SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane is a leader in addressing the housing shortage crisis in Washington state.
That’s the message Governor Jay Inslee shared in his first visit to Spokane in 2024 on Wednesday.
Inslee presented Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson with the Smart Community Award, a recognition honoring the city’s efforts to tackle the ongoing housing shortage.
Spokane was one of 11 Washington communities recognized as a smart city in 2023. It specifically won the Housing Strategy category of the award for its Building Opportunity and Choices for All (BOCA) program.
This program, adopted by the city council in 2022 and made permanent in 2023, allows for properties originally permitted only for single family homes to have multiple houses built on the same property, such as duplexes and triplexes.
Inslee said that Spokane had an impressive plan and made effective decisions to create this positive outcome.
“There is no community in the state of Washington that has understood this better, and done more about it than Spokane, Washington,” Inslee said.
Inslee also awarded Council President Betsy Wilkerson the Washingtonian of the day award for her continued efforts with this program.
Through the BOCA program, 66 units have been permitted on 34 lots. It’s a solution the Governor says should inspire other communities.
“Decisions to change your zoning ordinances, to reduce setback requirements, parking requirements. To allow more housing on a particular lot, is exactly the medicine Washington state needs so we can build more housing.,” Inslee said.
While the groundwork has been laid, both the Governor and Mayor Lisa Brown say there is more work to be done.
“We have a limited land base, and the only way we can build more housing is to allow more of our acreage to actually be allowed for housing,” Inslee stated.
“We have a lot more work to do but we are committed to it, you will see recommendations from my committee tomorrow, and this will be at the top of the list,” Brown said.
