Emilie Cameron - Downtown Spokane Partnership
Mar 5, 2026
Community Advocate
[PDF page 1 of 6]
Good Afternoon,
On behalf of the Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP), thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared as part of the City's comprehensive plan update. We appreciate the thoughtful work undertaken to evaluate Spokane's potential growth patterns and the long-term impacts of land use decisions over the next twenty years.
The decisions made through PlanSpokane will shape the city's economic competitiveness, housing supply, environmental sustainability, and urban vitality for decades. As the steward organization for downtown Spokane, the region's primary employment center, cultural destination, and economic hub, the DSP strongly encourages the city to adopt a preferred alternative that prioritizes infill development, concentrated growth in the urban core, and significant expansion of market-rate housing downtown.
Downtown Spokane as the Region's Economic Engine
Downtown Spokane functions as the Spokane region's hub for employment, culture, education, healthcare, and tourism. As the center for arts, dining, higher education, and major employers that draw workers and visitors from across Eastern Washington and North Idaho, downtown is critical to both Spokane's identity and its broader economic performance. Concentrating housing and jobs in the city center:
- Maximizes existing infrastructure and transit investments
- Supports small businesses and retail recovery
- Reduces environmental impacts by limiting sprawl
- Strengthens Spokane's competitiveness in attracting talent and innovation
To achieve these outcomes, Spokane must focus intentional growth in the urban core. For these reasons, the DSP strongly supports Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs as the preferred growth strategy.
Support for Alternative 3: Center City & Regional Hubs
[PDF page 2 of 6 begins within the following paragraph.]
Alternative 3 focuses housing and job growth in downtown and other employment hubs while connecting these areas through transportation and infrastructure investments. Compared to a distributed growth pattern, concentrating development in key centers will strengthen downtown's role as the region's economic and employment hub while also encouraging higher-density housing near jobs and services, support walkable mixed-use districts, and reduce infrastructure costs and environmental impacts associated with sprawl. Alternative 3 also aligns with Spokane's long-standing centers-and-corridors growth strategy, which emphasizes compact development and mixed-use neighborhoods around activity centers.
The Critical Need for Downtown Housing
The most urgent priority for Spokane's long-term growth is substantial expansion of market-rate housing downtown. Downtown Spokane currently faces an imbalance between employment activity and residential population. Increasing the number of residents in the urban core is essential to activate streets and public spaces, support local retail and restaurants, increase safety through activity and presence, and strengthen the downtown tax base. Housing is a critical component of creating a vibrant, 18-hour neighborhood.
The 2025 Downtown Housing Study demonstrates that Spokane has strong potential demand for additional housing in the urban core, noting specifically the need for at least 3,200 market-rate units appealing to young professionals, empty nesters, and remote workers seeking walkable urban living. However, the study also identified structural barriers - including development costs, regulatory complexity, and infrastructure needs - that currently limit new housing construction. PlanSpokane should therefore adopt policies and implementation strategies that actively prioritize housing growth in the downtown core.
Land Use and Regulatory Policies to Enable Growth
To support downtown housing and economic development, the Comprehensive Plan update should incorporate several key policy directions.
1. Prioritize streamlining for development and regulatory certainty to accelerate housing production, including:
- Expanded SEPA infill exemptions and increased thresholds for minor new construction to reduce duplicative environmental review
- Predictable and expedited permitting processes for downtown projects
- Development code modernization to simplify regulations and align them with growth goals
2. Implement policies that specifically encourage downtown housing, including:
- Expanding the 8-year MFTE program to 12 years for residential projects in the urban core
- Incentives for adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, including tax deferrals and reinstitution of the commercial rate stabilization for utilities
- Strategic use of tax increment financing or public infrastructure investments
3. Be competitive in attracting major employers, particularly in emerging sectors such as technology, health sciences, and life sciences, including:
- Encouraging innovation districts and job clusters around major institutions and campuses
- Flexible mixed-use zoning that allows employment, housing, and services to coexist
- Incentives for development near higher-education and medical facilities
[PDF page 3 of 6 begins within the following bullet before "ability to attract skilled workers."]
- Concentrating housing near job centers reduces commute times and strengthens Spokane's ability to attract skilled workers
Infrastructure and Public Investment
Growth in the urban core must be supported by strategic public investments. The DSP encourages the city to prioritize transportation improvements connecting downtown to regional employment hubs. Utility and infrastructure capacity upgrades will also be needed to support higher-density housing with streetscape and public realm improvements that make downtown neighborhoods more livable and walkable. Meanwhile, investments in parks, public safety, and public services that support a growing residential population that, when coordinated with private development, create the conditions for sustained economic growth.
Spokane is entering a pivotal moment. The next twenty years will determine whether the city grows outward or grows stronger. A dispersed growth pattern would require significant expansion of infrastructure and services while reducing the economic and environmental benefits of compact development. Concentrating growth in the urban core and regional hubs allows Spokane to use existing infrastructure more efficiently, protect surrounding natural areas and open space, reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, and support transit and active transportation.
By focusing growth in the urban core, Spokane can build a more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive city. Infill development and downtown housing are therefore not only economic priorities - they are essential components of a sustainable growth strategy. Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs is a preferred alternative that ensures a thriving downtown that will benefit the entire region.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and look forward to continued collaboration as PlanSpokane moves forward.
City of Spokane Planning & Development Services
Tirrell Black, Assistant Planning Director
City of Spokane
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99201
Re: PlanSpokane 2046 Draft EIS Comments
Dear Tirrell,
On behalf of the Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP), thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared as part of the City's comprehensive plan update. We appreciate the thoughtful work undertaken to evaluate Spokane's potential growth patterns and the long-term impacts of land use decisions over the next twenty years.
The decisions made through PlanSpokane will shape the city's economic competitiveness, housing supply, environmental sustainability, and urban vitality for decades. As the steward organization for downtown Spokane, the region's primary employment center, cultural destination, and economic hub, the DSP strongly encourages the city to adopt a preferred alternative that prioritizes infill development, concentrated growth in the urban core, and significant expansion of market-rate housing downtown.
Downtown Spokane as the Region's Economic Engine
Downtown Spokane functions as the Spokane region's hub for employment, culture, education, healthcare, and tourism. As the center for arts, dining, higher education, and major employers that draw workers and visitors from across Eastern Washington and North Idaho, downtown is critical to both Spokane's identity and its broader economic performance. Concentrating housing and jobs in the city center:
- Maximizes existing infrastructure and transit investments
- Supports small businesses and retail recovery
- Reduces environmental impacts by limiting sprawl
- Strengthens Spokane's competitiveness in attracting talent and innovation
To achieve these outcomes, Spokane must focus intentional growth in the urban core. For these reasons, the DSP strongly supports Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs as the preferred growth strategy.
[PDF page 5 of 6]
Support for Alternative 3: Center City & Regional Hubs
This alternative focuses housing and job growth in downtown and other employment hubs while connecting these areas through transportation and infrastructure investments. Compared to a distributed growth pattern, concentrating development in key centers will strengthen downtown's role as the region's economic and employment hub while also encouraging higher-density housing near jobs and services, support walkable mixed-use districts, and reduce infrastructure costs and environmental impacts associated with sprawl. Alternative 3 also aligns with Spokane's long-standing centers-and-corridors growth strategy, which emphasizes compact development and mixed-use neighborhoods around activity centers.
The Critical Need for Downtown Housing
The most urgent priority for Spokane's long-term growth is substantial expansion of market-rate housing downtown. Downtown Spokane currently faces an imbalance between employment activity and residential population. Increasing the number of residents in the urban core is essential to activate streets and public spaces, support local retail and restaurants, increase safety through activity and presence, and strengthen the downtown tax base. Housing is a critical component of creating a vibrant, 18-hour neighborhood.
The 2025 Downtown Housing Study demonstrates that Spokane has strong potential demand for additional housing in the urban core, noting specifically the need for at least 3,200 market-rate units appealing to young professionals, empty nesters, and remote workers seeking walkable urban living. However, the study also identified structural barriers - including development costs, regulatory complexity, and infrastructure needs - that currently limit new housing construction. PlanSpokane should therefore adopt policies and implementation strategies that actively prioritize housing growth in the downtown core.
Land Use and Regulatory Policies to Enable Growth
To support downtown housing and economic development, the Comprehensive Plan update should incorporate several key policy directions.
1. Prioritize streamlining for development and regulatory certainty to accelerate housing production, including:
- Expanded SEPA infill exemptions and increased thresholds for minor new construction to reduce duplicative environmental review
- Predictable and expedited permitting processes for downtown projects
- Development code modernization to simplify regulations and align them with growth goals
2. Implement policies that specifically encourage downtown housing, including:
- Expanding the 8-year MFTE program to 12 years for residential projects in the urban core
- Incentives for adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, including tax deferrals and reinstitution of the commercial rate stabilization for utilities
- Strategic use of tax increment financing or public infrastructure investments
3. Be competitive in attracting major employers, particularly in emerging sectors such as technology, health sciences, and life sciences, including:
- Encouraging innovation districts and job clusters around major institutions and campuses
- Flexible mixed-use zoning that allows employment, housing, and services to coexist
- Incentives for development near higher-education and medical facilities
[PDF page 6 of 6]
- Concentrating housing near job centers reduces commute times and strengthens Spokane's ability to attract skilled workers
Infrastructure and Public Investment
Growth in the urban core must be supported by strategic public investments. The DSP encourages the city to prioritize transportation improvements connecting downtown to regional employment hubs. Utility and infrastructure capacity upgrades will also be needed to support higher-density housing with streetscape and public realm improvements that make downtown neighborhoods more livable and walkable. Meanwhile, investments in parks, public safety, and public services that support a growing residential population that, when coordinated with private development, create the conditions for sustained economic growth.
Spokane is entering a pivotal moment. The next twenty years will determine whether the city grows outward or grows stronger. A dispersed growth pattern would require significant expansion of infrastructure and services while reducing the economic and environmental benefits of compact development. Concentrating growth in the urban core and regional hubs allows Spokane to use existing infrastructure more efficiently, protect surrounding natural areas and open space, reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, and support transit and active transportation.
By focusing growth in the urban core, Spokane can build a more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive city. Infill development and downtown housing are therefore not only economic priorities - they are essential components of a sustainable growth strategy. Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs is a preferred alternative that ensures a thriving downtown that will benefit the entire region.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and look forward to continued collaboration as PlanSpokane moves forward.
Sincerely,
Emilie Cameron
President & CEO
Downtown Spokane Partnership
Emilie Cameron - Downtown Spokane Partnership
Mar 5, 2026
Community Advocate
[PDF page 1 of 6]
Good Afternoon,
On behalf of the Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP), thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared as part of the City's comprehensive plan update. We appreciate the thoughtful work undertaken to evaluate Spokane's potential growth patterns and the long-term impacts of land use decisions over the next twenty years.
The decisions made through PlanSpokane will shape the city's economic competitiveness, housing supply, environmental sustainability, and urban vitality for decades. As the steward organization for downtown Spokane, the region's primary employment center, cultural destination, and economic hub, the DSP strongly encourages the city to adopt a preferred alternative that prioritizes infill development, concentrated growth in the urban core, and significant expansion of market-rate housing downtown.
Downtown Spokane as the Region's Economic Engine
Downtown Spokane functions as the Spokane region's hub for employment, culture, education, healthcare, and tourism. As the center for arts, dining, higher education, and major employers that draw workers and visitors from across Eastern Washington and North Idaho, downtown is critical to both Spokane's identity and its broader economic performance. Concentrating housing and jobs in the city center:
- Maximizes existing infrastructure and transit investments
- Supports small businesses and retail recovery
- Reduces environmental impacts by limiting sprawl
- Strengthens Spokane's competitiveness in attracting talent and innovation
To achieve these outcomes, Spokane must focus intentional growth in the urban core. For these reasons, the DSP strongly supports Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs as the preferred growth strategy.
Support for Alternative 3: Center City & Regional Hubs
[PDF page 2 of 6 begins within the following paragraph.]
Alternative 3 focuses housing and job growth in downtown and other employment hubs while connecting these areas through transportation and infrastructure investments. Compared to a distributed growth pattern, concentrating development in key centers will strengthen downtown's role as the region's economic and employment hub while also encouraging higher-density housing near jobs and services, support walkable mixed-use districts, and reduce infrastructure costs and environmental impacts associated with sprawl. Alternative 3 also aligns with Spokane's long-standing centers-and-corridors growth strategy, which emphasizes compact development and mixed-use neighborhoods around activity centers.
The Critical Need for Downtown Housing
The most urgent priority for Spokane's long-term growth is substantial expansion of market-rate housing downtown. Downtown Spokane currently faces an imbalance between employment activity and residential population. Increasing the number of residents in the urban core is essential to activate streets and public spaces, support local retail and restaurants, increase safety through activity and presence, and strengthen the downtown tax base. Housing is a critical component of creating a vibrant, 18-hour neighborhood.
The 2025 Downtown Housing Study demonstrates that Spokane has strong potential demand for additional housing in the urban core, noting specifically the need for at least 3,200 market-rate units appealing to young professionals, empty nesters, and remote workers seeking walkable urban living. However, the study also identified structural barriers - including development costs, regulatory complexity, and infrastructure needs - that currently limit new housing construction. PlanSpokane should therefore adopt policies and implementation strategies that actively prioritize housing growth in the downtown core.
Land Use and Regulatory Policies to Enable Growth
To support downtown housing and economic development, the Comprehensive Plan update should incorporate several key policy directions.
1. Prioritize streamlining for development and regulatory certainty to accelerate housing production, including:
- Expanded SEPA infill exemptions and increased thresholds for minor new construction to reduce duplicative environmental review
- Predictable and expedited permitting processes for downtown projects
- Development code modernization to simplify regulations and align them with growth goals
2. Implement policies that specifically encourage downtown housing, including:
- Expanding the 8-year MFTE program to 12 years for residential projects in the urban core
- Incentives for adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, including tax deferrals and reinstitution of the commercial rate stabilization for utilities
- Strategic use of tax increment financing or public infrastructure investments
3. Be competitive in attracting major employers, particularly in emerging sectors such as technology, health sciences, and life sciences, including:
- Encouraging innovation districts and job clusters around major institutions and campuses
- Flexible mixed-use zoning that allows employment, housing, and services to coexist
- Incentives for development near higher-education and medical facilities
[PDF page 3 of 6 begins within the following bullet before "ability to attract skilled workers."]
- Concentrating housing near job centers reduces commute times and strengthens Spokane's ability to attract skilled workers
Infrastructure and Public Investment
Growth in the urban core must be supported by strategic public investments. The DSP encourages the city to prioritize transportation improvements connecting downtown to regional employment hubs. Utility and infrastructure capacity upgrades will also be needed to support higher-density housing with streetscape and public realm improvements that make downtown neighborhoods more livable and walkable. Meanwhile, investments in parks, public safety, and public services that support a growing residential population that, when coordinated with private development, create the conditions for sustained economic growth.
Spokane is entering a pivotal moment. The next twenty years will determine whether the city grows outward or grows stronger. A dispersed growth pattern would require significant expansion of infrastructure and services while reducing the economic and environmental benefits of compact development. Concentrating growth in the urban core and regional hubs allows Spokane to use existing infrastructure more efficiently, protect surrounding natural areas and open space, reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, and support transit and active transportation.
By focusing growth in the urban core, Spokane can build a more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive city. Infill development and downtown housing are therefore not only economic priorities - they are essential components of a sustainable growth strategy. Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs is a preferred alternative that ensures a thriving downtown that will benefit the entire region.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and look forward to continued collaboration as PlanSpokane moves forward.
Sincerely,
Emilie Cameron
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ATTACHMENT / ADDITIONAL PAGES
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Attachment: Comments-EIS PlanSpokane.pdf
[PDF page 4 of 6]
March 5, 2026
City of Spokane Planning & Development Services
Tirrell Black, Assistant Planning Director
City of Spokane
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99201
Re: PlanSpokane 2046 Draft EIS Comments
Dear Tirrell,
On behalf of the Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP), thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared as part of the City's comprehensive plan update. We appreciate the thoughtful work undertaken to evaluate Spokane's potential growth patterns and the long-term impacts of land use decisions over the next twenty years.
The decisions made through PlanSpokane will shape the city's economic competitiveness, housing supply, environmental sustainability, and urban vitality for decades. As the steward organization for downtown Spokane, the region's primary employment center, cultural destination, and economic hub, the DSP strongly encourages the city to adopt a preferred alternative that prioritizes infill development, concentrated growth in the urban core, and significant expansion of market-rate housing downtown.
Downtown Spokane as the Region's Economic Engine
Downtown Spokane functions as the Spokane region's hub for employment, culture, education, healthcare, and tourism. As the center for arts, dining, higher education, and major employers that draw workers and visitors from across Eastern Washington and North Idaho, downtown is critical to both Spokane's identity and its broader economic performance. Concentrating housing and jobs in the city center:
- Maximizes existing infrastructure and transit investments
- Supports small businesses and retail recovery
- Reduces environmental impacts by limiting sprawl
- Strengthens Spokane's competitiveness in attracting talent and innovation
To achieve these outcomes, Spokane must focus intentional growth in the urban core. For these reasons, the DSP strongly supports Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs as the preferred growth strategy.
[PDF page 5 of 6]
Support for Alternative 3: Center City & Regional Hubs
This alternative focuses housing and job growth in downtown and other employment hubs while connecting these areas through transportation and infrastructure investments. Compared to a distributed growth pattern, concentrating development in key centers will strengthen downtown's role as the region's economic and employment hub while also encouraging higher-density housing near jobs and services, support walkable mixed-use districts, and reduce infrastructure costs and environmental impacts associated with sprawl. Alternative 3 also aligns with Spokane's long-standing centers-and-corridors growth strategy, which emphasizes compact development and mixed-use neighborhoods around activity centers.
The Critical Need for Downtown Housing
The most urgent priority for Spokane's long-term growth is substantial expansion of market-rate housing downtown. Downtown Spokane currently faces an imbalance between employment activity and residential population. Increasing the number of residents in the urban core is essential to activate streets and public spaces, support local retail and restaurants, increase safety through activity and presence, and strengthen the downtown tax base. Housing is a critical component of creating a vibrant, 18-hour neighborhood.
The 2025 Downtown Housing Study demonstrates that Spokane has strong potential demand for additional housing in the urban core, noting specifically the need for at least 3,200 market-rate units appealing to young professionals, empty nesters, and remote workers seeking walkable urban living. However, the study also identified structural barriers - including development costs, regulatory complexity, and infrastructure needs - that currently limit new housing construction. PlanSpokane should therefore adopt policies and implementation strategies that actively prioritize housing growth in the downtown core.
Land Use and Regulatory Policies to Enable Growth
To support downtown housing and economic development, the Comprehensive Plan update should incorporate several key policy directions.
1. Prioritize streamlining for development and regulatory certainty to accelerate housing production, including:
- Expanded SEPA infill exemptions and increased thresholds for minor new construction to reduce duplicative environmental review
- Predictable and expedited permitting processes for downtown projects
- Development code modernization to simplify regulations and align them with growth goals
2. Implement policies that specifically encourage downtown housing, including:
- Expanding the 8-year MFTE program to 12 years for residential projects in the urban core
- Incentives for adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, including tax deferrals and reinstitution of the commercial rate stabilization for utilities
- Strategic use of tax increment financing or public infrastructure investments
3. Be competitive in attracting major employers, particularly in emerging sectors such as technology, health sciences, and life sciences, including:
- Encouraging innovation districts and job clusters around major institutions and campuses
- Flexible mixed-use zoning that allows employment, housing, and services to coexist
- Incentives for development near higher-education and medical facilities
[PDF page 6 of 6]
- Concentrating housing near job centers reduces commute times and strengthens Spokane's ability to attract skilled workers
Infrastructure and Public Investment
Growth in the urban core must be supported by strategic public investments. The DSP encourages the city to prioritize transportation improvements connecting downtown to regional employment hubs. Utility and infrastructure capacity upgrades will also be needed to support higher-density housing with streetscape and public realm improvements that make downtown neighborhoods more livable and walkable. Meanwhile, investments in parks, public safety, and public services that support a growing residential population that, when coordinated with private development, create the conditions for sustained economic growth.
Spokane is entering a pivotal moment. The next twenty years will determine whether the city grows outward or grows stronger. A dispersed growth pattern would require significant expansion of infrastructure and services while reducing the economic and environmental benefits of compact development. Concentrating growth in the urban core and regional hubs allows Spokane to use existing infrastructure more efficiently, protect surrounding natural areas and open space, reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, and support transit and active transportation.
By focusing growth in the urban core, Spokane can build a more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive city. Infill development and downtown housing are therefore not only economic priorities - they are essential components of a sustainable growth strategy. Alternative 3: Center City and Regional Hubs is a preferred alternative that ensures a thriving downtown that will benefit the entire region.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and look forward to continued collaboration as PlanSpokane moves forward.
Sincerely,
Emilie Cameron
President & CEO
Downtown Spokane Partnership