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City staff outline digital, streamlined approach to comprehensive plan update
Summary
City planning staff told a Planning Commission subcommittee they have redrafted the comprehensive plan to be shorter, digital-first and compliant with recent state growth-management changes, and that the housing element will require extra time and coordination.
Planner Kevin Treibot briefed the Planning Commission subcommittee on the ongoing update to the city's comprehensive plan, telling members the rewrite aims to be shorter, easier to use and available online. "This is part of our periodic update to the comprehensive plan, Dinespokane 2046," Treibot said, and he told the group every chapter has been reduced in length. "We have, by far, every single one of these chapters has been reduced by nearly half."
Why it matters: the update is intended to meet state Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements and incorporate recent legislative changes while making the plan more usable for city staff, elected officials and the public. Treibot said staff are preparing the plan primarily as a hybrid online document so readers can click cross-references and reach supporting plans without hunting for URLs.
What was discussed: staff described three broad goals for the update: meet legislative requirements, incorporate community input gathered through outreach, and streamline the document so it's readable and usable. Treibot said the Department of Commerce has issued multiple checklists staff must satisfy for the update and that more guidance is expected. He asked commissioners to comment on numbered policies and goals directly in written form so staff can track edits precisely.
Process and timing: staff said some chapters carry heavy statutory requirements and others are primarily internal policy matters. The housing chapter, Treibot said, will take more time and will be brought to the full Planning Commission for a deeper review; staff are aiming to include completed subcommittee chapters in an October package timed to a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) but cautioned that schedule might shift. Treibot said staff will maintain a "parking lot" of topics that need further study and will bring those items back to the full commission or a later meeting.
Format and references: staff recommended avoiding verbatim restatements of state code inside the plan and instead linking where appropriate to RCWs so the plan does not become inconsistent when state statutes are renumbered or amended. Treibot said the update will aim for consistency with county-wide planning policies and other incorporated plans such as the downtown plan.
Next steps: staff will continue subcommittee review of chapters, circle back on policies moved between chapters, and present the housing element to the full Planning Commission when it is ready. The subcommittee asked staff to provide side-by-side comparisons when staff say a policy is redundant or moved so members can confirm language changes.
