SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane City Council voted on an emergency ordinance Monday night for a building moratorium proposal in Latah Valley.
The council passed the proposal with a vote of 5-2.
City officials say it goes into effect immediately for the Latah-Hangman and Grandview-Thorpe neighborhoods.
During the moratorium, the city won’t accept, process, review and/or approve any new applications for this area for one year.
City documents say the reasons behind the proposal are because of the significant development seen in the Latah Valley and a lack of fire protection resources. The area currently has a temporary Spokane Fire Department fire station and not many roads in and out of the developments.
Council member Paul Dillon was one of the moratorium's sponsors.
"I do think there's a lot of weight to a moratorium. I think this will provide some internal accountability for us and this can't wait,” said Dillon during the meeting.
Council member Michael Cathcart weighed in on the proposal, stating because there's a limited area for developers to build in Spokane, putting a large area like Latah Valley on pause for development is not thoughtful policymaking.
"All you're doing is making housing harder to sight, more expensive, more challenging,” said Cathcart. “There is no good for the city as a whole by doing that.”
While the moratorium does go into effect immediately, a public hearing is also scheduled for July 15.
This isn't the first time this area's been under a moratorium. The most recent one started back in the fall of 2022 and lasted for six months.
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