For approximately two years, the City of Spokane has been working on updating its Shoreline Master Program, a critical document for our river and shoreline areas. Friends of the Falls has been involved from day one.

But a State deadline approaches, and it’s time for another City-sponsored open house to allow for community feedback on progress. It’s set for Wednesday, May 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in Mason Auditorium at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt. (GMap)

The Shoreline Master Program (SMP) was first drafted 30 years ago and addresses such issues as environmental protection and restoration of shoreline areas, economic development, shorelines uses and access to waterways. For more on the document, see the City’s project-specific website, accessible here.

Board Vice-Chair Travis Nichols reports there are some compelling issues being discussed and in need community input, including the current debate on high-rise towers versus medium-height, mixed-use development along shorelines, designations for key sites in the Gorge, and more.

Want to provide input on how the City should manage development along the shorelines of the Spokane River and Hangman (Latah) Creek? Want to review existing or proposed environmental designations for shorelines, or help shape the goals, policies, and regulations that’ll go along with those designations? Show up and voice your thoughts!

Even if you can’t make Wednesday’s meeting, be sure to check out the City’s progress at spokaneplanning.org, then email your comments to shorelines@spokanecity.org - or give project manager Jo Anne Wright a call, at 509-625-6017.

Friends of the Falls’ monthly Board of Directors meeting is scheduled on the third Thursday of every month; our next directors meeting will be held from noon to 1:30 pm, Thursday, May 15 in Room 501 of the Spokane Academic Center, Riverpoint Campus. Interested in dropping by? for more information.

The gorge plan covers a lot - even many specifics - but some areas need area-specific planning and design consideration. The Peaceful Valley neighborhood is one such area.

So apologies to all, especially Peaceful Valley activists, for not posting more on their recent planning efforts for neighborhood shoreline areas. But since we’ve been helping organizers for some time now, and since former FOF Board member Mike Terrell is helping facilitate the process, we figure we’ll post more as things develop. And there’ll be a lot more to come, from the looks of things.

The next big step for this exciting process is a three-day design charrette, set for the evening of March 28th through Sunday, March 30. Lots happening, and a lot of details we could report here, but let’s just start by referring everyone to the neighborhood’s project-specific website, at http://www.reclaimpeacefulvalley.com

Check it out - even if you’re not a resident of PV, it’s worth a visit just to see a neighborhood as organized and fired up about improving their surroundings as this one is!

Major event number two scheduled this week is the next Downtown plan meeting, set for Thursday, March 6, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Academic Center Auditorium, Room 20, 600 N. Riverpoint Blvd. in the University District.

Our last post on the process was pretty positive, since the first round of work included plenty of affirmation on the importance of the river to Downtown, and seemed to fully reference and draw from the Gorge Master Plan.

But since that time, the plan’s steering committee has re-focused the Downtown plan’s scope a bit, recognizing that the overall vision and broader goals and policies of the plan are already in good shape. What’s needed, they feel, are more specifics to support the downtown vision - things like building height maximums, streetscape design requirements, and refinements to existing development code. All well and good, since many feel those type of details are necessary to address failings of the previous plan and set the stage for even more success.

So here’s a starter: regarding our riverfront areas within Downtown; regarding connecting trail networks, “green streets” and other amenities to tie the center of Spokane to shoreline parks; regarding the preservation of view-sheds from Downtown areas to and from the riverfront; regarding the opportunity to incorporate some of the project improvements envisioned in the first plan into Riverfront Park - what specifics do you think the plan should include?

Show up Thursday night and speak up!

Downtown Plan Update Website (weblink)