridor, also referred to in testimony and council discussion as the North Spokane Corridor. Cathcart said the corridor “is very very important to the region, to the city, and to the district that I represent” and urged the council to reaffirm commitments made in the 2015 Connecting Washington plan and recent legislative action.

The item was added as a special consideration on the legislative agenda and drew public comment from neighborhood residents and advocates who urged timely completion and additional investment in adjacent neighborhoods. Tyler Timmouche (Minnehaha neighborhood) told the council, “This 1 should be a no brainer,” and asked for more beautification of the corridor. Will Hewlings, a downtown resident, urged the council to “finish what we started.” Justin Holler said he supported timely completion but said he was “conflicted as far as the tie to the February project on Ruby/division” and did not want the corridor funding coupled with other projects.

Council members from across the dais expressed support for the message in the letter. Councilmember Bridal and others recalled prior council work and outreach to state lawmakers; council members noted the corridor’s long history (several speakers referenced proposals dating to the mid-20th century) and the project’s connection to other regional investments, including Division Street work and planned bus-rapid-transit modeling. Councilmember Cathcart and others emphasized that delaying funding risks higher material costs and the project stopping short of I-90. Councilmember Bingle warned that delay could leave the corridor incomplete and “a massive physical reminder of the injustice” to neighborhoods previously bisected by freeway construction.

The transcript records extensive discussion and public testimony in favor of the letter. The record does not include an explicit roll-call vote adopting the letter; at one point the meeting record notes, “Everybody's prepared to vote,” but no further recorded voice vote or tally appears in the transcript excerpt. The council asked staff and the public to monitor state-level bills related to corridor lands and release of unused parcels.

Why it matters: Councilmembers and residents framed the corridor as tied to neighborhood reinvestment, affordable housing opportunities on idle state-owned parcels, traffic flow and safety, and the viability of related transit projects. Speakers repeatedly emphasized a delivery timeline tied to the original Connecting Washington plan and warned that further delay would raise costs and prolong neighborhood blight.

Public comment and council direction

- Multiple residents testified in favor of immediate, full funding and asked the council to press the legislature to keep the project on the 2029 timeline referenced in the Connecting Washington plan. Tyler Timmouche asked for “more trees, more grass” and less illegal dumping beneath incomplete sections. Will Hewlings said the corridor would “relieve congestion, improve traffic flow, [and] create economic growth.”
- Justin Holler urged the corridor funding to be considered separately from the Ruby/Division project, saying he was “conflicted as far as the tie” between the two efforts.
- Councilmembers repeatedly urged outreach to state legislators and noted prior advocacy; one councilmember urged support for a separate bill (referenced in public comment as Representative Fye’s bill, described as establishing a process for WSDOT land release).

Officials, agencies and documents cited

- Connecting Washington plan (2015) and subsequent reaffirmations by the Legislature (referenced in council remarks). The transcript also references ongoing WSDOT responsibilities and state lawmakers who would decide funding.

Limitations

The transcript excerpt does not show a formal adoption vote for the draft letter; the article does not assume a formal vote occurred and reports only recorded discussion and public commentary.","Councilmember Cathcart introduced a draft city letter asking the Washington State Legislature to fully fund and timely deliver the North–South (North Spokane) Corridor; councilmembers and several residents spoke in favor. No formal roll-call vote on the letter is recorded in the transcript.","actionData","errors"]

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Council approves consent agenda and multiple municipal code updates; bicycle advisory board slate confirmed

City council adds draft letter urging full funding for North–South Corridor; members and residents press legislators to finish project