SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane City Council will consider changes to its rental housing cooling requirements tonight, with a proposed amendment that would expand air conditioning mandates across rental units in the city. The measure is meant to improve housing livability, but some rental property owners have concerns.
According to a document that councilman Paul Dillon shared with 4 News Now last week, the amendment would require landlords to install air conditioning in at least one room of their rental units immediately, with a requirement to equip every bedroom with cooling by 2032. The changes aim to address tenant safety concerns following the deadly 2021 heat dome that killed more than a dozen people in the region.
Supporters of the ordinance argue that air conditioning is essential to keeping rental homes livable and safe for residents. However, property owners have raised significant concerns about the feasibility and cost of compliance.
Jim Frank, owner of Greenstone Corporation, which manages 2,000 rental units across the region, said his company already has air conditioning in nearly all of its units, though not in every bedroom. He expressed concern about the financial impact the ordinance could have on his business and other landlords, especially those who own older buildings.
Frank noted that older buildings present particular challenges because they cannot always accommodate air conditioning systems. He is also worried the ordinance could drive up affordable housing costs.
“We have a very significant shortage of housing. We have a very significant price problem, because housing has become so expensive. So that has to be part of the equation,” Frank said.
Frank does not believe air conditioning is necessary in Spokane, given the region’s milder climate compared to other parts of the country and the fact that temperatures cool down at night. He thinks other issues, such as homelessness, are more pressing concerns for the community.
“There are other emergencies. There are people that don’t have housing. There’s no air conditioning in a tent, OK?” Frank said.
Frank said he wants people to have safe housing but does not think the ordinance is a practical way to achieve that goal.
“All of this is a balancing of the need for housing, the cost of maintaining housing and the need to have habitable housing in our community,” Frank said. “All of these things need to work together in a way that we can do the best job for the citizens of the community.”
Looking forward, Frank said he wants the city to work with landlords to solve housing-related issues, suggesting that collaboration would be more effective than the proposed ordinance.
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
