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Spokane council defers land-capacity and zoning items to March meetings after stakeholder requests
Summary
The City Council voted to defer a land-capacity resolution and two zoning-related ordinances to March dates to allow more stakeholder engagement and staff-council coordination.
The Spokane City Council agreed to defer three planning and land-use items during the agenda review meeting to allow additional review and stakeholder engagement.
Councilmember Bridal moved to defer Resolution 2025-515, the land capacity analysis, for one week to the March 10 meeting. “I will be making a motion to defer this for a week,” Bridal said, adding she would likely add the item to the urban experience agenda so builders and realtors could address the council. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote; city staff noted there was no looming deadline that required a vote that night.
Council staff and multiple council members said the request followed outreach from realtors and home builders who wanted an opportunity to comment. City staff member Mr. Gardiner told the council, “there is no deadline looming that we absolutely have to have this vote tonight,” and described the analysis as technically detailed, meaning it had not undergone broad-based public workshops but had included stakeholder meetings and plan commission engagement.
The council also deferred final reading of Ordinance C36646, relating to interim zoning height limits, to the March 24 meeting and scheduled the required hearing for that same date. Staff explained the code timelines and SEPA advertising already established the March 24 date and said holding the hearing the night of adoption would avoid a second hearing later.
Finally, the council deferred final reading of Ordinance C3664141, relating to the mid-biennial review process, to March 24 to allow Councilmember Cathcart and the administration extra time to coordinate language changes; Councilmember McKeitcard moved the deferral and it was seconded and approved by voice vote.
All three deferrals were adopted by voice vote during the agenda review; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the agenda review transcript. Staff committed to additional outreach and follow-up meetings with stakeholders before the rescheduled hearings and votes.
