Spokane City Council halts demolition in Browne’s Addition, limits billboards in Hillyard

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously Monday night to halt demolition in the historic Browne’s Addition neighborhood and stop the movement of billboards in Hillyard.

Spokane City Councilwoman Lori Kinnear asked her colleagues to support stopping demolition permits as Browne’s Addition, a neighborhood of signature apartments and mansion-style homes, completes a survey of their buildings before seeking zoning protections for historic properties.

“This six-month moratorium gives them that opportunity to do so, so they can finish up their work and go through that process,” Kinnear said.

The neighborhood has pushed for those zoning protections in recent years as developers have sought construction of new housing in Browne’s Addition, which will be connected to the rest of the city through planned improvements to the city’s bus services.

Kinnear asked for the billboard moratorium, also for six months. Spokane’s codes cap the number of billboards within city limits, but the public purchase of land for the North Spokane freeway has displaced existing signs and previous owners are proposing to replace them along Market Street, in areas where the city just spent millions to upgrade the roads.

Waldref’s measure stops permitting to replace any more displaced signs in areas designated as neighborhood cores by the City Council, which includes a 10-block stretch of Market Street.

Both moratoriums require public hearings within 60 days.