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Council reviews ordinance to consolidate multiple civil-infraction classes into one
Summary
City staff and councilors described a proposal (Ordinance 36702) to collapse multiple civil-infraction classes into a single Class 1 civil infraction, including a repeat-offender provision for properties with multiple infractions.
Spokane staff briefed the City Council on an ordinance (No. 36702) on first reading that would consolidate multiple civil-infraction classes in city code into a single Class 1 civil infraction and add a repeat-offender provision for properties with multiple infractions.
Policy adviser Adam McDaniel told councilors the code currently contains four classes of civil infractions and that the ordinance would “condense it all into 1 class of civil infraction” to simplify administration. McDaniel said the change is intended to make enforcement and municipal-court processing easier.
Council staff (Mr. Wright) said the broader review of the Spokane Municipal Code (SMC) prompted recruiting an outside firm to recommend consolidation and cleanup; he described the current infraction schedules as “convoluted” and said that consolidation was part of a wider code-overhaul effort. Wright added that the consolidated schedule would remove multiple penalty schedules and replace them with a single schedule.
The proposed ordinance also includes a repeat-offender clause for code enforcement that could apply to a property with multiple civil infractions. Councilors confirmed staff had solicited input from stakeholders engaged in code enforcement and municipal court matters.
The ordinance was on first reading; no final action was taken at the agenda-review session. Staff indicated the change is intended to streamline administration for both code enforcement and the municipal court.
