Spokane County and its cities and towns are collaborating on a regional review of the Urban Growth Area. The Urban Growth Area is the area designated to accommodate projected urban growth and development for twenty years and was first established in 2001. The regional review will determine the Urban Growth Area’s ability to accommodate growth and development for the next twenty years. Analysis of potentially expanding or retracting the existing Urban Growth Area is also a part of the review.

The upcoming Open Houses will focus on the impacts of the projected growth on the natural environment and the services and facilities needed including transportation, police, fire, parks, schools, water and sewer.

I went to one of these two years ago and I was astounded by the turnout: Mostly developers.

Spokane is in a crucial development stage. As local environmental advocate Kitty Klitzke pointed out at the time of the meeting in 2009, “our county’s Urban Growth Area (UGA) already covers over 89 square miles, this is over 2.5 times larger than the City of Paris, France. And Paris we ain’t. Their population, at 2.2 million is almost 5 times the population of Spokane County.”

In the last decade, 25 percent of county growth has occurred in rural spaces while enough land already existed in the urban growth area to accommodate their projections.

All the more reason to focus growth inward as the city of Spokane's infrastructure is strained due to unsustainable sprawl.

-Monday, October 24, 2011 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Spokane Valley City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague Avenue (City Council Chambers)

-Tuesday, October 25,2011 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at the Waste-to-Energy Facility, 2900 South Geiger Blvd (Administration Building)

-Wednesday, October 26, 2011 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Northwood Middle School, 13120 N. Pittsburg St. (Library)

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