Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Climate Resilience topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City wraps phase 1 of climate planning; risk and vulnerability assessment delivered, phase 2 to target policy integration
Summary
City staff and consultants presented the Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, summarized extensive public and tribal engagement, and said phase 2 will prioritize policies and integrate resilience measures into the 2026 comprehensive plan.
City staff and consultants presented a final Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) to a Spokane council subcommittee on June 15, summarizing a year of analysis, public engagement and tribal consultation and outlining next steps to translate findings into policy during a proposed phase 2.
Consultant Lisa Gruder said the assessment maps multiple hazards — extreme heat, wildfire and smoke, heavy precipitation/flooding and drought — and examines who is most affected. The CRVA pairs over 30 data indicators with engagement results; staff said more than 1,500 people responded to the city’s community planning survey and that focused conversations were held with youth groups, Northeast Spokane residents and climate-justice organizations. Staff also reported four tribal engagement sessions.
Why it matters: The CRVA will guide the city’s policy choices for climate resilience and it serves as a foundational deliverable for a Commerce grant that funds phase 2. Officials said phase 2 work will run in parallel with updates to the city’s comprehensive plan, which is due in 2026.
Phase 2 will include a policy prioritization exercise — a multi-criteria analysis weighing effectiveness, cost and authority — and focused policy drafting to integrate resilience and greenhouse-gas strategies into the comprehensive plan. Staff emphasized that phase 1 is a technical report and that policy decisions and public engagement remain to be completed in phase 2.
Next steps: Staff will finalize and submit materials to Commerce, post the executive summary and CRVA online, begin external outreach over the summer and seek grant approval for phase 2; they expect policy work to occupy roughly six to eight months once funded.
Ending: Councilmembers asked about how priorities will be selected and how city staff time is being accounted for; staff said the grant covers the deliverables and that phase 2 will include cost-effectiveness analysis and public engagement before formal policy proposals are presented to council.
