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Planning staff brief committee on periodic update and new climate planning requirements
Summary
City planning staff said the periodic comprehensive plan update (mandatory every 10 years) is underway and staff are integrating a newly required climate element. The Environmental Impact Statement timeline slipped from October to December; staff plan public outreach and workshops in November and January.
City of Spokane planning staff briefed the Urban Experience Committee on the periodic update to the city’s comprehensive plan and the integration of a new climate planning element required by the state.
Terrell Black, senior planner, said the city is in the middle of the mandatory 10‑year periodic update and that chapters are under review by staff and the Planning Commission. "We are in Q2 Q4 20 25. We are working a lot on chapter review," Black said, adding the work includes technical chapters such as housing, land use and transportation as well as non‑technical chapters.
Climate planning: Logan Callan of Integrated Capital Management summarized the climate planning work being incorporated into the comp plan. He said state guidance requires greenhouse gas reduction policies, vehicle‑miles‑traveled reductions, environmental justice measures and resilience goals across sectors. Staff estimate they will draft roughly 20 to 40 climate policies and will present a policy matrix that shows how climate policies relate across chapters.
EIS timeline and outreach: Planning staff said the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) delivery slipped from an anticipated October release to December because of issues encountered in preparing the technical documents. Staff plan a public engagement push in January after the EIS is available and earlier workshops in November on chapter drafts now posted to the project website.
Why it matters: The periodic update sets policy and land‑use direction for the next decade. Committee members were reminded that the climate element is newly mandated by state law and will be woven into several comp‑plan chapters. Staff asked council to expect study sessions next year for deeper discussion on specific chapters.
Follow‑up: Staff said they will continue chapter releases on the engagement platform, publish the draft EIS when available and schedule workshops by district and citywide in November and January to solicit public input.
