Spokane City Council approves new ordinances to develop affordable housing

Taylor Graham by Taylor Graham

City council members unanimously approved a new set of housing ordinances Monday in hopes of creating more affordable housing and combating the city’s housing shortage.

The ordinances call for taller buildings on narrower lots with reduced parking in certain zones of the city. Those changes will hit neighborhoods in what the city calls “high-density areas” that are aligned with public transit, including near downtown and near the Garland district.

The ordinances focus on townhomes and homes in multi-family zoned neighborhoods.

The ordinances change parts of the city’s infill code and will allow for buildings in those high-density areas to be built 15 feet taller. The city council says taller buildings will translate to more units for people to move into. Less parking spaces at these developments, council members say, will result in cheaper costs for developers and ultimately tenants — who will live in areas with more access to public transit.

Director of neighborhood services and code enforcement Heather Trautman told KXLY after the meeting the changes will allow for more ownership opportunities, rather than renting a property.

Spokane is in the midst of a growth-spurt, which is jacking up rents and making it harder to find a place to live. A report from the University of Washington says a 5 percent vacancy rate shows a “tight rental market.” Spokane, according to the report, is sitting at a 1.3 percent vacancy rate.

Another report from the Spokane Association of Realtors shows compared to 2017, the average home price in Spokane is up 11.7 percent while inventory is down 21 percent.

City council president Ben Stuckart believes the changes to the infill code will not only result in more affordable housing options, but benefit the city as a whole.

“If we want to provide the services necessary in order to be a great community, we have to either raise taxes, raise the median household income or increase the number of people living here,” Stuckart said. “Because if you have more people living inside the city, the pie is bigger and we can provide better parks, better libraries, better police services and better fire services without raising taxes.”

The changes could take effect as soon as next month. To see which neighborhoods might be impacted, click here.

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