CIVICS | We also have a mayoral veto of the renter ordinance, a mandate to keep a closer eye on the city’s money and money for pretrial services.
A planet must be in retrograde because it looks like it’s going to be a week of bringing up old stuff. (Someone who’s an expert in astrology, please let us know if we’re right.) City council is revisiting the ordinance it passed earlier this month that raised fees developers pay to install water and sewer systems in new developments and considering the mayor’s veto of part of the renter ordinance they passed a month ago.
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Public Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainability (PIES) Committee
Changing developer fees again
After developers absolutely blared alarms over Spokane City Council raising the cost of hooking up public utilities and services to new developments a few weeks ago, city council has decided to revisit the ordinance. City council originally raised the costs of the General Facilities Charges (GFCs) — which pay for things like new sewer and water service being installed — because the original fee structure couldn’t keep up with the rising costs of construction and inflation and current utility customers were bearing that cost. As an “interim measure,” the council wants to modify the charges during 2023 that would raise the original charges by 66%, which is how much the consumer price index has increased since 2002, when it was last updated. The ordinance amendment would require any more changes to be approved by city council before 2024.
Next, the council will be discussing a resolution that outlines the process and timeline the council and city administration will follow to get community input on the changes to the charges before 2024. In addition to town hall meetings, the resolution would require three city council committees — the Housing Action Subcommittee, the Sustainability Action Subcommittee and the Equity Subcommittee — to review the GFCs and recommend changes to the 2024 charges by July. The public works department will then review those proposals and present them to city council by September 13, and city council is supposed to adopt the changes by October 9.
The city council will be voting on the amendment to the ordinance and the process resolution at the council meeting at 6 p.m.
Stay tuned for more reporting on this issue from us today!
How gassy is Spokane?
It’s time for Spokane’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory. The inventory schedule in 2017 was set to every three years, so the latest inventory includes emissions from 2017, 2018 and 2019. The city of Spokane set a goal back in 2010 to reach net zero emissions by the year 2050 and these inventories are meant to help track how that goal is coming along. The inventory takes into account comprehensive energy data from local government operations, like wastewater and solid waste management and community emissions, like transportation and energy use. There’s going to be a full presentation at the PIES committee meeting, but according to the notes in the agenda, emissions were compare to 2017 to 2019 and if we take population growth into account, they decreased by 3%.
Agenda here.Monday, March 27 at 1:15 p.m.Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201The meeting is also live streamed.
