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Spokane holds hearing on emergency moratorium targeting drive‑throughs near planned transit stops
Summary
City staff described an emergency moratorium adopted April 13 that pauses new drive‑through and quick‑vehicle‑servicing uses in specified centers and corridors to protect transit‑oriented development; no public comment was received and the hearing closed with no changes.
Spencer Gardner, a planning department staff member, told the Spokane City Council on Monday that the council adopted an emergency ordinance April 13 imposing a moratorium on new drive‑through facilities and quick vehicle servicing uses in selected areas as the city updates zoning to support transit‑oriented development (TOD).
Gardner said the moratorium targets uses that “tend to focus on automobile, traffic and serving users in automobiles” in areas the city expects to emphasize walking and transit. He cited the Centers and Corridors study (adopted 2024) and the Division Street TOD study as policy drivers and noted the moratorium follows state limits for such pauses under RCW 36.70A.390, which restricts a moratorium to a maximum one‑year period unless extended by council action.
The staff presentation identified three mapping criteria for parcels subject to the pause: locations zoned for centers and corridors that lie within one‑eighth of a mile of designated high‑performance transit routes (routes 1, 4, 9, 21, 25, 28, and 33), properties inside Division Street TOD study areas, and parcels within one‑eighth of a mile of planned Division BRT stops. Gardner said the moratorium is not citywide, does not affect existing uses or projects with permits submitted before the moratorium took effect, and is intended to buy time for the city’s comprehensive plan update and development‑code rewrite to incorporate TOD policy goals.
“Moratorium is just a temporary pause on a specific type of development activity,” Gardner said. He outlined a work plan tied to the comprehensive‑plan update and a development‑code rewrite, with staff aiming for rule changes by the end of 2026 but acknowledging shifts into early 2027 are possible. Gardner said the council could rescind the moratorium when it adopts new zoning rules.
There was no public comment on the hearing. The chair moved to close the hearing and the council voted to close it; the record shows no additional changes to findings and no further action required at that time.
What happens next: staff will continue the comprehensive‑plan and code updates, conduct public engagement including affected property owners, and return zoning recommendations for council consideration. The moratorium remains in effect as that process proceeds unless the council rescinds it earlier.
