SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane is rolling out a coordinated package of tools and legislative changes designed to make rebuilding faster and more accessible for residents who lost homes and property in the Spokane Complex Fire.
A new public damage assessment dashboard catalogs damage to every structure in the burn area and those within 500 feet of it. According to the City of Spokane, building inspectors trained in FEMA standards completed the initial assessment within a day and a half. The dashboard provides site-by-site details on damage levels, addresses and parcel numbers. Residents can click on individual structures to view information and submit corrections through an email link.
“Recovery does not end when the flames are out. For many of our neighbors, the hardest work is just beginning,” Mayor Lisa Brown said. “At the City of Spokane, we want to make rebuilding as accessible and straightforward as possible.”
Erin Hut, City of Spokane Director of Communications, explained the accessibility of the new tool: “We have taken all of that information and put it into one dashboard and have made that publicly accessible now, so that members of our community can understand what’s happening in those neighborhoods if they are not physically there.”
Streamlined Rebuilding Process
According to city officials, Spokane has introduced ordinances aimed at removing barriers to reconstruction. The “Like-for-Like” provision allows residents to waive or modify certain development standards when rebuilding destroyed properties. A second provision allows accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to be permitted and occupied before the principal dwelling is rebuilt, giving residents a place to live during reconstruction.
The ordinances also include financial relief, including a general facility charge waiver for rebuilding projects using the same meter size and the ability to defer building permit fees until occupancy.
The city plans to expand the dashboard’s features over time. “Ultimately, we will build on this over time and add permitting information as those move through our processes. So people will be able to go in and say my demolition permit has been accepted and now it’s time for the rebuild permit and what not,” Hut said.
On-Site Support
Starting Sept. 21, the city’s Development Services Center will operate a remote office at Shadle Park Library. A city planner and plan reviewer will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 2 to help fire-impacted residents navigate the permitting process, according to the city.
“Those are meant to streamline the permitting process and hopefully offset some fees for folks that are rebuilding. And we today also announced that we’re going to have a satellite office for members of our permitting team out at the Shadle Park Library, so closer to the impacted area, where folks who are looking to start that rebuilding process can meet directly with members of the development services team,” Hut said.
Anyone with questions or corrections about the new tool can email RebuildSpokane@spokanecity.org or contact the Development Services Center at 509-625-6300.
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