Spokane to Test Citywide Residential Density Incentives

The Spokane City Council in July will consider the "Building Opportunity and Choices for All" pilot program, which would allow new residential densities throughout the city.

1 minute read

June 27, 2022, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Washington

Jon Bilous / Shutterstock

Spokane, Washington elected leaders have proposed the Building Opportunity and Choices for All pilot program, which would test strategies for building more varieties of housing development in residential cities around the city.

“This strategy was identified in the housing emergency declaration, as well as Council's action items included in the Housing Action Plan,” according to a press release published on the city of Spokane’s website.

The one-year pilot program includes:

  • Allowing duplexes and townhouses in all residential neighborhoods
  • Allowing triplexes and fourplexes in targeted areas near transit lines and busier commercial areas
  • This program will continue to require development to fit the context of neighborhoods by matching the scale of its surroundings
  • Includes basic design standards that will be familiar for developers who have done work in the city before

“The Building Opportunity and Choices for All pilot program will be briefed this Monday at the Public, Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting with Council. First and final readings will follow in July.” The program is sponsored by councilmembers Michael Cathcart and Betsy Wilkerson and has the support of Mayor Nadine Woodward, according to the press release.

Thursday, June 23, 2022 in Spokane City

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive