Housing a main focal area
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Strategic master plans for cities to follow are built and adopted, and some states or counties have differing timelines in which these plans need to be accepted.
According to Airway Heights Principal Planner Heather Trautman, cities in Spokane County have to revisit their master plan every eight years.
“This plan helps us identify the relationship between how quickly we grow,” Trautman said. “And the utilities that we are going to be designing.”
“For example, if we know how fast we are growing, we can more easily determine when our water treatment plant would need updated,” she added.
The city’s plan had to be updated to fit in with the Growth Management Act.
Community and city leaders wanted to see a broader look on how growth would be implemented into the comprehensive plan moving forward.
Transportation is another major factor in city planning, and ongoing road work is being done every month. Many projects include opening or expanding roadways that will also benefit the Spokane Transit bus lines, meaning more residents can access public transit if needed.
Trautman said the biggest issue facing the city is a lack of appropriate housing for some residents.
The chosen plan looks at population and economic growth, and how that impacts available land in the area.
The effects on city services also need to be weighed out so departments can more easily adjust as the city grows.
According to Trautman, there are a few key items that had to be looked at during the process.
A new urban growth area was also proposed, and this would impact the density levels allowed in certain residential zones.
“So, we’re not able to provide a supply of housing because we lack the fundamentals to do so,” Trautman said. “We know in the foreseeable future we are significantly deficient in that area.”
“But at the same time, we understand that we have more than enough commercial and industrial,” she added.
Trautman continued by explaining the city has been working on those areas as some new residential adjustments were adopted in 2021.
According to Trautman the city has continued to work on the plan, and modify it in areas that still need adjustment.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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