Bellingham for Everyone Learning Series: Spencer Gardner

On February 1st, we’ll be honored to host City of Spokane’s Director of Planning Services, Spencer Gardner to learn about their unique legislatives and planning success to become one of the most successful cities in the United States to legalize new housing.

Even before Washington State’s historical middle housing bill, HB 1110 was passed, the city of Spokane was hard at work developing the framework for innovative middle housing laws. In November 2023, Spokane City Council put the last piece together and passed legislation that went above and beyond HB 1110. They’ve passed what has been called the some of the most innovative middle housing laws in the Northwest, if not the country.

This is all an attempt to increase the housing supply in Spokane, one of the most successful strategies for helping our housing crisis. What unique characteristics make Spokane so successful in adopting these laws? What prompted them to go above and beyond HB 1110? What types of barriers did they experience? What can Bellingham learn, as it reviews and considers the state model code?

Following his presentation, we’ll have time for Q&A, so Bellingham can dig a little deeper and come out of this Learning Series event better prepared for our own deliberations on middle housing adoption.