Spokane Valley planning commission reviews comprehensive plan updates and three new state housing laws

The Spokane Valley Planning Commission heard a staff briefing Thursday on updates to the city’s comprehensive plan and on three state housing laws that staff said will require changes to local land-use rules and zoning.

The presentation, delivered by staff member Steve Roberge, outlined the update schedule, recent technical work on land capacity and the specific provisions of three bills staff said will change how the city regulates housing: House Bill 13137 on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), House Bill 1120 on planning to ensure sufficient land capacity for housing, and House Bill 1110 (the “middle housing” bill).

Why it matters: the Growth Management Act and new state laws set deadlines and minimum requirements that cities must incorporate into their comprehensive plans and development regulations. Roberge told the commission the city’s periodic update is due by December 2026 and that the city’s consultant contract currently targets a finish in June 2026, giving staff additional time to prepare code changes.

Key facts and numbers

- Land-capacity analysis: staff reported about 134 acres available for commercial development, about 101 acres for industrial development and about 681 acres of residential capacity. Under current zoning, that residential capacity equates to roughly 6,000 additional dwelling units, Roberge said.

- Population and housing allocations: Roberge said the county steering committee’s allocation gives Spokane Valley about a 20,000–21,000 population increase to plan for over the next 20 years. He also cited a housing allocation figure for the city of 16,601 housing units (the commission asked staff to provide the detailed breakdowns by income band at a later meeting).

- Timing: the periodic update is due December 2026; consultants are working on analyses…