More than 150 residents crowded City Hall on March 13 to comment on the Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan, during consideration by the Planning Commission.

On Wednesday the 19th, the City made minutes of the meeting available, and notified those listed on the project contact list via e-mail.

Interested in seeing the transcribed comments? Visit the City of Spokane Valley website, or follow the links below for a copy of the minutes, or to a City page listing all of the comments received since the beginning of the planning process since 2006. 

March 13 Minutes (604 Kb, Acrobat® file)
City Comments Table, 2006-2008 (Weblink, City of Spokane Valley)

One of the participants in helping refine the draft Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan is nationally recognized retail expert Robert Gibbs of Birmingham, Michigan.

Gibbs is considered a leading urban planning consultant by some of the most respected mayors, architects and shopping center developers in America, having advised on plans for more than 300 town centers and historic cities across the US, Canada, the Pacific Rim and the Caribbean - nearly every new American town center constructed during the past 15 years. Profiled in the Atlantic Monthly, Consumer Reports, the New York Times, Urban Land Institute, and The Wall Street Journal, Gibbs is known for his innovative, yet practical solutions - and for his articulate presentation style.

On the latter point, Gibbs was recently filmed before an audience in Kirkland, Washington, speaking on “New Trends in Town and City Retail Commerce.” The link below leads to Kirkland’s site and to the on-line video of his talk.

Many of the lessons and trend discussions helped inform the vision for the Sprague-Appleway plan, and help illustrate how town centers like the one proposed for Spokane Valley can help improve land values, economic vitality and local quality of life opportunities. Check it out!

Robert Gibbs: “New Trends in Retail Commerce" (Weblink, WIndows Media Player® required)

Development of the Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan has involved hundreds of residents thus far, and ideas and comments continue to arrive as the draft plan moves forward.

But we wanted to provide another quick overview of ways residents can weigh in on the plan, including:

• Attend scheduled meetings and hearings. Details on all scheduled events, including Planning Commission and Council hearings will be posted here, and if you’d like e-mail notification of upcoming meetings, join our mailing list. (Fill in the field on the right-hand side of this page)
• Post your comments on individual items or stories on this website - if you see a “Comments” link below the story, just click and add your thoughts. We’ll add it to the public record, and you can check out what others are saying, too.
• Send your thoughts directly via e-mail. Any of the contact links you’ll find on this site will work perfectly, but here’s another - .

Long-range efforts like the Sprague-Appleway Revitalization Plan need your input in order to work well. Review the plan, and add your thoughts!

Here’s a copy of the e-mailed reminder notice for the March 1 Council presentation, transmitted by Deanna Griffith of the City of Spokane Valley on Friday, February 23th.  (152 Kb, Acrobat® file)

March 1 meeting notice

The document linked below includes a transcript of comments, questions and answers from the January 16, 2007 public workshop.

Meeting transcript (110 Kb, Acrobat® file)