Spokane council approves wildfire, greenway and mobility funding and rejects West Quadrant TIF sidewalk request

At a recent Spokane City Council meeting, Councilmember Paul Dillon (District 2) said the council approved a consent agenda that included funding for cleanup of Washington State Department of Transportation right-of-way sites near homeless encampments and graffiti, a Department of Ecology grant for fuels-reduction wildfire mitigation, design funding for the Pacific Avenue Greenway, and money for the Urban Mobility 27 by 27 network; the council also voted down a request to use West Quadrant tax-increment financing (TIF) funds for sidewalk improvements.

The actions affect multiple city priorities: encampment and right-of-way maintenance, wildfire prevention, active-transportation infrastructure and neighborhood mobility. "We've seen a lot of, amazing work, with this model for wildfire prevention," Dillon said when summarizing the Ecology grant. He also said the council "voted down the approval of the West Quadrant TIF funds for sidewalk improvements" because the developer had an obligation to provide the sidewalks.

Council approvals and denials The council approved a consent-agenda package that Dillon said included funding for cleanup of WSDOT right-of-way areas around homeless encampments and graffiti; the transcript does not specify exact dollar amounts or ordinance numbers for that item. The council approved acceptance of a Department of Ecology grant for fuels-reduction work intended for wildfire mitigation; the grant funding amount and detailed conditions were not specified in the remarks.

The council approved funding for the design of the Pacific Avenue Greenway, a planned bike-and-pedestrian corridor that Dillon said will connect to the University District and a bike-and-pedestrian bridge. The council also approved funding tied to the Urban Mobility "27 by 27" network for the West Quadrant, which Dillon described as an expansion of bike and pedestrian infrastructure in that area. Specific project budgets and schedules were not provided in the recap.

TIF funds and sidewalks Dillon said the council "voted down the approval of the West Quadrant TIF funds for sidewalk improvements as we felt that this was an inappropriate use of funds because the developer was obligated to provide for those sidewalks." The transcript does not include a formal motion text, vote tally or the developer's name; those details were not specified in the remarks.

Other business Dillon said the council deferred an ordinance that would expand Safe Streets signage to collect more resident input on design options; the ordinance was held for further feedback rather than advanced. The council also held a first reading on a series of ordinances related to affordable housing, including proposed changes to what Dillon called the "1590 fund," described as a small portion of sales tax dedicated to affordable housing that would be modified to allow more flexibility for construction and services. The transcript does not specify the ordinance numbers, vote results on the first reading, or the precise statutory language for the proposed 1590 fund change.

Meeting logistics and next steps Dillon closed the recap by noting there will be no council meeting next Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day and announcing a community coffee with Councilmember Lambdin at Tay Tay's Cafe in District 2 on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Acknowledgment of source All descriptions and quotations in this article are drawn from Councilmember Paul Dillon's public summary remarks recorded in the meeting transcript.