What is a Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan is a long-term planning document that establishes a vision, goals, and policies that guide all aspects of Spokane’s growth and development over the next twenty years. The plan guides the City’s actions related to land use and growth, housing, economic development such as workforce and business opportunities, natural environment protection, as well as infrastructure, parks, emergency response, wastewater and stormwater, and more.

Spokane’s current Comprehensive plan – Shaping Spokane – includes the following chapters:

• Introduction
• Implementation
• Land Use
• Transportation
• Capital Facilities and Utilities
• Housing
• Economic Development
• Urban Design and Historic Preservation
• Natural Environment
• Social Health
• Neighborhoods
• Parks and Recreation
• Local Government and Citizenship
• Shorelines

The PlanSpokane 2046 periodic update the Comprehensive Plan will update the document to help guide Spokane’s growth through 2046. Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) requires each city and county to periodically review and update their Comprehensive Plans to ensure consistency with State, Regional, and County policies. The update also provides an opportunity to review population and other growth forecasts with the most up to date data, allowing for policies to be reviewed for Spokane’s evolving needs and wants.

Spokane’s Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2017, with the next due in 2026.

Recent legislative updates that will need to be incorporated into this periodic update include House Bill 1181 which requires cities to incorporate climate considerations into their Comprehensive Plans, as well as House Bill 1220, requiring provisions for housing of all income segments.