Glossary

ADU

ADU means Accessory Dwelling Unit. It is a second, smaller home on the same property as a main house.

A backyard cottage, basement apartment, or converted garage can be an ADU. Spokane made these homes easier to build in 2022.

Affordable housing

In a housing program, affordable housing has a price limit. A person must usually earn below a set amount to qualify.

Public money or a tax break may help lower the price.

Outside a program, people often mean any lower-cost home. Housing affordability asks whether people can afford the homes available.

Al French

Al French is a Spokane County commissioner. The County is a separate government from the City, and it decides land use outside city limits, including the West Plains.

That boundary matters for data centers. Most new commercial development on the West Plains is served by Spokane water, so a project the City cannot permit can still draw on the City's supply.

He has supported a state tax break for data center equipment and has said he will not back a project that raises rates for existing customers. Records released in July 2026 put him at the center of the West Plains proposals, and the data center page carries that account in full.

AMI

AMI means Area Median Income. Housing programs use it to decide who qualifies for help and what rent may be charged.

For one person in Spokane in 2026, 100% AMI is about $80,000 a year. 50% AMI is about $40,000.

Anti-displacement

Anti-displacement means steps meant to help current residents and businesses stay when housing costs rise or buildings are redeveloped.

Examples include moving-cost help, tenant protections, and homes with income and price limits.

The rules and results differ from one program to another.

BOCA

BOCA means Building Opportunities and Choices for All. This temporary 2022 program allowed up to four homes on many residential properties in Spokane.

The City replaced BOCA with permanent housing rules in January 2024.

BOCC

BOCC means Board of County Commissioners. It is Spokane County's elected governing board.

The board assigned Spokane a target of 23,357 more people by 2046 as the City's share of regional growth.

BRT

BRT means Bus Rapid Transit. It is a bus route designed to be faster and run more often than regular service.

Spokane's City Line is one example. Another line is planned for Division Street.

BUILDSpokane

BUILDSpokane is the City's rewrite of the rules for what can be built.

It will cover building height, distance from property lines, landscaping, parking, and how projects are reviewed.

PlanSpokane sets the broad direction. BUILDSpokane writes the detailed rules.

Capital Facilities

Capital facilities are the public systems a city builds and maintains. They include water, sewer, streets, parks, and fire stations.

The plan must address what Spokane needs, when it is needed, and how it will be paid for.

Centers and Corridors

Centers and Corridors is Spokane's plan to place more homes and businesses near major streets, bus routes, and busy intersections.

The idea is to focus growth in these areas instead of spreading it evenly across the city.

Climate Element / House Bill 1181 (HB 1181)

HB 1181 is a 2023 state law. It requires Spokane's growth plan to address climate risks and greenhouse-gas pollution.

Spokane is putting these policies throughout the plan instead of writing one separate climate chapter.

Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

This City study looks at how heat, smoke, flooding, drought, and other climate threats could affect Spokane's people, homes, roads, utilities, trees, and waterways.

The City published it in June 2025, and it anchors the climate work in the growth plan.

Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI)

The CVI is a City map showing which parts of Spokane may be hurt most by heat, smoke, flooding, and other climate problems.

It combines more than 30 kinds of data. Parts of Northeast Spokane and the I-90 corridor rank above the city average.

Commercial Conversion

Commercial Conversion is a state tax break for turning an underused store, office, or other business property into housing with price limits.

The owner can delay sales and use taxes on construction. Those taxes may be forgiven if the housing follows the price rules for at least 10 years.

Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan is Spokane's official plan for how the city should grow over the next 20 years.

It guides where homes and businesses can go. It also covers streets, transit, parks, and public services.

PlanSpokane is the current update.

Concurrency

Concurrency means public systems must keep up as the city grows. That includes roads, water, sewer, parks, and other services.

A project may have to shrink or wait if the needed capacity does not exist and is not funded.

Critical Areas

Critical areas are land and water that need extra protection.

Examples include wetlands, wildlife habitat, flood areas, water-supply areas, and land at risk of sliding.

State law requires Spokane to protect these places through local rules. The City is updating those rules now.

CRSB

CRSB means Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board. This City-appointed board reviewed the climate parts of Spokane's growth plan.

For this work, it also serves as Spokane's Climate Policy Advisory Team, or CPAT.

In February 2026, it recommended 97 policies across 11 parts of the plan.

Data center sales-tax exemption

Washington exempts qualifying data centers from sales and use tax on original server equipment, power infrastructure, and the labor to install them.

Spokane County does not qualify. The exemption covers data centers in rural counties and, under a separate 2022 program, counties with more than 800,000 residents, meaning King, Pierce, and Snohomish. Spokane County is neither.

In 2026, House Bill 2655 would have created an exemption for Spokane County alone. It did not become law. A separate law that took effect July 1, 2026 narrowed both existing programs: replacement servers no longer qualify.

DEIS / EIS

DEIS means Draft Environmental Impact Statement. It is the draft version the public can comment on before anything is final.

An EIS studies how a plan could affect traffic, public services, neighborhoods, and the environment. The final version, the FEIS, comes later, before the City makes its final decision.

Density

Density means how many homes are allowed within an area. More homes on the same amount of land means higher density.

Allowed is not the same as built. A map that allows higher density does not build anything by itself; what gets built depends on later rules, costs, and what property owners decide to do.

On PlanSpokane maps, Low, Moderate, and High Density are broad categories. Later zoning rules will set actual building sizes and uses.

Design Review

Design review looks at how a proposed building will look and fit on its property.

It may cover the building's shape, materials, entrances, and landscaping.

This is different from deciding whether that kind of building is allowed there.

Development Standards

Development standards are the detailed rules for how a building must fit on its property.

They cover height, parking, landscaping, distance from property lines, and how much of the lot a building can cover.

Other rules decide whether homes, shops, offices, or other uses are allowed there.

Displacement

Displacement happens when redevelopment or rising costs push current residents out of their neighborhood.

A home may be demolished or converted. People may also be priced out even when the building remains.

This concern appears often in written comments and City Council discussions.

Emergency Ordinance

An emergency ordinance is a City law passed to take effect immediately instead of waiting through the usual effective-date period.

Spokane used this process to adopt BOCA in 2022. The program was temporary and was later replaced by permanent housing rules.

Flexible Thresholds for Categorical Exemptions

Flexible thresholds are project-size limits under SEPA. A project at or below Spokane's adopted limit can skip the usual project-level environmental checklist and threshold decision.

Spokane's current code uses one 20-unit limit for residential projects, and the City's consultant recommends moving residential limits toward the state maximums shown below (the consultant's own table lists a 4-unit multifamily limit, but Spokane's current code says 20, and this comparison uses the code).

These are maximums, not a final Spokane decision. Before raising any limit, the City must document how its current rules protect environmental and cultural resources and allow at least 60 days of public and agency comment. An exemption removes only the project-level SEPA review; zoning, building, stormwater, and critical-area rules still apply, and projects involving water, regulated discharges, air permits, or certain rezones cannot use it.

Future Land Use Map (FLUM)

The Future Land Use Map shows the general kind of growth the City plans for each area.

It does not approve a building. Later zoning and building rules decide what can actually be built on a property.

The City showed a first draft to City Council on July 23, 2026 and said it would be online the first week of August. Its chapter review page still lists the map as underway, under Chapter 3, Growth Strategy.

Growth Management Act (GMA)

The Growth Management Act is the state law that tells growing cities and counties how to plan for housing, transportation, public services, and the environment.

It requires Spokane to update its 20-year growth plan on a regular schedule.

House Bill 1220 (HB 1220)

HB 1220 is a 2021 state housing law. It requires cities to make room for housing that people at every income level can afford.

It also requires cities to examine and fix local rules that have kept some groups out of neighborhoods.

Housing affordability

Can a household pay its rent or mortgage without using too much of its income? A common guideline is no more than 30% of income.

This is different from affordable housing, which usually means a formal program with income and price limits.

Impervious Surface

An impervious surface is a hard surface that rain cannot easily soak through.

Roofs, roads, driveways, and parking lots are examples. More hard surfaces send more water into streets and drains instead of into the ground.

Infill

Infill means building new homes or businesses inside an area that is already developed.

It may use vacant land or replace property that is not being fully used. The alternative is building farther out at the edge of the city.

Land Capacity Analysis (LCA)

The LCA is the City's estimate of how many more homes and jobs could fit in Spokane under its rules.

The estimate depends on which land is available, what the rules allow, and what the City assumes can actually be built.

LOS

LOS means Level of Service. For traffic, it is a grade from A through F showing how much delay drivers face.

The City uses similar targets to judge whether parks, water, sewer, and other services are keeping up with growth.

Market-rate housing

Market-rate housing has no income or price limit. The owner charges what renters or buyers will pay.

Market-rate does not automatically mean luxury. It only means an affordability program does not restrict the price.

MFTE

MFTE means Multi-Family Tax Exemption. It is a City tax break for certain apartments, townhouses, and buildings with both homes and businesses.

For 8, 12, or 20 years, the owner does not pay property tax on the new housing. The land is still taxed.

Some versions require lower rents in part of the building.

Middle Housing

Middle housing has more than one home but is smaller than a large apartment building.

Examples include duplexes, fourplexes, townhouses, and groups of small cottages. These buildings are often close in size to a house or small apartment building.

Mitigation

Mitigation is an action promised to prevent, reduce, repair, or make up for harm caused by a project or plan.

A promise is not proof of a result. Check whether the action is required, paid for, assigned to someone, and measured afterward.

Mixed-use

Mixed-use means homes and businesses in the same building or on the same block, like apartments above a shop.

PlanSpokane's centers and corridors approach relies on mixed-use so people can live near stores, jobs, and transit.

Nadine Woodward

Nadine Woodward was Spokane's mayor from 2020 through 2023.

She declared the 2021 housing emergency that led to BOCA being passed as an emergency measure.

YIMBY

YIMBY stands for Yes In My Back Yard. It describes someone who supports building more housing, including in their own neighborhood.

The word was coined as the answer to “not in my back yard.” Both labels get used as accusations, so what someone is called says less than what they are actually asking the City to do. California YIMBY is one organization that campaigns under the name.

Nonconforming Use

A nonconforming use is a building or activity that was legal when it started but no longer matches current rules.

It can usually continue, although rebuilding or expanding it may be limited. People sometimes call this grandfathered.

OFM

OFM means Office of Financial Management. It is the state agency that forecasts how Washington's population may change.

Those forecasts help set Spokane's growth target. The next one is due before the 2036 plan update.

Overlay Zone

An overlay zone is a boundary drawn on the zoning map on top of the zoning already there. Inside that boundary, certain rules are added, relaxed, or replaced, and the zoning underneath stays in place.

Cities use them for historic districts, airport noise areas, shoreline rules, and downtown design standards. The tool is ordinary; what it does depends on where the boundary goes and which rules change inside it.

In Spokane, one has been discussed for the tech hub since February 2024, and it resurfaced at the July 2026 data center hearing.

Parking 2 People

Parking 2 People is a tax break for replacing an underused outdoor parking lot with housing.

The owner can delay construction sales tax. The tax may be forgiven if at least half the homes follow income and price rules.

Planned Unit Development (PUD)

A PUD lets a larger property be planned as one project instead of one lot at a time.

Homes, streets, open space, and other features are reviewed together under one approved plan.

PlanSpokane

PlanSpokane is the City's current update to its 20-year growth plan.

It is also the name of the City's official website for the process.

Preferred Alternative

As of July 2026, the Preferred Alternative is the growth option the City recommends after studying several choices.

It includes a proposed growth map and the policies that go with it. It is not the final adopted plan.

PSH

PSH means Permanent Supportive Housing. It combines a long-term apartment with rent help and services for people leaving homelessness or living with disabilities.

The state places this housing in the lowest-income part of Spokane's housing target.

Public Comment

Public comment is written or spoken input sent to government before a decision.

State law requires the City to share its proposals, accept comments, hold public meetings, and consider and respond to what it receives. That duty runs to the comments as a whole, not to a separate reply for every writer.

For PlanSpokane, comments become part of the material the Spokane Plan Commission and City Council consider. A comment does not guarantee an outcome, but it shows that the issue was raised.

RCW / WAC

RCW means Revised Code of Washington, the state's collection of laws. WAC means Washington Administrative Code, the detailed rules written by state agencies.

The numbers after RCW or WAC point to a specific law or rule.

Rent cap (House Bill 1217)

Washington limits most yearly rent increases to 7% plus inflation, up to a maximum of 10%.

Commerce publishes the figure each July. The limit is 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, the year inflation pushed the formula past the ceiling.

Buildings 12 years old or newer are exempt.

The exemption is under (1)(a): “A tenancy in a dwelling unit for which the first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or less years before the date of the notice of the rent increase.”

SEPA

SEPA means State Environmental Policy Act. This state law requires government to study possible environmental harm before making certain decisions.

For PlanSpokane, that review is mainly done through an Environmental Impact Statement.

SEPA Exemption Expansion

SEPA exemption expansion means allowing more projects to skip their own project-level environmental review.

This can happen by raising flexible thresholds based on project size or by adopting an exemption for development in a mapped area. The City is considering both.

An exemption may speed up permits. Building, zoning, stormwater, critical-area, and other rules would still apply.

Spokane City Council

Spokane City Council is the City's elected lawmaking body. It adopts the Comprehensive Plan, zoning rules, budgets, and other City laws.

For PlanSpokane, the Spokane Plan Commission makes recommendations and City Council votes on adoption.

Spokane Plan Commission

The Spokane Plan Commission is a City-appointed board. It reviews growth plans, holds public hearings, and recommends what City Council should adopt.

TAZ

TAZ means Transportation Analysis Zone. It is one small area on a traffic-model map.

The model uses these areas to estimate where trips start, where they end, and which roads people use.

Tech Hub

Spokane's tech hub is the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center, a consortium of about 50 companies, agencies, and schools working on lightweight composite materials for aircraft. The federal government named it a Regional Technology Hub in 2023.

It is an aerospace project, not a data center. It appears in the data center record because it lost a federal award and then began talks to sublease part of its site.

TOD / ETOD

TOD means Transit-Oriented Development. It places homes, shops, and services within an easy walk of frequent bus or train service.

ETOD means Equitable Transit-Oriented Development. It adds the goal that people with a range of incomes should be able to afford to live there.

Tree canopy

Tree canopy is the area covered by branches and leaves when seen from above.

The City’s goal is 30% canopy coverage. The draft says to focus first on parts of Spokane where tree cover is low or missing.

The urban forest includes all trees across the city, on public and private land. A citywide target does not, by itself, protect a particular tree or neighborhood.

Urban Growth Area (UGA)

The UGA is the boundary around land planned for city growth and city services such as water, sewer, roads, and transit.

The boundary is meant to keep city growth from spreading onto rural land.

Utility allowance

A utility allowance is a program's estimate of what a tenant pays for utilities.

The program subtracts that amount when it sets the highest allowed rent.

If rent and utilities together are limited to $1,000 and utilities are estimated at $150, the rent limit is $850.

VMT

VMT means Vehicle Miles Traveled. It is the total distance people drive, often shown as miles per person.

The plan uses VMT to estimate whether a growth option may lead to more or less driving.

WAHCAP

WAHCAP means Washington Habitat Connectivity Action Plan. It is a 2025 state plan for keeping wildlife routes connected as land is developed.

Commenters cite it when asking Spokane to map how wildlife moves through the city.

Workforce housing

Workforce housing usually means homes for working people who earn too much for many housing programs but still struggle with regular rents or home prices.

The term has no fixed income range. Check what a program or speaker means when using it.

Zoning & Development Code

Zoning and the development code are the property-by-property rules for what can be built.

They decide whether homes or businesses are allowed. They also set rules for size, height, parking, landscaping, and distance from property lines.

The Comprehensive Plan gives the broad direction. Zoning and the development code provide the legal details.

Catholic Charities Eastern Washington (CCEW)

CCEW is a large nonprofit serving people across 13 Eastern Washington counties.

In Spokane, it operates lower-cost housing, housing with on-site support, and emergency shelters. It also helps families find a place to live.

Greenstone Corporation

Greenstone is a Spokane-area company that has built homes and developed land since 1983.

Its founder has publicly supported smaller lots, simpler housing rules, and faster permits. The company also submitted a comment on the Draft EIS.

Habitat for Humanity Spokane

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit that helps lower-income households buy homes in Spokane County.

It builds the homes, provides financing, and belongs to the Spokane Housing Coalition.

Spokane Home Builders Association

The Spokane Home Builders Association is the local trade group for home builders, remodelers, and other construction businesses.

It belongs to the National Association of Home Builders and supported Spokane's recent housing changes.

Spokane Housing Authority (SHA)

SHA is a public agency that provides rent help and lower-cost housing across six Eastern Washington counties.

It helps more than 6,200 low-income households through housing vouchers, help tied to specific properties, and apartments it operates.

Spokane Housing Coalition

The Spokane Housing Coalition is a group of local housing providers and builders that supports more construction and faster permits.

Its YouTube channel features Jim Frank of Greenstone and Ben Stuckart of the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium (SLIHC). It is an advocacy group, not an official City source.

Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium (SLIHC)

SLIHC is a member group for organizations and people working on lower-cost housing across Greater Spokane.

It provides training, education, and a shared public voice. It does not provide housing itself.

Clarion Associates

Clarion is a national consulting company that helps communities write growth plans and building rules.

The City hired Clarion as an outside consultant on BUILDSpokane, the rewrite of Spokane's development code. Kimley-Horn is working on it as well.

Elizabeth Garvin presents Clarion's work to City Council and the Plan Commission, so hers is often the voice explaining what the new code would do.

Spokane Realtors

Spokane Realtors is the local trade group for real estate professionals. It belongs to the National Association of Realtors.

Its monthly reports provide local home-price figures. It also presented housing data at the April 14, 2026 Plan Commission hearing.

The group publishes The Truth About Housing with the Spokane Housing Coalition.

Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP)

DSP is a private nonprofit representing downtown property and business owners.

It works on development, safety, and investment. It also manages a district where property owners pay for added downtown services.

Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC)

SRTC coordinates long-term transportation planning across Spokane County.

It brings local governments and transportation agencies together on major roads, transit, growth, and funding.

Spokane Transit Authority (STA)

STA is the public agency that runs bus service across the Spokane region.

Its projects include the Division Street Bus Rapid Transit line discussed in the growth plan.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)

WDFW is the state agency responsible for fish, wildlife, and their habitat.

Its role in local growth plans includes reviewing possible harm to wetlands, habitat, and wildlife.

Washington State Department of Commerce

Commerce is the state agency that helps local governments follow the Growth Management Act.

Its housing estimates, planning guides, grants, and annual rent-cap information help shape Spokane's plan update.

Washington State Department of Ecology

Ecology is the state agency that oversees SEPA rules and explains how environmental review works.

Its work on water also appears in the PlanSpokane record.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

DNR is the state agency that manages forests, wildfire work, state-owned land, and the Washington Geological Survey.

A DNR staff member commented on Spokane's Draft EIS and pointed the City to state maps and information about the ground beneath Spokane.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

WSDOT is the state agency responsible for highways and some transit routes.

It reviews local growth plans for possible effects on traffic and highway access.

350 Spokane

350 Spokane is a local nonprofit that works on climate issues.

Twelve residents used its main points in comments supporting Alternative 3.

They asked the City to map natural areas and study harm before letting more projects skip SEPA review. Its Interfaith Committee commented separately.

California YIMBY

California YIMBY is a group that supports building more housing and changing rules that limit development.

Its research director, Nolan Gray, interviewed Spokane Rising writer Anthony Gill about Spokane's zoning changes on the Abundance podcast. That interview is preserved on this site.

Friends of Spokane Trees (FOST)

Friends of Spokane Trees is a local group formed after mature trees were cut on private property during development.

Its Draft EIS comment opposed growth Options 2 and 3.

The group warned that less environmental review and fewer limits on development could harm trees, air, and water.

Futurewise

Futurewise is a statewide nonprofit that supports growth inside cities, more housing, and environmental protection.

Its Draft EIS comment asked about people being priced out, water supply, and maps of natural areas.

Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI)

GSI is the Spokane region's chamber of commerce. The state also recognizes it as Spokane County's lead group for economic development.

It is supported by member businesses and state and local governments. It works on jobs, worker training, and business growth.

GSI is a private member organization, not a government agency.

Spokane Reimagined

Spokane Reimagined is a local, nonpartisan group that supports safer streets, better transit, and growth near transit.

At the April 14 hearing, it supported the proposed transit focus but said the map leaves out transit lines in wealthier areas.

Spokane Riverkeeper

Spokane Riverkeeper is an independent nonprofit that works to protect and restore the Spokane River. It monitors water quality, organizes cleanups, and advocates for clean water and river flows.

It is a program of the national Waterkeeper Alliance and is led by a Riverkeeper with a volunteer board of directors.

Its board members appear in the PlanSpokane record. At the July 29, 2026 City Council meeting, board member Brian Muegge testified on data centers, raising water first and then noise pollution.

Strong Towns

Strong Towns is a national nonprofit that supports gradual growth cities can afford to maintain.

Its Bottom Up Revolution podcast interviewed Spokane's planning director in 2022 about the City's early housing-rule changes. The interview is available as an article and podcast.

Community Assembly

The Community Assembly is a citywide group made up of representatives from Spokane's neighborhood councils.

It brings neighborhood concerns into City discussions. It is part of the City's neighborhood-council system, not an independent organization.

Grandview-Thorpe Neighborhood Council

This City-recognized neighborhood council covers southwest Spokane west of Highway 195 and south of Interstate 90.

Latah Valley Neighborhood Council

This neighborhood group covers the Latah Valley area of southwest Spokane.

The City's official name for the council is the Latah/Hangman Neighborhood Council.

North Indian Trail Neighborhood Council

This is the City-recognized neighborhood council for North Indian Trail.

It has asked the City to show that schools, roads, and evacuation routes can handle more homes before allowing them.

Spokane Urban Nature

Spokane Urban Nature is a local group asking the City to identify and protect trees and wildlife habitat as Spokane grows.

Its February 2026 comment proposed keeping wildlife habitat connected. Similar wording later appeared in the CRSB's recommended climate policies.