Spokane County planners set timeline for FEIS, propose hybrid preferred alternative

Spokane County senior planner Scott Chesney told the Planning Commission that the county will move from the DEIS stage to a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) that emphasizes a hybrid preferred alternative rather than a single, full three‑option analysis. "We're going to talk about how we get to a final environmental impact statement and also how that's going to affect things like our urban growth area and our development uh goals," Chesney said as he opened the presentation.

Chesney said the FEIS will focus on five core questions—what changes are proposed, whether there are alternatives, what the environmental impacts are, whether impacts can be mitigated, and whether any unavoidable adverse impacts exist—and that the FEIS will include a public comment period before a final recommendation is sent to the Board of County Commissioners. He told commissioners the county plans a board briefing on Aug. 24 and a public Planning Commission discussion on Aug. 27, with a draft recommendation and subsequent public comment anticipated in September.

The staff presentation emphasized that the FEIS and the comprehensive plan update are connected but follow distinct calendars, and that statutory Growth Management Act (GMA) deadlines constrain how much the county can delay work without legislative action. "Short of governor calling a special session for this, there is no legislative relief to the calendar," Chesney said, underscoring staff's intent to keep to the existing schedule.

The commission will review the FEIS's preferred alternative, the maps of proposed NR1/NR2 zoning, and suitability standards; the FEIS period will let agencies and the public weigh in on the hybrid approach before the county forwards a recommendation to the board.