ENVISION SPOKANE will “convene and facilitate a broad-based community conversation about the rights of people, neighborhoods, and nature. Envision Spokane will create a process of changing governing law in the city of Spokane to reflect those rights, and will seek to enlist the support and membership of community-based organizations who see the articulation of such rights as an essential component of the work they do on behalf of the people of Spokane."

There’s a general feeling Spokane is at a crossroads. That said, with the scary development floodgates open, now more than ever is the time to engage Peaceful Valley residents in a community conversation about these inalienable rights.

Reclaiming Peaceful Valley is integral to an inclusive organization like Envision Spokane which is founded on self-government. A central component involves the relationship between residents and development interests and how to achieve a level playing field or equal rights for the neighborhood councils in the decision-making process. Sound familiar? Envision Spokane is an extension of Democracy School, a larger movement that teaches a paradigm shift in mobilizing citizens by showing the history of deceptive special interests tipping the balance in their favor.

But, again, why Peaceful Valley? Incongruously located down W. Main Street, past the patrician Spokane Club, this is the quiet enclave where local activists congregate and they are indeed alive and well. You see, living in a lovely neighborhood underneath the cityscaped skin does something funky to the mind and soul; there’s a need for safeguarding and change. Let’s keep a shadowy condo tower that would blemish the historic character out. Let’s keep an eye on growth management plans from above and improve our quality of life. Together, Envision Spokane and Reclaiming Peaceful Valley are as good as any representation of the utter and complete solidarity and identification for a transformative grass-roots movement. Let’s make a meaningful change.


Frequently Asked Questions, from the Democracy School website:


What is Envision Spokane? Envision Spokane is a nonprofit organization that has been created to gather representatives from Spokane’s neighborhood associations, community groups, churches, and labor unions to envision a new structure of government in the City of Spokane that protects the rights of neighborhoods, communities, people, and nature. Instead of merely serving as an envisioning exercise, the work of Envision Spokane may then be transformed into a Citywide campaign to rewrite Spokane’s Home Rule Charter, to drive legally enforceable rights for those neighborhoods, communities, people, and nature, directly into the structure of City government itself.

Who Established Envision Spokane? In 2005, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (a nonprofit law firm based in Pennsylvania) partnered with Spokane’s Center for Justice to bring the Legal Defense Fund’s “Democracy Schools” to Spokane. Those Schools, now taught in twenty-four States, are three-day intensive seminars that examine how communities across the United States are beginning to assert local control to use municipal governments to protect the rights of their residents, their communities, and nature. Graduates from those Democracy Schools asked the Legal Defense Fund to commit to exploring options for the residents of Spokane to pursue similar work. Based on those requests, the Legal Defense Fund committed to establishing a project office in Spokane, which opened on January 13th of this year.

Who Runs Envision Spokane? Envision Spokane has been established as a nonprofit organization with a provisional Board of Directors. That provisional Board consists of seven individuals from communities across Spokane who have expressed interest in launching Envision Spokane. That provisional Board will be replaced by a full Board of Directors by April of 2008, which will consist of one representative of each of the groups participating in the Envision Spokane process. All decisions of the organization will then be made by the organizations constituting it. Thomas Linzey, an attorney with the Legal Defense Fund, has agreed to serve as an advisor to the organization.

What Would be the Obligations of a Member Organization? Obligations of the representative of a participating organization would include attending a monthly or bi-monthly meeting of the entire Board, keeping the member organization abreast of the work of Envision Spokane, and participating in the drafting of documents produced by Envision Spokane. No financial obligation or other time commitment is required of member organizations.

Why Create Another Organization Instead of Using Existing Processes Already in Place for this Discussion? After over sixty meetings with people associated with neighborhood councils, labor unions, churches, and community organizations, the near-consensus of those individuals was that a separate entity would necessary to carry out this work. There were a multitude of reasons given for that agreement, with one of the primary reasons being that Neighborhood Council and Community Assembly agendas are too full to devote the necessary resources to the subject. In addition, because of the unique nature of the partnership between the different groups, people believed that a new organization focused exclusively on bringing neighborhood councils together with labor unions, churches, and community organizations would be necessary to successfully build a strong coalition focused on driving changes to the City Charter. While it is true that the City Council recently created a task force on revising the City’s Charter, that effort is focused on improving the readability of the Charter and addressing contradictions within the Charter. Envision Spokane is focused on facilitating discussion from a rights-based perspective that moves beyond the framework of the existing charter. During the Spring of 2008, Envision Spokane will be briefing City Council members on the status of the project and raising the potential for coordination on proposed Charter changes.

Isn’t Envision Spokane Creating a Potentially Adversarial Relationship Between Neighborhoods and City Government? No. A discussion focused on clarifying or increasing the role of neighborhood councils is a natural evolution based on the positive partnership that has existed between the mayor, Council, and departments of the City of Spokane in supporting the ongoing functions of CDBG steering committees, the creation and strengthening of Neighborhood Councils, and the positive growth of the Community Assembly. Envision Spokane seeks to facilitate a democratic process in which all voices are heard equally with respect for the work that people have done within Spokane to seek self-government.

Doesn’t the Status of Some Neighborhood Councils as Nonprofit Corporations Recognized Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Tax Code Prevent Participation in Envision Spokane? No. Organizations recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the federal Tax Code are allowed to expend up to 20% of their annual revenues on lobbying, political education, and the raising of awareness among their members and constituents about issues relevant to the organization’s purpose. Volunteer time is not counted by the IRS towards that allowable percentage. In addition, neighborhood councils that are nonprofit corporations are included in the existing City Charter as advisory bodies to the City Council. Discussing possible amendments to the Charter as they relate to the role and responsibilities of the neighborhood councils is a legal issue, not a political one.

If you want to know more about this effort, or want to find out how your neighborhood council can participate, contact the provisional Board of Envision Spokane at 509 328-1475 or at tal@pa.net.