Spokane County outlines growth alternatives, clarifies TIF/LIFT sign in Otis Orchards

Spokane County planning staff on Oct. 26 presented three alternatives for the countywide comprehensive plan update and environmental impact statement and sought public input on where and how the county should accommodate roughly 100,000 additional residents over the next 20 years.

At a public meeting in Otis Orchards, county staff also addressed concerns about a tax-increment (TIF/LIFT) district sign north of the Spokane River, saying the sign’s language described what the law allows but did not reflect any current planning approval or project north of the river.

County planning staff described three broad approaches the draft EIS will study: take no action (leave current rules and boundaries as they are); increase allowable densities inside the existing urban growth area (UGA); or combine density increases with limited expansion of the UGA. Scott Jassy, with Spokane County Planning, said the study will test whether changes to zoning and development standards can accommodate growth within existing boundaries or whether new land must be added.

"This is a sort of classic case of government where one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Planning has nothing to do with this tax increment district or its projects," Jassy said, describing the county's lack of prior notice about the sign and stressing…