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One-time events and ongoing activities (public and ticketed) in the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood.

Public Meetings for the Comprehensive Plan Update

Public Meetings for the Comprehensive Plan Update

The City of Spokane Planning and Development Services Department is going to host three public meetings to gather input from citizens on the 2012-2014 Comprehensive Plan Review and Update.

Why is this important?

The city’s Comprehensive Plan (PDF link) is just that — a plan that covers every aspect of how Spokane aims to grow and develop in the coming years. Put simply, it’s our city’s vision for the future, and it determines what kind of decisions are made in the here and now. If the Comprehensive Plan mandates that the future of housing is in floating islands suspended by airships, you can (almost) bet that the city will direct current home-building practices toward this end.

Bluthton

But the vision of the future is not writ in stone, and it has to adapt to the ever-changing present. That’s why the Comprehensive Plan is updated every few years, and those updates are usually carried out with input from the public.

If the public doesn’t get involved in these processes, then the city naturally assumes everything is hunky dory and goes ahead with whatever it was going to do in the first place — which is precisely what has led to questionable planning decisions in the past. Not that the city is entirely at fault in these cases. How can they serve your neighborhood if the needs of your neighborhood aren’t made known to them?

Hence the importance of these public input meetings.

The public meeting for Council District 3, which encompasses Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood, will take place on Tuesday, February 19 from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Shadle Public Library (2111 W. Wellesley Ave, STA Route 20/33).

Don’t feel as though you have to be an expert on planning to attend. Each meeting will begin with a presentation on the background of the Comprehensive Plan and the update process. That will be followed by an interactive survey and activity stations.

For more info, contact Jo Anne Wright or Nikole Coleman-Porter in the Planning Department at (509) 625-6300.

Oh, and five points to whoever can name the town depicted in the drawing above.

Valentine’s Dinner at Petunia’s

Valentine’s Dinner at Petunia’s

Petunia’s Marketplace — a great organic and gourmet food store right here in Emerson-Garfield — has paired up with Rebecca Gunselman of the award-winning Robert Karl Cellars to host another popular dinner evening.

This time you’ll be able to treat your Valentine to a multiple-course dinner featuring sumptuous food, local wine, and indulgent chocolate.

Here’s what’s on the menu:

  • Savory Chocolate brushetta and spicy cacao shrimp paired with 2011 sauvignon blanc
  • Chicken mole paired with 2009 claret
  • Baby-back ribs with savory chocolate barbecue sauce over mashed sweet potatoes with 2009 Inspiration
  • Coffee-cacao rubbed beef tenderloin and sautéed mushrooms with 2008 Gunselman Bench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Decadently chocolate dessert paired with 2010 merlot

You have 2 Saturdays to choose from:

  • Saturday, February 9 at 5pm OR
  • Saturday, February 16 at 5pm

The cost for the event is $45 — and that includes all food, wine, and amazing hospitality.

To reserve a place, please e-mail Petunia’s or call Stacy on (509) 328-4257.

Corbin Center Hawaiian Luau, Feb 15

Corbin Center Hawaiian Luau, Feb 15

Snow and sub-freezing temperatures got you down? Corbin Senior Center is holding a Winter Get-Away Hawaiian Luau on Friday, February 15. Doors open at 4pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door — but Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council members get $2 off!

Corbin Senior Center luau 2012

Those tickets prices might seem a bit steep, but the cost includes a sit-down dinner with a roasted ham carving station, a champagne fountain with Hawaiian punch (Oh, yeah!), and dancing by Spokane’s Hula Na Hula Na Ho’Olaule’a Dance Company. And you don’t have to be content with just watching— hula lessons will show you how to move your hips like the pros. Feel free to dress for the occasion with leis, muumuus, and wild Hawaiian shirts.

To purchase tickets, call the CSC on (509) 327-1584. To claim your EGNC discount, you might have to present a printout of the flyer above.

Also, don’t forget that the Corbin Center is holding a Travel Fair tomorrow (Friday, January 17) between 12:30pm and 2pm. You’ll get travel packing advice and the center’s upcoming tour schedule for 2013.

Emerson-Garfield’s $20,000 Question

Emerson-Garfield’s $20,000 Question

The reconvened E-G Neighborhood Planning group will be meeting on Wednesday, January 9 at 6pm (an hour before the regular neighborhood council meeting) to discuss what planning manager Jay Cousins is billing as “Emerson-Garfield’s $20,000 Question.”

The amount refers to the money that is allocated to each of the neighborhoods that take part in the planning process. If the stakeholders opt not to continue, that funding naturally ends too.

In an e-mail to all stakeholders, Jay wrote:

We are facing a bit of a dilemma regarding neighborhood planning: The process has been started, so the clock is running (we have two years). After that time, results or not, the Planning department moves on.

Or, we can stop the process now and go to the back of the line, where we will wait about ten years before we could start again.

What to do? Continue planning or bag it? Something else?

We need to make the decision as a group.

Please attend a planning chat for about an hour.

We can hear folks’ thoughts and kick around some options.

Bring your opinions and options with you (maybe it helps if you drink heavily beforehand).

If you have thoughts on the matter but are unable to attend, please leave a comment or get in touch using the Contact page.

Materials for the Jan. 9 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the Jan. 9 EGNC Meeting

In a break from recent custom, the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is holding a meeting this month. It will take place on Wednesday, January 9 in the usual place (Corbin Senior Center) at the usual time (7pm). Brave the cold in exchange for the warm, fuzzy feeling of doing good for the neighborhood.

The agenda for the upcoming January 9 meeting and the minutes from last month’s meeting on December 12 are now available. Grab them on the “Downloads” page or just get them here:

We’ll be getting a head start on 2013 by discussing the ever-popular Spring Cleanup, planning for a summer concert series in Corbin and Emerson Parks, and suggesting possible logo/branding ideas for the neighborhood to snazz things up.

We look forward to seeing you there!