SPOKANE, Wash —
Spokane city leaders unanimously voted in favor of expanding Spokane housing, both in inventory and affordability.
“If you have an empty piece of land and build a fourplex, why can’t those be condos because then you’re sharing the cost of the land,” The Zone director Jene Ray said.
The ZONE is a community collective dedicated to supporting the needs of northeast Spokane. Ray said housing has been a topic of conversation for the group since 2018.
This is what brought Ray in front of the city council Monday.
She chose to speak when public comment was allowed for the'Building Opportunities for All' ordinance item was being discussed.
She said the ordinance serves, what she calls, the "hidden homeless."
“So when we think of homeless, we think of homeless, we really think of that single adult, on a street corner downtown," Ray explained. ”What we don’t see are all the single families doubled or tripled up behind a single door.”
She continued to say this kind of living situation can put a strain on all members of the family and could affect young kids and their education.
The housing ordinance permanently creates more flexible housing types in Spokane.
“What we’re working on is housing stability," Ray said. "We’re working on everyone having a lease. We’re working on everyone moving toward homeownership.”
Matt Hutchins with CAST architecture in Seattle is already planning on opening a door for at least six Spokane families.
He’s developing plans for a six-plex off of Grand Blvd. He said the existing home is vacant and will be torn down to be rebuilt and accommodate six households.
He said Spokane is creating housing opportunities in ways other Washington cities aren’t.
“We have been working in Seattle for years and years to like, allow this form of housing to happen again," Hutchins said. And Spokane just kind of went and did it. And so we're really just really, really excited to be able to show what a great form of housing and how livable these spaces are going to be."
The City of Spokane found Washington Office of Financial Management forecasts continued growth in Spokane County over the next 14 years.
The projected increase results in a need for at least 6,800 housing units by 2037.
Hutchins hopes to begin building in 2024 and start moving people into his sixplex in 2025.
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