The proposals for guiding infill are both worrisome and shocking. A blanket exemption for environment review of housing, infill projects is reckless, irresponsible and terrible for Spokane. I live in East Central where ill-conceived projects have been allowed to move forward without necessary permits (important permits for stormwater, grading, etc), negatively affecting adjacent park values, the neighborhood, the heat index, wildlife habitat. Looking at what the City is allowing with current codes in place, I can't imagine the destruction that would occur with no environment review. The City needs to be adhering to existing codes, environmental review, not doing away with important guidelines. Building Better Neighborhoods?
Spokane needs a tree and natural land inventory. There needs to be priority on protecting existing older, mature tree canopy. Planting trees in parking strips is not a replacement. Protecting existing mature canopy now is critical to managing for climate change, heat index. I live in a lower income neighborhood that already has a high heat index. Mature trees are coming down everywhere. The logging of 2.8 acres above my property and significantly raised the summer heat levels for me. We've lost pollinators and birds. I don't even know how to garden on my property. My mature trees and bushes were heat stressed even last year, so I am now watering more than I ever did before. Not good for the aquifer or the Spokane River.
Support environmental review exemption only if 100% disturbed and impervious as identified in the Draft EIS. Support the Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board’s recommended Policy Land Use & Zoning 2-4 [“Protect, restore, acquire, and maintain urban agricultural lands, urban forests, critical areas, shorelines, habitats, and open spaces as interconnected natural systems that provide flood protection, heat reduction, and carbon sequestration benefits, including through codes, capital investments, and regional partnerships.”] Here's an area that the City is really dropping the ball. There are grants and monies available from non-profits like Trust for Public Lands to purchase and protect pocket habitats in low-income neighborhoods. As far as I can tell, the City is doing nothing to seek out these kinds of funds.
Under existing rules and regulations, the City has done a tremendous disservice to my neighborhood. The City has allowed developers to flaunt existing rules. I know that (City staff have privately told me this, as have news reporters) the City and developers think lower-income neighborhoods like ours aren't organized enough to fight back. Please don't make it worse than it already is.
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Sam Mace
[Personal contact details omitted from the reading text.]
Sam Mace
Feb 18, 2026
Local Resident
[PDF page 1 of 1]
Re Comp Plan infill, natural area protections:
The proposals for guiding infill are both worrisome and shocking. A blanket exemption for environment review of housing, infill projects is reckless, irresponsible and terrible for Spokane. I live in East Central where ill-conceived projects have been allowed to move forward without necessary permits (important permits for stormwater, grading, etc), negatively affecting adjacent park values, the neighborhood, the heat index, wildlife habitat. Looking at what the City is allowing with current codes in place, I can't imagine the destruction that would occur with no environment review. The City needs to be adhering to existing codes, environmental review, not doing away with important guidelines. Building Better Neighborhoods?
Spokane needs a tree and natural land inventory. There needs to be priority on protecting existing older, mature tree canopy. Planting trees in parking strips is not a replacement. Protecting existing mature canopy now is critical to managing for climate change, heat index. I live in a lower income neighborhood that already has a high heat index. Mature trees are coming down everywhere. The logging of 2.8 acres above my property and significantly raised the summer heat levels for me. We've lost pollinators and birds. I don't even know how to garden on my property. My mature trees and bushes were heat stressed even last year, so I am now watering more than I ever did before. Not good for the aquifer or the Spokane River.
Support environmental review exemption only if 100% disturbed and impervious as identified in the Draft EIS. Support the Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board’s recommended Policy Land Use & Zoning 2-4 [“Protect, restore, acquire, and maintain urban agricultural lands, urban forests, critical areas, shorelines, habitats, and open spaces as interconnected natural systems that provide flood protection, heat reduction, and carbon sequestration benefits, including through codes, capital investments, and regional partnerships.”] Here's an area that the City is really dropping the ball. There are grants and monies available from non-profits like Trust for Public Lands to purchase and protect pocket habitats in low-income neighborhoods. As far as I can tell, the City is doing nothing to seek out these kinds of funds.
Under existing rules and regulations, the City has done a tremendous disservice to my neighborhood. The City has allowed developers to flaunt existing rules. I know that (City staff have privately told me this, as have news reporters) the City and developers think lower-income neighborhoods like ours aren't organized enough to fight back. Please don't make it worse than it already is.
--
Sam Mace
[Personal contact details omitted from the reading text.]