County set to extend data center pause to June 2027

Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.

It’s a chill week with a lot of bodies not meeting. Still, some things that stick out to us this week include:

Ready, set, vote! Ballots are out and our Elections page is live with more to come!
The BOCC is set to adopt a new pause on approvals for permitting new data centers that would last until June 1, 2027, more than five months longer than its original pause, which would have expired on December 15.
The Spokane Valley City Council will host a “community conversation” about its revised long-term plan that will govern how the city develops between now and 2046.
The Spokane Public Library Board will be getting a presentation on the library’s 2026 Summer Reading Program, which is also for adults!
The Bicycle Advisory Board will be discussing and preparing feedback on the city’s ongoing bike safety efforts.
Spokane City Council this week is cancelled for a school break. No council meetings!
The Spokane Airport is getting a temporary baggage claim as it expands terminals, so pay attention to signage next time you fly.

Ballots are out

Have you gotten your ballot in the mail? The Spokane County Elections Office sent them out, which means it’s time to start voting! Our Elections page is live with candidate questionnaires, ballot measure explainers, race profiles and voting information. Find it all here, and become the most informed voter in the Spo!

Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees

🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

On this month’s agenda…

The Spokane Public Library Board will meet and talk about revising their emergency procedures policy, get an overview of their 2026 Summer Reading program (which is for adults too!) and hear a variety of reports. These agendas never have much in the way of detail. However, they do include meeting minutes for the prior month’s meeting, which means we know more about what was on…

Last month’s agenda!

In September, the Library board instituted a policy for books that were burned from the Spokane Complex fires. If patrons had books or other library-owned items in their homes that burned, replacement fees for the items will be waived and the details of the loss reported to FEMA.

The elevator at the Central Library downtown failed inspection due to a faulty installation that damaged the door of the elevator. The new door was delivered and likely installed by the time of this CIVICS agenda with the goal of getting a new inspection ASAP.

Conversations about the budget and the library’s request for more funding have few new updates, though Spokane City Council and the mayor’s administration are about to start their public budgeting process, so more details should come soon.

Agenda here
Tuesday, October 20 at 4:30 pm
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Bicycle Advisory Board

🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Workshops

The Bicycle Advisory Board (BAB) is scheduled to hold two workshops at their meeting. The first is a discussion on bikeway design standards, quick build process for quickly and cheaply adding bike infrastructure and the Vision Zero Safety Action Plan — the city’s plan to reach zero traffic fatalities. The second workshop is on deciding who should be the BAB’s representative on the city’s Transportation Commission, as Lauren Pangborn has stepped off both of those boards to sit on the Plan Commission.

Agenda here
Tuesday, October 20 at 6 pm
Shadle Park Library
2111 W. Wellesley Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session

🌶️/5 peppers

Recycling expansion in Silver Lake on the table

The BOCC is set to schedule a public hearing to discuss a proposed expansion of Spokane County Solid Waste’s recycling service to 40 homes in Silver Lake. See a map of the expanded area here.

Agenda here
Tuesday, October 20 at 9 am
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Longer data center approval pause up for vote

The BOCC will likely adopt a new, longer “pause” on approvals for building permits for data centers. The new pause will be the latest development in a years-long saga in which County Commissioner Al French was being courted — mostly in secret — by the data center developer Apricus Energy Partners. The original pause would have ended on December 15, whereas the one under consideration now would last until June 1, 2027. The pause allows the commission time to develop zoning restrictions on data centers, which are large facilities full of computing technology that processes and stores electronic information sent over the internet.

Read RANGE’s extensive coverage of the data center saga here, here, here and here.

Agenda here
Tuesday, October 20 at 2 pm
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Airport Board

🌶️/5 peppers

Temp bag claim for airport renovation

As the airport continues to expand its terminals, it will need to create a temporary baggage claim. The board will accept a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to fund this project on Thursday.

Agenda here
Thursday, October 22 at 9 am
9211 W. McFarlane Road, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Valley City Council

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Community conversation on draft comp plan

The city council will host a special meeting at 5 pm for the long-term plan that will govern how the city will develop between this year and 2046. The biggest items address how certain kinds of housing are zoned. For example, changes to the plan will allow two accessory dwelling units — extra small homes — on a lot with an existing single family home, rather than only one. Such changes are mandated by changes to Washington’s Growth Management Act, the law that requires local governments to update their long-term plans every 20 years. The changes are focused on creating denser housing and reducing urban sprawl. Learn more about the changes here.