Washington’s second largest city at 233,000 residents, Spokane has already made national news for its zoning reforms aimed at improving long-term housing affordability. In 2022, it legalized fourplexes citywide on a temporary basis. In 2023, it made parking optional for housing located within a half-mile of a transit stop, using a similar emergency ordinance. Finally, late last year, it adopted permanent missing-middle rules which removed unit limits entirely. The sheer ambition and scale of Spokane’s changes have attracted national attention, and arguably helped catalyze the adoption of HB 1110, Washington’s statewide missing-middle law, in 2023.

Now, if a new package of zoning reforms passes in a few weeks, Spokane will further cement its urbanist leadership and become the largest city in Washington State to make parking entirely optional citywide. It will also make (comparatively) small but meaningful changes across the city to better enable transit-oriented development and walkable neighborhoods, while seeking to ensure new housing pencils out as feasible to build.

The package is substantial, and affects many areas of the city, but here’s a breakdown of three of the most notable changes.

1) Parking will be optional

First and most notably, the package makes considerable changes to parking requirements across the City.

The original package forwarded by the Spokane Plan Commission would have made parking optional for all uses, but only in the city’s mixed-use Centers and Corridors zones. Councilmember Zack Zappone, who was one of the drivers behind last year’s parking reforms for residential zones, worked with fellow Councilmembers Paul Dillon and Kitty Klitzke (an alum of Futurewise, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable growth patterns where I serve on the board) to draft an amended package which instead makes parking optional for all uses citywide.

At its July 15 meeting, the Spokane City Council adopted this amendment to the package on a 6-1 vote.

Here’s what the minimum parking requirements looked like before and what they’ll look like if this package passes.

Figure 1. Minimum parking requirements for selected uses

As you can see, parking will be optional for every use — and this is just a selection of the uses in Spokane’s land use tables.

That said, the city’s relatively high maximum parking requirements remain in place, and range from 1 per 200 square feet or sf (5/1,000 sf) for offices to 1 per 60 sf (16/1,000 sf) for restaurants and bars. Future planning efforts could explore reducing these maximums, particularly as the city continues to invest in additional transit service and bike infrastructure.

The Parking Reform Network, which maintains a database of parking mandates across the country, reports that Spokane will be the first major city in Washington to make this change (though not the first city, as Port Townsend made parking optional in March). It joins cities like Sacramento, Austin, and Portland — once again beating Seattle to the punch, as it did with reforming single family zonings to allow sixplexes.

2) Mixed-use zones will be permitted to be more urban

The parking changes alone would make this a major reform package, but Spokane is also updating standards in its mixed-use Centers and Corridors zones to:

• Ban drive-thrus in CC1 zones and along designated Pedestrian Streets. This has been a perennial issue hampering redevelopment in certain neighborhoods and came to a head when a Chick-Fil-A was proposed on the South Hill last year.
• Increase allowable heights in Centers from 40/55/150 feet to 55/75/150 feet depending on the classification of the zone. This is intended to make concrete podium development — which is popular with apartment builders — more feasible, particularly in the middle zone —“district centers.”
• Loosen transition heights adjacent to R1 zones. Previously, at a starting height of 40 feet, buildings adjacent to R1 zones could have one foot of additional height for every two feet of linear distance from the nearest R1 property. Now, the ratio is two feet for every one foot in linear distance, which means that transition zones are much smaller.
• Remove maximum floor area ratio (FAR) standards and institute a modest minimum FAR. Restrictive floor area ratios can hamper homebuilding, acting as a proxy or amplifier for limits on height and unit density.

The package also moves Spokane away from FAR bonuses for public amenities (many of which would have been requirements in any other city). Instead, developers can now obtain an additional 15 feet of height in exchange for inclusion of one of the following elements:

• Off-street parking which is invisible from the street — either in a structure above or below grade, or behind the building in a surface lot
• Affordable housing; specifically, 20% of units affordable at 80% or less of area median income (AMI). This stacks with Spokane’s generous implementation of the state’s multifamily tax exemption (MFTE) program.
• Public art which has a documented value of at least 1% of the value of construction.

Taken together, these code changes will help make Spokane’s Centers and Corridors zones more of the urban zones they were originally intended to be. 

Previous height limits, for example, made standard five-over-two buildings (five floors of “stick” wood construction over a concrete podium) impossible in all but the most permissive zones and downtown, because they are often 65-85 feet tall. Now, with limits of 75 feet in CC2 zones, podium construction will be more feasible. And with height transitions near R1 zones reduced effectively in half, more properties will qualify for these full heights, without awkward and costly upper-level setbacks.

And of course, banning drive-thrus in “pedestrian-oriented” zoning classifications is such an obvious move that it’s surprising they were allowed before.

3) Design standards in some areas will become more objective

Across the country, advocates are increasingly fed up by unclear, subjective design guidelines for development projects. These unclear rules are plagued by interpretation differences, which can cause unnecessary conflict between developers, planners, and community members. They can reduce the amount of housing potential on a site. And of course, they can also be abused by cities to slow-walk projects which otherwise meet zoning standards.

While objective standards, by contrast, are not perfect (they can still be abused), they at least provide clear guidance on how a development can be approved.

In 2023, the Washington legislature passed HB 1293, which requires cities to use only objective design standards starting after their next Comprehensive Plan updates. It also bans design standards which reduce the density, height, bulk, or scale beyond that allowed in the underlying zone, and caps design review board meetings at one per development project.

In this major zoning package, Spokane is dipping its toes into objective design standards, including new rules in the South Logan area near Gonzaga University governing issues like:

• Primary building entries
• Street-level detailing
• Façade transparency
• Ground-floor residential treatments
• Blank walls
• Equipment and service area screening
• Recommended building materials
• Recommended accent materials

This is a relatively big deal for Spokane, which historically has not applied objective design standards in any of its zones, opting instead for subjective guidelines and a non-binding design review board. The new rules, by contrast, offer clear guidance to developers and project reviewers with little to no ambiguity. For example, the new South Logan code requires street-level detailing with the following standard (simplified for readability):

“Street-level façades shall help create a more welcoming, aesthetically rich pedestrian environment by incorporating at least four of the following elements:

• Canopies or awnings spanning at least 25% of the building façade.
• Pedestrian-scaled signs, mounted to the building or permanent overhang.
• Decorative sconce, lantern, or similar lighting, mounted to the building.
• Projecting windowsills.
• Decorative kick plates for entry doors.
• Hanging planters supported by brackets mounted to the building.“

I’d expect Spokane to consider similar objective standards in its mixed-use Centers and Corridors zones before too long — possibly even before its next Comprehensive Plan update in 2026. The result will be a more straightforward development review process, and hopefully better buildings.

The statewide leader continues to lead

This transformative code reform package will go to City Council for adoption on Monday, August 12 at 6pm. If you’d like to offer a word of support, you have three options:

• Email southlogantod@spokanecity.org or citycouncil2@spokanecity.org with your comments in advance of the meeting, preferably by 12pm on August 12.
• Sign up to speak in-person or virtually via Zoom here no later than 6pm on August 12. The form will open on Friday, August 9.

Fundamentally, this package shows that Spokane will continue to lead on urbanist policy. While it’s fun to joke that there could be something in the water, I hope this isn’t a local anomaly, because Spokane isn’t unique. Any jurisdiction can legalize sixplexes or make parking optional or weed out subjective, counterproductive design standards — if only its leaders have the political will. These types of reforms should be commonplace across Washington, and should inspire the legislature to pass measures like Oregon’s parking statewide parking reform or Rep. Jessica Bateman’s proposed Housing Accountability Act.

But until then, Spokane will be right there showing the right way forward.

The post Spokane Poised to Abolish Parking Mandates in Urbanist Reform Package first appeared on The Urbanist.

Passed unanimously by a Spokane City Council seen as split 5-2 between progressives and conservatives, the reform arguably catalyzed the passage of HB 1110, which takes fourplexes statewide. It also used a novel implementation approach which backloaded required public outreach after the reform was already in place, which proved that some opponents’ fears of rapid neighborhood change were wildly exaggerated.

Now, Spokane is poised to do it again.

On Monday night Spokane City Council will take up an interim zoning ordinance which would continue the city’s housing leadership by making off-street parking optional for all housing use within a 1/2-mile of a transit stop and allowing “unbundled” parking (essentially, a discount on rent for tenants who do not need parking). By July of 2024, the Council would adopt new permanent parking regulations to replace this interim rule.

Just to give a sense of scale, here (in green) are the areas in the city where off-street parking would be optional:

If passed, off-street parking would be optional for housing across most of the city, except in areas on the suburban fringe in places like the Latah Valley and North Indian Trail, where there’s little transit and a sprawled out development pattern centered around driving anyway. 

In some ways, this goes further than Seattle has gone; there, off-street parking is generally required except within a 1/4-mile of frequent transit or in an urban center. Here’s how the map might look if Spokane were to use an alternative radius in its legislation:

This interim zoning ordinance is being championed by progressive Councilmember Zack Zappone with support from conservative Councilmember Jon Bingle, in another show of housing reform’s cross-ideological appeal. And the “why” is clear:

Most critically, off-street parking makes housing much more expensive. And it’s not hard to see why — a single surface parking stall can cost $20,000 to $40,000, and an underground or structured stall can easily reach $100,000. That’s a massive expense for new housing — even dedicated affordable or social housing — that just gets passed on to the renters or buyers in the building. A recent study found that 60-70% of all homes built in Seattle and Buffalo, New York in recent years would not have been built without those cities’ parking flexibility.

And perhaps, appealingly, for the libertarian-minded, optional parking gives property owners a choice. If off-street parking would be necessary to rent or sell a unit, then the market will respond and that off-street parking will still be provided. But say, for example, an individual property owner wants to build a new home but doesn’t own a car or want to own one. Previously they would have been required by the city to construct a parking stall even if they didn’t even own a car. Even worse, it is illegal for landlords to charge renters less if they don’t have a car. This optional parking ordinance remedies that injustice.

Like its major housing reform passed last year through the Building Opportunity and Choices for All ordinance, Spokane has an opportunity with this legislation to lead the state. HB 1351, which would have made parking optional within 1/4-mile of transit in every city and town in the state, unfortunately failed to pass this legislative session despite strong support from advocates. That leaves Washington as the only state on the West Coast still requiring parking near transit. Spokane could finally catalyze action in Olympia on this issue. Even better — it could spur cities across the state to think even bigger, perhaps by exploring parking maximums, or by abolishing parking requirements for commercial uses, which have similarly perverse effects. 

Spokane City Council has now established itself as a statewide and national housing justice leader. It’s long past time to take these reforms statewide.

Take action: City Council takes up this ordinance at its regular meeting on Monday, July 17. Interested community members sign up to offer live public comment in-person at Spokane City Hall or virtually via WebEx, or can send an email in advance.

The post Spokane Leads the Way with Parking Reform first appeared on The Urbanist.

On Monday night, Spokane City Council adopted a package of interim zoning rules which establish the city as a nationwide leader in re-legalizing housing. After years of debate, task forces, Council hearings, and focus groups, it is now legal to build a duplex, a triplex, or a fourplex anywhere you can build a single-family home in the city.

The rules actually go further than the package briefed in The Urbanist earlier in the month, after amendments during the legislative process. When everything shook out, the final package:

• Allows duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes anywhere you can build a single-family home;
• Removes unit limits on townhomes and rowhomes;
• Reduces the required lot width to 36 feet in single-family (RSF) zones;
• Reduces the minimum lot size for attached homes to 1,280 square feet;
• Decreases and in some cases eliminates parking requirements near transit, and increases bike parking requirements to compensate;
• Allows developers to round up in their density calculations (for example, if calculations yield 5.2 units allowed, you can now build six instead of five)
• Applies new design standards similar to the city’s standard design requirements to all of these new unit types.

It’s a bold, transformational package that forms the biggest change to our city’s Comprehensive Plan framework since it was first adopted in the late 1990s. While growth will still be concentrated in certain areas, it will be allowed across the whole city, which will increase housing diversity in existing neighborhoods, like Garland, West Central, and Lincoln Heights. In the long run, this will improve housing affordability and choice.

While it seemed earlier in the day like it could be a divided vote, the package ultimately passed unanimously (7-0) on a Council generally seen as divided 5-2 between progressives and conservatives.

After an overwhelmingly positive public comment period with just one opponent to the package, a buoyant Council shared their thoughts on the ordinance.

Councilmember Michael Cathcart said it would be “one of the most important votes [he] will take on the Council.” Councilmember Jonathan Bingle noted how “fun” it had been to work on the issue, given the shared understanding among the Council of the fundamental need for more housing. Councilmember Karen Stratton said it was important to “take a chance and try something new,” suggesting that she would regret not taking action, knowing that other approaches hadn’t worked. 

Even Councilmember Lori Kinnear, who had earlier in the day expressed a desire to limit triplexes and fourplexes to areas near transit and jobs, ultimately came around, saying “we need more housing! I was going to vote no on this, but I realized that we need more housing… I was concerned about the triplexes, but if that’s my only issue, I still need to go forward and support this.”

Once it was clear how the vote would land, Council President Breean Beggs took a moment to congratulate the city for its leadership. “When Spokane leads, the state follows,” he said, noting that Spokane had led the way with sick and safe leave, “ban the box,” and now with housing.

The interim zoning ordinance is a novel way to pass a significant zoning change, which may be part of the reason such limited opposition arose. Because the rules were passed in response to the city’s housing emergency, they’ll be in effect for one year before a public hearing this September and ultimately permanent changes to the Comprehensive Plan next year. During the coming year, developers will have an opportunity to “vest” their proposals under these relaxed rules, but all indications so far suggest that permanent rules will be adopted with relative ease.

Over time, assuming these changes stick, Spokane residents have more housing choice across the city, depending on their preferences and the point in their life. For example, say someone loves the Garland District (or perhaps just Little Noodle?), but doesn’t want to spend time and money maintaining a lawn. Right now, they wouldn’t have very many options within walking distance of Garland proper. But in the future, maybe they could rent a unit in a triplex and have some space for themselves without the need to do yardwork. Over time, maybe they’ll start a family and decide to purchase a townhouse or a small single-family home nearby. Later, they could even consider downsizing to a single-floor unit in retirement. The idea is that Spokanites will be able to find more housing choices in all neighborhoods across the city.

Of course, none of this is going to happen overnight, which might offer some comfort to community members who fear (inevitable) change. 

But in the long-run, this package — and the change in thinking that it represents — has the potential to dramatically improve housing outcomes across our city. Evidence is abundant that allowing more of these small-scale housing units can improve a neighborhood’s affordability without displacing longtime residents. And as more people live in a neighborhood, transit service tends to improve, healthy food options tend to become more available, and economic mobility even appears to improve. That’s the future to look forward to.

With this small step, Spokane has set the standard for Washington on housing reform. Now it’s time for other cities — like Seattle and Tacoma — and ultimately, the legislature, to follow.

The post Spokane Laps Seattle, Legalizes Missing Middle Housing first appeared on The Urbanist.