Planners tell Spokane council housing element leaves roughly 4,400-unit shortfall; Planning Commission hearing set April 14

Spokane planning staff told the City Council on March 5 that the city must plan for roughly 22,400 new housing units over the planning period and that current zoning and development capacity leave a shortfall of about 4,400 units in the most affordable band.

Kevin Freeboard, a planner leading the housing presentation, said the citys allocation is built from a regional forecast and county allocation process. "Ultimately what we have is about twenty two thousand four hundred new housing units that we need to accommodate," he said, adding that the state tool used to split needs by affordability bands does not require the city to build those units but to show capacity and policy tools to accommodate them.

The shortfall, staff told council, reflects both projected growth and a need to "catch up" for past underproduction. Staff described the state Housing Allocation Planning Tool (provided by Commerce) and said the required analysis separates housing needs into affordability bands tied to area median income and HUD rules. With current zoning and standards, staff said the city is about "44 units short on the most affordable units" (staff clarified this represents roughly 4,400 units over 20 years and will need to be addressed in the comprehensive-plan housing chapter and related code changes).

Planning staff also presented an environmental-impact-statement (EIS) process and a preferred-growth alternative developed with public outreach. The preferred map, staff said, is conceptual and aims to add approximately 200to400 acres of land for higher-capacity housing (the staffestimate assumes roughly 30 units per acre in the areas targeted to meet lower-income demand). Staff emphasized the preferred alternative will be refined with parcel-level mapping and clearer public materials before any final land-use changes are proposed.

On emergency housing, planner Holly Stall (who identified herself as a new hire in the planning department) summarized an emergency-housing land-capacity analysis. "Emergency housing is allowed pretty much everywhere that residential development is allowed," she said, and staff reported the city has existing land and zoning capacity substantially above the need Commerce projected for shelter and transitional beds.

Council members asked for specificity about what policy directions will look like and whether the comprehensive plan will lock in particular regulatory tools. One council member who spoke at length (later called Councilman Midlane in the discussion) said he worried a long list of potential policies "is going to push investment elsewhere" and could cause disinvestment that raises costs for his constituents. "I'm extremely fearful of the long list you just read off that not only is that going to push investment elsewhere... it's also going to result in a lot of disinvestment," he said.

Another council member, Council Member Dillon, asked about tenant-centered tools such as rights for tenants when apartment complexes change ownership: "Can they buy it? What does that look like to transition to actual ownership?" Staff replied that the comprehensive plan typically sets policy direction and that more detailed and enforceable tools generally come later through code changes and the code-modernization process.

Staff said the Planning Commission has been engaged in shaping the preferred alternative and that a public hearing is scheduled for April 14; if the commission forwards a recommended preferred alternative, staff expects to bring a resolution to council likely in May to direct further work on detailed land-use mapping and code updates.

Staff emphasized the process is iterative: the comprehensive plan will set higher-level policy direction required by state law (including changes from House Bill 1220 and Growth Management Act guidance), while specific regulatory measures and mitigation frameworks would be developed through code modernization, ordinances, and any EIS-required mitigation. Staff also said the city will continue public outreach, post clearer story-map materials, and publish a newsletter before the hearing.

The study session closed with staff noting a likely joint meeting of the Council and the Planning Commission in April depending on hearing timing; no formal council votes were taken at the session.

Ending: The Planning Commission hearing on the preferred growth alternative is set for April 14; staff will refine maps, publish outreach materials, and return to council with a proposed resolution and a path to code updates and implementation.