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Submit Your Sidewalk Repair/Install Requests

Submit Your Sidewalk Repair/Install Requests

Do you have broken, uneven, or missing sidewalks in your area?

Emerson-Garfield neighborhood is compiling a list of sidewalk repairs and installations for the 2013 sidewalk project.

If you have a request to repair a stretch of sidewalk or install new sidewalk, please submit your request to Sara Kimball via e-mail at kimballs09@gmail.com no later than March 1.

All requests will be examined and included in a priority list provided to the City of Spokane. Engineers from the city will then use the list to determine this year’s projects to be completed late summer or early fall.

For questions or more information, e-mail Sara using the address above or call her at (509) 863-3376.

If you would like more information on the process behind sidewalk and street repair, please see this post.

Materials for the Feb. 13 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the Feb. 13 EGNC Meeting

Planning on attending the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meeting tomorrow? The agenda for the February 13 meeting and the minutes from last month’s meeting on January 9 are now available.

Access them on the “Downloads” page or just grab them here:

Among other things, we’ll be discussing the Spring Cleanup, the logo contest, and a neighborhood database idea.

Judge Tracy Staab from the Spokane Municipal Court will be on hand to deliver a presentation on local crime statistics, criminal trends, sentencing alternatives, budget matters, and innovations being used by the Municipal Court to dispense smarter justice. Jackie Caro from the Office of Neighborhood Services also plans to attend and discuss the state of traffic-calming proposals.

The EGNC meeting starts at 7pm and, as always, is at the Corbin Senior Center. The Neighborhood Planning committee meets one hour prior in the adjacent room.

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.

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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.

Online Voters’ Guide for Feb 12 Special Election

Online Voters’ Guide for Feb 12 Special Election

An online voters’ guide (PDF) for Props 1-3 in the upcoming (Feb 12) special election is now available.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Proposition No. 1 proposes to amend the City Charter to add two new sections regarding the Office of Police Ombudsman and a Police Ombudsman Commission. Proposition No. 1 proposes to amend the City Charter to add two new sections regarding the Office of Police Ombudsman and a Police Ombudsman Commission.
  • Proposition No. 2 proposes to amend the City Charter to provide that a majority plus one vote, i.e. five votes, of the City Council would be required to levy a new councilmanic tax or increase an existing councilmanic tax.
  • Proposition No. 3 proposes an increase in the regular property tax levy in excess of state law beginning in 2014 in which the funding would be allocated one hundred percent to library operations. This proposition authorizes an increase in the regular property tax levy for 2014 by $0.07 per $1,000 of assessed property value for a levy rate not to exceed $3.08. The increase would remain in effect for a period of four years.
Citizen Code Enforcement Volunteers Needed

Citizen Code Enforcement Volunteers Needed

The Office of Neighborhood Services/Code Enforcement is currently accepting applications for Citizen Code Enforcement Volunteers.

Code Enforcement makes sure that all the niceties of neighborly living are maintained, even if there’s one party that doesn’t see why the niceties of neighborly living are necessary.

So, for example, Code Enforcement is what keeps your neighbors from erecting an 8-foot-high fence along your property while you’re away on vacation. When polite requests fail, it provides a route for reprimanding the homeowner with a dog that barks constantly. It’s a civilized, formal means of addressing the problem when one home on your block becomes a haven for junk, strange animals, fire hazards or late-night parties.

But the Code Enforcement team can’t be everywhere. That’s why they’re looking to train Citizen Code Enforcement Volunteers, who will be the “eyes on the streets” for Code Enforcement Officers. The volunteers will help identify code violations, and these violations will then be passed on to Code Enforcement Officers to perform further investigation.

Here’s what volunteers will be expected to do:

  • Identify code violations
  • Fill out Code Enforcement Violation forms on property owners
  • Take photos of violations if necessary
  • Act as a code enforcement liaison to neighborhood council and citizens
  • Be a witness in case of civil infraction or misdemeanor criminal charge is pursued
  • Must respect expectation of privacy as well as personal safety
  • Hand out dump pass and clean-up event material when there is a need

Yes, it has an air of Police Academy 4 about it, but upholding basic standards of consideration and community decency doesn’t automatically make you a tattletale or a busybody. Everyone wants to live in a pleasant neighborhood.

Interested? Download the background info and application pack here.