Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy Code Initiative 2066 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spokane Valley moves to align local code with Initiative 2066; council advances energy-code change to second reading
Summary
The Spokane Valley City Council held a public hearing and first reading March 11 on a narrowly drafted ordinance to ensure the city does not enforce portions of the Washington State Energy Code that conflict with Initiative 2066, now part of state law.
The Spokane Valley City Council held a public hearing and first reading March 11 on proposed Ordinance 25,002, a narrow amendment to the city’s adoption-by-reference of the Washington State Energy Code intended to resolve a conflict between the code and Initiative 2066 (which the state legislature subsequently incorporated into the Revised Code of Washington).
Deputy City Attorney Caitlin Prente (Parente in the packet) summarized the issue: the city adopts the Washington State Energy Code by reference. The 2024 update to the state energy code included provisions that have the effect of discouraging the use of natural gas in residential and commercial construction. Initiative 2066, approved by voters in 2024 and incorporated into the RCW, prohibits state code provisions that “prohibit, penalize or discourage” the use of natural gas. That created a legal conflict between the declared state energy code and the statutory directive created by voters and codified by the legislature.
The city’s proposed fix is concise: amend the local ordinance language that adopts the state code to state explicitly that the city adopts the Washington State Energy Code only to the extent its provisions do not conflict with RCW 19.27A.020(3) (the statutory incorporation of Initiative 2066). City attorneys said the ordinance is phrased narrowly to allow the city to comply with the will of voters while continuing to apply the remainder of the state energy code. Implementation details will come through an administrative interpretation (authorized by city code) to ensure that natural-gas choices are not penalized in energy-equivalency scoring used in building permits.
Public comment and concerns
Grant Gwynn, a hotel owner/operator, testified that commercial projects — especially hotels with pools, spas and large boilers — face materially higher construction costs under the state energy-code changes and said the updated code could add “about $1.5 million” to a roughly 100-room hotel he is developing. Other commenters urged the council to allow homeowners to choose the energy source and to avoid state-level overreach into private homes.
Council action
After public comment and staff discussion, councilmembers voted to place the ordinance on a future agenda for a second reading; staff emphasized the draft gives the city flexibility to adopt an administrative interpretation that removes any penalizing effect on natural-gas equipment while still complying with the remainder of the state code. Councilmembers discussed an expedited administrative process so commercial stakeholders can get technical answers for scoring and compliance during project planning.
What happens next
If the council approves a second reading, staff will finalize an administrative interpretation that amends specific scoring tables (for example, R406 for residential) to avoid penalizing natural gas choices. City staff said the State Building Code Council is likely to move on its own rulemaking at some point; the local administrative interpretation is presented as an interim, narrowly tailored fix to the conflict between current state code text and RCW 19.27A.020(3).
