SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane city officials are voting on ordinances to ease the rebuilding process for homeowners who lost property in the Spokane Complex Fires, though some homeowners remain concerned their neighborhoods may fundamentally change.
The City Council will hear public testimony and vote on the two ordinances at tonight’s meeting. One would permit homeowners to place temporary housing units, such as a motorhome, on or adjacent to their property while they rebuild their primary residences. The second ordinance would grant regulatory relief by allowing homeowners to reconstruct buildings exactly as they existed before the fires, even if local zoning codes have changed since the original structures were built.
City planners note that current zoning rules, developed after many fire-damaged neighborhoods were originally constructed, now allow for more units and greater flexibility in housing types. Those rules were not written with the expectation that entire fire-damaged areas would require simultaneous reconstruction.
However, some property owners worry about what neighborhoods will look like once rebuilding concludes. Spencer Gardner expressed concerns about potential speculative development patterns. “There are some concerns about preparatory behavior: people coming in and buying multiple properties in a row and building in a way that was significantly different than what was really envisioned,” Gardner said.
To address these concerns, city officials revised the ordinance to include a four-unit limit per lot for new developments.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Spokane City Hall.
You can read more about the ordinances in the meeting agenda, linked here.
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