Spokane County holds Mead workshop on comprehensive-plan ‘‘placemaking’’ and new climate element

Spokane County planners and consultants on Tuesday led a two-hour public workshop in Mead to gather local input for the county's 2026 comprehensive-plan update, focusing on placemaking, resiliency and a new state-required climate element.

The workshop opened with a project overview and introductions from consultant teams. “I'm Bob Aker, a partner at Maker's Architecture and we're working on the placemaking aspect of the comprehensive plan,” said Bob Aker of Maker's Architecture. Cascadia Consulting's presenter added that “Spokane County will be adding a climate element,” a change driven by a 2023 amendment to the Washington Growth Management Act.

The session was the second neighborhood workshop in the series and combined a short presentation with interactive polling, a visual-preference survey and a map exercise. Planners said the update will rewrite land-use regulations, produce 15 comprehensive-plan elements (including a standalone climate chapter), and aim to finish the update by 2026. Staff and consultants encouraged residents to mark preferred…