Capital Facilities

Apply or revise zoning designations with careful consideration of factors including:

• Future land use mapping.

• Compatibility with surrounding land uses.

• Restrictions in FAFB and airport overlay areas.

• Infrastructure and service plans.

• Existing and future traffic patterns are supported through a street network classified by function that enforces multimodal design standards on the City and private development.

• Goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan, related Master Plan, and/or Facility Plans.

• Housing needs and affordability for all income ranges.

• Economic development and implementation of the Downtown Plan.

• Implementation of the Industrial Sub-Area Plan.

Maintain concurrency between the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element and available funding, ensuring efficient and timely levels of service (LOS) provision.

To maintain mobility that allows for existing vehicle movements while balancing the need to support traffic growth within a developing community, the City will maintain a concurrency/LOS mobility standard consistent with those proscribed by Airway Heights Traffic Impact Study Standard Guidelines, and required through Airway Height Municipal Code 14.09 for Transportation Concurrency.

Ensure identification and siting of essential public facilities (EPFs) comply with state criteria, including RCW 36.70A.200, RCW 71.09.020(14), Office of Financial Management (OFM) EPF listings, and Countywide Planning Policies for Spokane County.

Prioritize location of schools in areas with:

• Access to arterial and collector streets.

• Ample sidewalks, bike, and pedestrian access.

• Proximity to residential areas being served.

• Cost-effective access to necessary utilities and services.

• Locations with multiple street access.

Prioritize location of new industrial development in areas that provide:

• Close proximity to major transportation corridors including in the industrial sub-area and along 21st Avenue.

• Siting near existing industrial uses, where possible.

• Cost-effective access to utilities and services.

• Access to transit to reduce employee vehicle trips.

• Paved roadway access to arterials.

• Ability to minimize trucking through residential areas.

Coordinate all long-range community planning objectives with Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB), minimizing or eliminating operational or land use conflicts.

Maintain infrastructure and personnel at levels that provide Airway Heights residents   with services that are high-quality, effective, and affordable.

On a regular basis, review and update the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and all related plans incorporating factors including:

• Population growth.

• Demographic trends.

• Building permit trends.

• Regional facility improvements and projections.

• Capital funding sources, including the transportation benefit district and traffic impact fees.

Support and cooperate with other agencies and providers of public services to maintain identified Levels of Service (LOS).

Strategy:

• Collaborate with adjacent jurisdictions and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to maintain performance and Level of Service (LOS) standards for intersections and roadways. Work to ensure that the LOS needs of these agencies are met for large development projects, including providing potential mitigation for transportation impacts.

Plan new development to ensure provision of public services at current Levels of Service (LOS) or the LOS identified in City-adopted Master Plans.

Strategy:

• Require development projects to demonstrate transportation concurrency by applying the City’s traffic impact analysis standards and process.

• Require development projects to meet the water concurrency requirements as set forth in the Airway Heights Municipal Code (AHMC) chapter 14.

• Enforce Multimodal Level of Service (LOS) goals for private development, incentivizing compliance by offering reductions in the City traffic impact fee for meeting these standards. (See Transportation Section for multimodal LOS standards/definition.)

Promote the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a means of improving the provision of city services, including:

• Enhancing planning and decision-making through GIS databases.

• Optimizing service delivery efficiency using GIS.

• Enhancing outreach engagement by creating interactive maps and dashboards that enable residents to access city services and provide feedback.

Plan and locate private and public utilities consistent with best management practices.

Provide timely, professional, and efficient processing of building permits, development review, and municipal code administration.

Sustain and enhance the City’s fiscal stability through good capital planning and use of a wide array of financial tools to fund infrastructure needs.

Work towards compliance with accessibility requirements in accordance with Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

Guide annexation decisions by and considering:

• Master plans for water, sewer, transportation, parks, and emergency services.

• Provision of necessary rights-of-way and easements.

• Studies that evaluate environmental and public service factors.

• Timing that supports orderly development and/or coordinated extension of public services.

• Comprehensive Plan goals and policies.

Continue participation in regional wastewater planning on the West Plains, updating wastewater master plans accordingly.

Coordinate with and support local emergency service providers.

With Spokane County, base determination of Urban Growth Area (UGA) limits considering:

• Land use forecast and demands.

• Future service capabilities.

• Infrastructure planning.

• Ground and surface water provision and quality.

• Protection of public health.

• Transportation impacts.

Cooperate with regulatory agencies in the identification and abatement of local environmental quality problems.

Protect the appearance and natural functions of critical areas in Airway Heights, using best available science (BAS) to protect functions and values, developing criteria including grading, setback, and vegetation disturbance.

Promote landscaping guidelines that:

• Protect wildlife habitats by maintaining existing trees and vegetative cover.

• Re-vegetate disturbed areas.

• Beautify streets, roadways, and surface parking lots.

• Help treat and address stormwater issues.

Provide storm water collection and treatment through use of landscaped infiltration areas and encourage the use of new or improved technology whenever practical.