Industry Updates

You may have heard that Spokane city council is up to no good again, and you would be right. If their emergency ordinance on General Facility Charges (GFC) passes this coming Monday, it may be one of the single largest blows to affordable housing in Spokane.   To catch you all up quickly, the Spokane City council placed a moratorium on building in the Latah corridor for six months while working on updating Transportation Impact fees and General factly Charges (GFC). After tentatively finding an agreement on Transportation Impact Fees, the Council has now leveraged the end of the moratorium…

The city of Spokane Plan Commission is nearing a recommendation on new impact fees for structures inside city limits. These recommendations will be presented to the Spokane City council, which will debate and vote on these changes in early March. Below is where the Plan Commission suggestions seem to be heading.   New District Boundaries – In addition to finalizing a new fee structure, the maps for where transportation impact fees are charged is being debated. The prevailing idea has the “south” district split into two separate districts. One district would be the Latah Creek area, and the other being…

By Larry Andrews and Garth Selden National conversations regarding kitchen controversies have typically been relegated to reality competition shows like “Top Chef,” “Iron Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen.” However, earlier this month a federal bureaucrat’s call to consider national bans on gas stoves across our country evoked strong opposition from bipartisan leading members of Congress and anti-ban assurances from the White House. According to a Jan. 12 story posted on CNN.com, reporter Matt Egan wrote, Richard Trumka Jr., a U.S. Consumer Product Safety commissioner, “set off a firestorm this week by suggesting the agency could ban gas stoves because they have…

Mayor Nadine Woodward delivered the keynote speech at the launch party and recognized SHBA’s leadership in the housing industry   Spokane, Wash. January 18, 2023-The Spokane Home Builders Association (SHBA) hosted its 75th anniversary and launch party at the Historic Flight Foundation last thursday night. More than 235 SHBA members celebrated the organization’s history of advocacy, education and community-building for the housing industry.   Organization leaders announced at the event that SHBA will lead a new, year-long community conversation called Building for the Future, which will focus on strategies for addressing the region’s growing housing crisis.    “SHBA members have…