Coming to Spokane - HUGE Zipline, Landlord Restrictions and GREAT Food

Landlord tenant battles, tons of new restaurants and a zipline over the Spokane falls? Here’s what’s coming soon to Spokane! 

#1 New Rental Regulations?

So getting right into the heaviest topic that we will be going over today, Spokane is facing some big changes and challenges in regards to the regulations for landlords and the services provided to tenants. 

The first big change has already happened and been voted in by city council making it so that a tenant may not be evicted for non payment of rent if they are actively seeking rental assistance. 

This new law comes from a previous, more intense draft sponsored by city council member, Breean Beggs, that would have removed the option for landlords to increase rent if they accepted a tenant that had rental assistance. They couldn’t get that one through so they took this more watered down approach and basically made it so that if a landlord would like to increase rent but the current tenant can’t immediately afford it, they may not evict that tenant for non payment of the new rent. 

Beggs mentioned that this bill only pertains to those that have not paid their rent and does not protect tenants who are breaking their lease in other ways like damaging the property so the tenant definitely has to be in good standing for this law to protect them. 

The opposition to the argument though is that there is no clear timeline on how long a landlord must wait for their tenant to receive their funds. Some of the landlords that spoke at the last council meeting mentioned that they don’t have the funds to pay for the property for months on end while waiting for their tenants to get the funds they need for rent so in the event this whole situation were to happen, a landlord could fall into foreclosure and have to sell the property that the tenant is working to stay in. 

Now, there is another pressure being brought to landlords but before I bring it up, if you’re a landlord, what is your outlook on the real estate market here in the area? Are you more inclined to sell your Spokane property and invest elsewhere or do you think long term it’s still worth it? Let me know down below. And if you’re a tenant, how do you feel about these laws going into play? Are they helpful to your situation or do you see the otherside of the argument? I’d really love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this matter. 

But let’s chat about the next rounds of issues that will actually be voted on coming up here on Monday the 23rd. 

City council is now proposing a few more regulations for rental properties. 

The first is the idea of a universal background check. Renters would no longer be responsible for paying for a new background and credit check for every place they apply to. I know as a very small landlord myself, it is something that I have a lot of empathy for and really do as much vetting of the tenant and give them as much information as possible before making them apply because I know how many applications they’re filling out and how expensive it can be. 

So I think this could be a positive thing, but there are definitely a few things many landlords are concerned about. 

The first is that this background check only goes back one year unless the prospective tenant has a violent crime or sex crime on their record. The landlord is allowed to use any other form of background check in addition to the universal background check, but would be required to take on those fees. 

And the draft states that “nothing in this section restricts a landlord from asking a prospective tenant about their criminal, credit or rental history, or making a decision on whether or not to rent to an individual base on that history.” So in terms of finding a tenant, it could be kind of nice because you have this base of information to look at a lot of applications on a fair playing field and then you have the option to pay to go deeper with the tenants that seem like the best prospects. This could be a stepping stone to landlords not having the right to ask more questions, but for the moment I actually feel that this could be a useful tool for both tenants and landlords. 

There are many other items being suggested like yearly inspections by code enforcement, a mitigation fund that would help repair damages caused by tenants that were introduced to landlords through rental assistance programs, and the city of spokane investing in an attorney for tenant legal services, and also the city will require all real estate professionals to hold a business license with the city of spokane and anyone who owns more than four rental units will have to pay an additional $10 per door. So with nearly 50% of homes in Spokane being rented, that’s an easy five hundred thousand dollars that the city has found itself. 

So that’s all the detail I will be going over today, but I will potentially make an update blog next week after the council votes in they don’t end up extending it, let me know down below if that would be helpful to you!

#2 New Zipline in Downtown?

Moving on to something a little more fun and lighthearted, Spokane is possibly getting a zipline right in the middle of downtown! I assumed it was going to go straight over the spokane falls which would definitely be a rush but I was wrong. They will be adding an extension to the fairly new plaza which is a new scenic overlook by city hall and then the zip line would extend about fourteen hundred feet down under the monroe street bridge and into redband park in peaceful valley. 

I really like the idea that this blog rending shows of a walking path on the south side of the river underneath the bridge. We already have something like this on the north bank of the river but I’m always encouraging of creating more walkability downtown and making the surrounding neighborhoods feel more connected to the city center. 

And this still isn’t promised and has been in the works for a few years now, but the spokane city parks department has been to getting this to happen and if they can get the contract signed it could be finished by this summer potentially alongside some of the other major projects in riverfront park like the Post street rehabilitation which will all wrap up in time for the 50th anniversary of expo 74, which was really brought spokane to the map.

#3 New Restaurants

And lastly, we can’t forget to mention some of the new restaurants coming to spokane. It feels like the food industry is absolutely booming in our area right now and it’s terrible for my diet and my wallet. I’m only going to touch on a few but if you want the full list, head over to inland northwest business watch where their website stays up to date on all business happenings in the spokane area and provide me a lot of info for this channel so go check out their website and give them a follow on instagram. 

The first restaurant I’m excited about is called Off the Wall. This is a super unique concept especially to the spokane area and they’re opening up on a block downtown that needs more fun and attractive places to hang out. 

They’re opening up at 121 N Wall, just a block from the bus plaza and on a street that really needs to be more like a pike place market anyway. The street is already closed off to vehicles beside delivery trucks and I think they should just enclose the entire street and make it a year round market or a place for food trucks to park in the winter. But, off my soap box, I think this a step in the right direction where Off the Wall will be an indoor food truck concept that will be a great stop for lunch or a quick dinner before seeing a show downtown. They’ll offer tacos, hot dogs, smash burgers plus a full bar and they’re supposed to be open late and we need more cool spots to hang out after 10pm around town. This restaurant is being brought to us by a couple that already own a handful of hip restaurant around town so I think this is a very welcomed addition to the downtown core. 

Next is Sandos which will be a new drive through breakfast sandwich shop on Ash where TacoVado used to be. Taco Vado was my love language and had the best breakfast burritos in the world but they are moving just up the road into their first brick and mortar but I’m super excited that this drive through will still be serving up some of the best to-go breakfast in town. Sandos is being opened up by the owner of Peace Pie, the pizza shop in the Saranac Commons and if you haven’t had their breakfast sandwiches then you are missing out.

Lastly for me but not for the list of new places coming to town, and a reminder to go check out the full list at Inland Northwest Business Watch, I’m super excited to see a new restaurant opening up in Hillyard called locos. This is being opened by the owner of the Grain Shed in the Perry district known for their amazing bread but don’t go looking for your bread here. They’re looking to help expand the growing restaurant scene in Hillyard alongside other restaurants like the Badseed and Kismet, and will be bringing what they describe as a 50-50 between a Texas honky tonk vibe and punk rock which I’m looking forward to. They make an amazing chili at the grain shed that is only available as a special but now it’ll be available every day and it will be encouraged to put it on everything so you will catch me here on the opening day.