What: A consultant-supported update of the Spokane development code to follow the new comprehensive plan: zoning districts with clear purposes, more uses allowed by right, objective design standards and fewer layered rules.
Where it stands: Staff received the module covering zoning districts, the use table and lot standards in early October and were reviewing it internally. A community survey was open through November 15, with an in-person workshop planned for late fall or early winter.
Open questions: how many zoning districts, where design standards apply, what impact thresholds should trigger a conditional use permit or public hearing, and how to define uses such as neighborhood commercial.
Staff asked the Commission for feedback on district count, design standards and discretionary review. Members mostly favored permitting by right with conditional use as a relief valve, were wary of added complexity and numeric thresholds that buildings cluster under, and largely opposed regulating materials or facade articulation while supporting standards on blank walls and street entrances. A design review subcommittee of Commission members and volunteer professionals now handles design review.