Spokane Plan Commission hears climate planning update, survey tops 1,300 responses

City planning staff and outside consultants on Jan. 22 updated the Spokane Plan Commission on the city—s climate-planning work, which will be folded into the periodic update of the comprehensive plan.

The presentation described early technical findings, an outreach program that has gathered more than 1,300 survey responses in six languages, and next steps that include a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and draft policy recommendations for later review by the commission and City Council.

The consultants said the project is focusing on community resiliency (rather than greenhouse-gas inventories) in this phase and is using a high-end climate scenario (RCP 8.5) for risk projections. Early findings highlighted a historic rise in average temperature in Spokane of more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit over roughly the last 120 years, a projected decrease in summer streamflow and snowpack (April 1 snowpack likely to fall below 75% of today—s levels), and an increase in extreme fire-danger days. The memo also maps groups and places that are likely to be more vulnerable to those hazards, including Native American, Black and Latino residents, low-income and houseless residents, youth and older adults, people with disabilities, outdoor workers, and neighborhoods already exposed to air pollution.

"We're kind of in the middle of the process now," said Lisa Greeter, a consultant with Burke…