Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down what’s going to happen in city council and municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest so you can speak out and get involved in the issues you care about.
There’s A LOT going on this week, but some of the biggest items that stand out to us are:
- An ordinance that would allow the Office of the Police Ombudsman to investigate the Spokane Police Chief.
- A slightly softer no trespassing in city parks ordinance.
- Extending the Missing Middle housing ordinance.
- A proposed camping ban in Liberty Lake.
- A community budget forum for the Spokane School District.
This week, these groups are meeting:
- Public Safety & Community Health Committee
- Spokane City Council
- Liberty Lake City Council
- Spokane Board of County Commissioners
- Spokane School District Board of Directors
- Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
- Citizen's Transportation Advisory Board
- Spokane Park Board
Public Safety & Community Health Committee
How to investigate the police chief
The city council will soon consider an ordinance that would give the Office of the Police Ombudsman (OPO) the authority to investigate the Spokane police chief. This comes after a report from the OPO identified “unusual and concerning communications between Spokane Chief of Police Craig Meidl and members of the Spokane business community” late last year. Despite that report, current city law states that complaints involving the chief of police be directed to the mayor and investigated by the city’s human resources department — and Mayor Nadine Woodward has so far declined to start an investigation.
Read Nate Sanford’s report for the Inlander on Miedl’s alleged favoritism here.
A different park trespassing ordinance
We’re back with another park trespassing ordinance, this time it’s a kinder, gentler alternative offered to the ordinance proposed last month that would’ve made being in a city park after hours a misdemeanor rather than a civil infraction.
In the new ordinance — proposed by Council President Breean Beggs and Councilmember Lori Kinnear — someone can only get a misdemeanor for criminal trespass if they disobey an order to leave a city park by police or park personnel. The original ordinance — proposed by Councilmemembers Karen Stratton and Michael Cathcart — made just being in a park after hours a misdemeanor. The new ordinance would also generally prohibit illegal drug use and possession in city parks. Read more about the background on why we’re talking about criminalizing being in the park here.
Amending the municipal drug court law
In another important ordinance, the city council will soon be considering changing city law for the municipal courts to better align with the newly passed state legislation regarding public drug use and drug possession. According to the agenda packet, the ordinance would first establish that the court is supposed to balance protecting the community from repeated crimes with providing services to defendants. Then, it would allow the presiding judge to remove a defendant from alternative treatment and sentencing if they find that the defendant hasn’t complied with court treatment.
Lastly, the ordinance would change therapeutic courts by adding a “general consent” from the city of Spokant to alternative sentencing options for defendants charged with open drug use and possession. This gives the court discretion to decide on giving the alternative sentencing. Read more about how the “Blake fix” is changing drug courts across the state from KUOW’s Libby Denkmann here.
Presentation on new jail
There’s no additional information or materials on this item, but the public safety committee is set to get a 20-minute presentation on the “community conversation” around the new Spokane County Justice Center Complex from the Senior Director of Law & Justice for Spokane County Michael Sparber and Scott Simmons, the CEO of Spokane County. The County Commission voted in December to put a sales tax proposition on this November’s ballot to pay for the new jail.
Get your dirt outta my neighborhood
The city council will soon consider a resolution that would ultimately have the water department move dirt stockpiles out of the Logan neighborhood. Development in recent years has moved the water department’s stockpile of dirt (used for emergency water repairs) into the neighborhood in a lot off Marietta Avenue. However these repairs often happen at night, which disturbs neighbors, according to the resolution.The neighborhood has been complaining about it, so the city council is working on a resolution to have the water department find another spot in the city for the dirt.
Opioid Abatement Council
The public safety committee is considering an ordinance that would create a Spokane Opioid Abatement Council, which is required by a statewide opioid settlement in order to receive tens of millions of dollars until at least 2038. The council will oversee the spending of the funding received from the settlement and oversee the development of opioid treatment, prevention and training programs. Read more about the formation of the council from The Spokesman’s Emry Dinman here.
Agenda here
Monday, June 5 at 1:15 p.m.
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd
The meeting is also livestreamed here.
Spokane City Council
Extending the Missing Middle housing ordinance
The city council will consider a five-month extension on the interim zoning ordinance adopted last summer called the Building Opportunity and Choices for All, aka the missing middle housing ordinance. The ordinance allows the development of fourplexes, triplexes and duplexes on any residential property in the city and was widely supported as an effective response to the housing crisis. Read our breakdown here.
The ordinance was only in place for a year, during which the city was supposed to work on a permanent replacement with community input. City staff are still working on that replacement and don’t expect it to be done until later this year, so they need an extension. They expect the permanent ordinance to be adopted by December 2023.
Redistricting process ballot proposition
Councilmember Cathcart is proposing a ballot proposition to amend the city council redistricting process that would aim to make redistricting citizen-led by appointing seven commissioners to do the redistricting rather than having the council president and another council member on the board.
Read more about the controversy that led to this from Rebecca White at Spokane Public Radio here.
Finding money for a new drug court
The city council will consider signing a letter of support for a grant application to the Administrative Office of the Courts to get funding for a new drug court and to continue implementing therapeutic courts.
Final votes on bike parking and GFCs
The city council will hold a hearing and make a final decision on an ordinance that would require a minimum number of bicycle parking spaces for new buildings in Spokane. Read more about it from the Spokesman here.
The council will also have a final reading of an amendment to the Plan Commission’s work program for this year that would have them review and give feedback on the General Facilities Charges and allow fish hatcheries in the city. Read more about it here.
Agenda here
Monday, June 5 at 6 p.m.
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Liberty Lake City Council
License plate recognition
The Liberty Lake City Council is set to approve the first year purchase of 19 Flock Safety license plate recognition cameras for just under $60,000. This cost includes the cameras themselves, the cost to implement them and the licensing fee.
Spokane City Council recently discussed putting 13 Flock automated license plate readers throughout Spokane.
2nd reading of anti-camping ordinance
Now is the time for public comment on Liberty Lake’s ordinance banning camping (*cough* being homeless) in many public places.
The ordinance would make it illegal to camp on any city-owned or maintained right of way, trail, park, open space, parking lot, building and grounds, and in any area where camping interferes with the intended public use of the property. It also lays out how the city would remove any encampments in city limits, like posting a 48-hour removal notice at camps and makes a violation of the ordinance a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to 90 days in jail or both. We broke it down a few weeks ago here.
Mayor’s veto of the not-book-ban library ordinance
Liberty Lake Mayor Cris Kaminskas has vetoed the ordinance that limits the power of the Library Board. The ordinance recently passed, but had some changes that put a tiny bit of power back in the hands of the library board rather than the city council. In her letter to the council, Kaminskas details her issues with the ordinance, including making the verbiage used throughout the policy to be clearer (like using “book reconsideration” rather than “book ban” because ban doesn’t actually appear anywhere else in the policy). She also points out that the clause requiring the council to approve or reject library policies sets up a cycle of approvals and rejections with no opportunity for discussion and that none of the elected council members have any education or degrees in library science, curriculum, etc, while the library board members do.
“The board is made up of educated and trained professionals; Let them do what they were appointed to do. All members were confirmed by council; that is the Council oversight,” Kaminskas wrote. She suggested a change to the ordinance that says every quarter, the council will review, ask questions and discuss proposed changes and come to an agreement with the library board on a final version of the policy.
The city council will reconsider the mayor’s veto. In order for the library ordinance to become valid, the full council needs a majority plus one vote.
Potential litigation?
The Liberty Lake City Council has an executive session planned (meaning it’s allowed to be out of the public eye) to talk about potential litigation. Some councils and commissions have standing items on their agendas for potential litigation, but Liberty Lake usually keeps this section blank. We don’t and won’t know what the litigation is about until it actually happens, but it’s something to keep an eye out for.
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 6 at 7 p.m.
In person at Liberty Lake City Hall or Zoom link here.
22710 E Country Vista Dr, Liberty Lake, WA
Spokane Board of County Commissioners
Shore-ly
The bulk of this week’s agenda is 300-plus pages outlining an update of the “Shoreline Master Program.” This set of regulations dictates things like how you can develop docks and septic systems near waterways and what areas need to be protected. These state-level regulations just became increasingly influential with the Supreme Court deciding last week to nuke water protections in much of the arid West (and rest of the country).
One note in this behemoth of a document is that the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation expressed frustration with not being listed as a stakeholder on the county plan, despite the current and historical value of many of these waterways to their members.
Bigger Promises
The county is revising the scope of work and awarding more money to Family Promise for housing counseling and relocation services in Spokane. The money was originally awarded for COVID quarantine measures but is now going to homeless families impacted by the pandemic.
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 6 at 2 p.m.
Public Works Building
1116 W Broadway, Spokane, WA
Commissioner’s Conference Room, First Floor
Spokane School District Board of Directors
Community budget forum
The Spokane school board will be holding a special session mostly focused on budget development that will include a community forum. The special session starts at 4:30 p.m. and the board will go over a financial report and a draft budget that includes budget priorities and revenue assumptions for the 2023-2024 school year. Then, they’ll have about 45 minutes of open forum to hear from the community.
Agenda here
Wednesday, June 7 at 4:30 p.m, then 6 p.m. for the regular meeting
Boardroom, SPS Administration Building
200 N. Bernard
Watch virtually here.
Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
Agenda here (once posted)
Wednesday, June 7 at 4 p.m.
Council Briefing Center in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
Citizen's Transportation Advisory Board
Agenda here (once posted)
Wednesday, June 7 at 5:30 p.m.
In person at Streets Department Conference Room or Zoom link here.
901 N Nelson Street, Spokane, WA
Spokane Park Board
Agenda here (once posted)
Thursday, June 8 at 3:30 p.m.
Council Briefing Center
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd
