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Spokane County steering committee reviews first-round land-capacity analysis; technical refinement planned before reallocations
Summary
Committee members reviewed an initial compilation of land capacity analyses from Spokane County and its cities and towns showing urban growth area capacity exceeding population allocations; staff said jurisdictions will refine numbers through a technical GMA analysis, with an update expected at the May 21 meeting.
Spokane County planning staff presented an initial, countywide compilation of land capacity analyses (LCAs) submitted by cities, towns and the county, and steering committee members discussed the next technical steps before any reallocation of population or housing targets.
The packet showed that, as a raw measure of developable capacity within the urban growth area, jurisdictions currently report room for roughly 25,000 more people than the Office of Financial Management (OFM) medium population allocation through 2046. Graham, the planning staff member who has been shepherding PTAC subcommittee work, emphasized that those figures are preliminary: "All of those will go through a more robust GMA analysis based on all of the elements, notably capital facilities, transportation [and] utilities," he said, and the numbers may change when infrastructure constraints are applied.
Several jurisdictions and stakeholders noted the difference between theoretical capacity and reasonably available capacity. Kevin Freeman, Millwood mayor, told the committee Millwood had completed its LCA and submitted final data; builders and industry representatives raised concerns that some jurisdictions may not have used consistent assumptions or infrastructure constraints when computing capacity. Joel White and other speakers referenced submitted analyses from local builders (including a mention of a submission from Jim Frank) and urged that capital facilities and realistic development constraints be incorporated in the next phase.
Staff timeline and next steps: Scott Chesney said the committee should expect updated, technically refined LCA results in time for the steering committee27s May meeting. He described the county27s parallel work on placemaking and EIS scoping and said staff expects to bring scoping alternatives to the Board of County Commissioners in late second quarter 2025; he also noted pending state legislation that could extend the planning deadline by six months and allow additional public participation.
Ending: Committee members directed staff to continue technical refinement, to post jurisdictional reports on the steering committee web page, and to return with updated LCA figures and capital-facilities inputs at the May 21 meeting.
