Council extends emergency zoning

Emergency zoning regulations intended to prevent a proliferation of multiple-unit housing projects in some area of the city were re-approved by the Spokane City Council on Monday.

The emergency regulations target zones in neighborhoods near Gonzaga University and the West Central area on the North Side.

Council members voted unanimously to extend the emergency regulations for another six months while city staff completes work on permanent residential zoning regulations for the entire city.

Loopholes in the city’s building and zoning codes had allowed construction of dormitorylike additions to some single-family houses in R2-D zones, which is a type of duplex zone. Residents of the Logan and West Central neighborhoods complained that the developments were essentially apartments or dormitories and not duplexes as intended in zoning regulations.

The developments were also seen as harming the historic character of the older single-family homes that characterize the neighborhoods. Also, parking was inadequate for the multiunit developments.

The emergency regulations control the size of any additions as well as the number of unrelated residents who can occupy them. The regulations also set minimum parking requirements.

Regal Street project

In other business, the council approved a $42,000 payment to Spokane Public Schools as compensation for the cost of moving bleachers to accommodate widening of Regal Street south of 37th Avenue.