Spokane City Council may extend interim downtown building height exemptions

(The Center Square) – Facing a Sept. 24 sunset, the Spokane City Council may extend its self-imposed deadline on an ordinance that allows developers to exceed the local building height limit in downtown.

The officials passed the interim zoning law in March to attract economic development amid a shortage of housing at various income levels. Mayor Lisa Brown pushed the idea as a way to make the city more “dynamic and affordable,” and it continues to receive support from both sides of the city council.

Planning Director Spencer Gardner asked the dais for another six months on Monday. He said that city staff are still reaching out to residents and considering the impacts of a permanent shift to the zoning law. With an update to Spokane’s comprehensive plan coming next year, this could play a crucial role.

“The goal was that by doing this as an interim ordinance, it allowed us to kind of pilot the change, but the ultimate change would be during the comprehensive plan,” Gardner told the officials on Monday.

Developers could already build as high as they want in some areas, but the interim ordinance removed restrictions in certain parts of downtown that required setbacks above the seventh floor. The ordinance also removed a 12-story height limit, which doesn’t specify in feet, for areas outside of the downtown.

Councilmembers Kitty Klizke, Zack Zappone and Jonathan Bingle all sponsored the initial proposal in March, representing the progressive majority and conservative minority, with it passing unanimously.

Councilmember Michael Cathcart asked Monday if anything had come up to make Gardner think that they should pull back the ordinance. Planning staff is currently working on an environmental impact statement, which state law requires for proposals that are expected to have an adverse impact.

The annual periodic update to the city’s comprehensive plan typically takes place around September and October; however, jurisdictions across the state are preparing for a larger update to their 20-year plans in 2026, so Gardner said if the council wants to make this permanent, it’d have to wait a little.

“I know we hit a pause on our formal process for considering [comprehensive] plan amendments, but it still technically comes up in October,” Cathcart said. “We could entertain this as part of that, even though we’re not necessarily making it a public process to bring in more comp plan ideas.”

State law allows the council to extend the interim ordinance every six months, and Garnder said they may need to extend it at least one more time after this before the next 20-year update. If the council wanted to get this codified sooner, Gardner said they must go through the Spokane Plan Commission.

The commission doesn’t anticipate adding anything else to its workload with next year’s update taking priority, so Gardner thinks it’s unlikely that this policy will become the new normal until at least then.

“It’s easier if we just handle it during the [comprehensive] plan update,” he said.

The council will likely vote on extending the interim ordinance on Sept. 8 or soon after.