Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Climate Resiliency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spokane County considers standalone climate‑resiliency chapter to integrate with housing, transportation and resource lands
Summary
County planners presented a new climate change and resiliency chapter required by recent state law (House Bill 1181) and recommended integrating its goals with housing, land use and transportation to produce practical, implementable policies rather than isolated guidance.
Spokane County planning staff told commissioners on Feb. 23 that House Bill 1181 added a climate‑resiliency goal to the Growth Management Act and that the county has drafted a standalone climate‑resiliency element to be integrated across the comprehensive plan.
"This is brand new... we're all learning how this is going to happen," Scott Chesy said, explaining the county's approach to treat the resilience goals as a separate element in this round but to fold the guidance into housing, transportation and land‑use policies for practical implementation.
Chesy outlined seven greenhouse‑gas goals drafted by a stakeholder group (the Climate/Greenhouse Gas team) and said many policies will need local tailoring to avoid unintended conflicts—such as discouraging economic activity that uses carbon products while also protecting local industry. He used a local example of an aerospace plant expansion that uses carbon-based raw materials to illustrate the trade‑offs.
Commissioners and staff also discussed preserving agricultural and forest lands that provide climate benefits and the challenge of distinguishing forests designated for protection from wooded urban‑edge parcels that may be suitable for development. Staff stressed the need for clear definitions and mapping (USDA prime soils and soils of statewide significance were cited) to guide protections without unduly constraining reasonable growth.
Staff said the draft redline and clean versions are in commissioner packets and invited input from the board and the public; they noted the planning commission and technical advisory committees have already reviewed aspects of the chapters. The county will bring integrated drafts back in later briefings and incorporate transportation modeling and other technical work.
Next steps: staff will refine goals/policies, integrate the climate chapter with other plan elements, and return with more specific implementation proposals during the summer work program.
