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County planners present infill‑focused 'neighborhood' zoning to balance builder demand for larger parcels
Summary
Spokane County staff described two 20‑year growth approaches — infill, emphasizing mixed‑use neighborhood zoning, and expansion for larger parcels — while noting market pressures favoring large single‑family subdivisions that challenge infill.
Scott Chesney told attendees the county is weighing two growth approaches for the next 20 years: an infill approach that encourages mixed‑use neighborhoods and an expansion approach that allows larger parcel development. "An infill approach is designed, as you may have recall from our zoning conversation, to be a more of a mixed use area," he said.
Chesney acknowledged that the market in Spokane County has historically favored single‑family subdivisions and that larger builders need big pieces of land to operate economically; he said the county is working with small and custom builders to achieve infill goals while recognizing larger builders' constraints. He highlighted several model projects (Savannah Street, Summit Parkway, Kendall Yards) as examples of mixed typologies and walkable design the county is promoting.
