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City begins scoping for comprehensive‑plan periodic update and EIS; draft targeted for 2025
Summary
Planning staff told commissioners the periodic comprehensive‑plan update (required by Washington state) will include an environmental impact statement (EIS), climate elements and housing targets; scoping and public outreach are planned to start in February with a draft expected in 2025 and final adoption in 2026.
Planning staff briefed the Spokane Planning Commission on Jan. 8 on the city’s periodic comprehensive‑plan update and the associated State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) scoping process.
Terrell Black, a city planning staff member, said the update is required by the State of Washington and will incorporate a climate planning element, growth and housing targets and an EIS that evaluates at least three growth alternatives (staff noted the final preferred alternative may be a hybrid drawn from those scenarios). The city aims to complete a draft comprehensive plan and draft EIS in 2025 and to complete adoption in 2026.
Why it matters: the periodic update will set land‑use policy, housing capacity and climate objectives for the next planning horizon; those policy choices affect zoning, infrastructure investments and possible SEPA exemptions that streamline infill development.
Presentation highlights: - Scope and schedule: staff plan an extended 60‑day scoping and visioning period (staff said the statutory minimum 21‑day scoping period is too short for Spokane); outreach will include district‑level workshops, agency notices, tribal consultation and a mix of in‑person and virtual events. Staff expect to begin scoping outreach in February. - Required elements: the update requires examination of growth alternatives, housing targets by income band, a racially disparate impacts analysis and climate planning provisions. Black said the work will draw on related initiatives (Division TOD, the housing action plan, the Fair Housing Plan and other ongoing studies). - Technical work: the EIS will model growth alternatives, transportation projects (including the North Spokane Corridor completion and Division BRT), and employment growth scenarios. Staff noted past EIS work (the 2000 citywide EIS and a South Logan EIS) and said consultants are helping prepare scoping and technical analysis. - Potential implementation tools: staff flagged the infill SEPA exemption (a statutory tool) as a subject for analysis in the EIS; they also discussed mapping of center city and high‑capacity transit areas to inform policy options.
Commissioners asked for more detail about alternatives and about how neighborhood‑scale commercial centers and “hybrid commercial” concepts would be handled; Black said those policy choices will be central to outreach and the alternative selection.
Next steps: the city will open scoping/visioning outreach in February, host workshops and prepare a draft EIS and comprehensive‑plan text for commission review in 2025.
