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Spokane begins racially disparate impacts analysis for housing to comply with state law
Summary
City planners outlined an initial approach Jan. 8 to comply with House Bill 1220: analyzing racially disparate impacts, displacement and exclusion in housing and incorporating findings into the comprehensive‑plan housing element; the work will build on the housing action plan and the 2024 Fair Housing Plan.
Planning staff on Jan. 8 briefed the Planning Commission on the city’s initial approach to a racially disparate impacts analysis for housing required by Washington’s House Bill 1220. The presentation explained the statutory mandate, the planned data‑analysis approach and next steps for engagement.
Martin Murphy (planning services) said HB 1220 requires cities to identify policies and regulations that cause disparate racial outcomes in housing access, displacement or exclusion and to reflect that analysis in the comprehensive‑plan housing element. Staff said the work will build on earlier local efforts including the 2021 Housing Action Plan, the 2024 Fair Housing Plan and recent middle‑housing code changes.
Why it matters: the mandate is intended to surface policies—intentional or unintentional—that produce unequal housing outcomes by race and to generate policy responses. Staff said the analysis will inform comp‑plan policies and possible regulatory changes to increase fair access to housing and reduce displacement risk.
Method and near‑term tasks described: - Data categories: staff and consultants will analyze (1) direct measures of housing choice (homeownership, overcrowding), (2) indirect measures of well‑being tied to place (educational attainment, environmental exposures), (3) exclusion indicators (historic racially restrictive covenants and patterns of access) and (4) displacement and displacement risk (evictions, foreclosures, rent burden and updated displacement‑risk mapping). Brandon Marsh and Dela Matunji joined the presentation to discuss methods and data sources. - Data sources and limits: staff said many measures come from Census and local administrative data; some relevant indicators (for example, mortgage‑denial data) may be available only from third‑party sources or at different geographies, and staff will note those limits in reporting. Commission members asked about how the city will account for external economic drivers that intersect with race, and staff said the analysis will document both local policy effects and broader structural drivers where data permits. - Alignment and outcomes: the analysis will feed into housing element updates required under HB 1220 and complement the city’s ongoing housing supply and targets work. Staff said the product will likely take the form of a technical report and policy recommendations that will be adopted as part of the comprehensive plan.
Engagement and next steps: staff said they will review existing community engagement products, consult stakeholder groups (including Northwest Fair Housing Alliance and neighborhood organizations), form an internal inter‑departmental working group and begin targeted outreach in Q1–Q2 2025. The commission was told the work is in an early data‑collection phase and will return with findings and policy recommendations later in 2025.
The presentation emphasized that the purpose is to reveal disparities and inform policy responses, not to assign individual blame. Staff said the city will evaluate both intentional and unintentional policy effects and pursue policy changes where the analysis indicates they are needed.
