Spokane consultants present early climate-impact, equity findings; city launches public survey and tribal outreach

Consultants leading Spokane’s climate-element work presented a technical update and early findings to a city advisory board, detailing projected local climate impacts, a draft policy audit and a developing climate risk and vulnerability index intended to guide the periodic comprehensive-plan update.

The memo previewed to the board highlighted that under a business-as-usual scenario Spokane could see dramatic changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. “The projected increase expected in Spokane at 11 degrees Fahrenheit in the next 75 years,” Lisa Greeter, principal at BERC Consulting, told the board, and consultants warned of more frequent extreme-heat days, reductions in summer rainfall and a near-certain decline in April snowpack by century’s end.

Why it matters: The state’s House Bill 1181 requires jurisdictions to include greenhouse-gas mitigation and community resilience in their comprehensive-plan updates, and the city must decide how to integrate a new climate element across multiple plan chapters. The consultants said the early technical work will inform where the city needs new or strengthened policy language and where equity-focused responses are required.

Body — findings and methods

Consu…