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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.
-Paul Dillon
Frequently Asked Questions about Envision Spokane:
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.
Draft text of proposed Bill of Rights to add to the City Charter:
First, Residents have the right to a healthy, locally-based economy.
Residents have the right to a healthy, locally-based economy, the right to have local monies reinvested locally, and the right to equal access to capital, credit, contracts, incentives and services when residents choose to own or operate a business.
Second, Residents have the right to preventative healthcare.
Residents have the right to preventative medical and dental healthcare.
Third, Residents have the right to housing.
Residents have the right to housing, which shall include the right to a clean, safe, affordable, and well-maintained dwelling, the right to continue to reside within that dwelling, and the right to low-income housing stock sufficient to meet the needs of the low-income housing community. People and families may only be denied renting or buying of a dwelling for non-discriminatory reasons and may only be evicted from their residence if non-discriminatory causes exist for that removal.
Fourth, Residents have the right to a healthy environment.
Residents have the right to a healthy environment, which shall include the right to unpolluted air, water, soils, plants, and animals, the right to a climate unaltered by pollution emissions, the right to access non-polluting
energy, and the right to be free from harmful chemical trespass.
Fifth, The natural environment has the right to exist and flourish.
Ecosystems, including but not limited to, all groundwater systems, river systems, aquifers, soil, air, and populations of native plants and animals, have the right to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve. River systems have the right to flow and have water quality necessary to provide habitat for ecosystems and living creatures. Aquifers have the right to sustainable recharge, flow, and water quality.
Sixth, Neighborhoods have the right to determine their own futures.
Neighborhoods have the right, through their neighborhood councils, to determine their futures, which shall include the right to adopt and enforce legally binding neighborhood plans. The City of Spokane shall provide sufficient funding for these purposes.
§74.5. Rights of Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Councils
A. A neighborhood council may veto a land development project if requested to veto that project by a number of electors equal to or greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general state election within that neighborhood. After being petitioned, if the neighborhood council determines that the land development project may adversely affect the neighborhood and that the project is incompatible with either the neighborhood’s planning or the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the council may veto the project. Such action by the neighborhood council shall stop all site development associated with the project, and such action shall be binding upon the City of Spokane.B. A neighborhood council shall veto a land development project if requested to veto that project by a number of electors equal to or greater than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general state election within that neighborhood. Such action by the neighborhood council shall stop all site development associated with the project, and such action shall be binding upon the City of Spokane.C. The City of Spokane shall notify neighborhood councils of any proposals for commercial, industrial, or multi-unit residential land development that may impact neighborhoods represented by those councils. That notice shall be given during the pre-development stage of those proposals, and shall include notice to neighborhood councils representing neighborhoods adjacent to the neighborhood in which the proposed land development will occur. Seventh, Neighborhoods have the right to have growth-related infrastructure costs provided by new development.
Neighborhoods have the right to have growth-related infrastructure costs paid by new development.
Eighth, Workers have the right to be paid a living wage, and if greater, to be paid the prevailing wage on construction projects.
Workers have the right to be paid a living wage, and, if greater than a living wage, to be paid the prevailing wage on all private construction projects exceeding two million dollars in construction costs, and all publicly subsidized construction projects, within the City of Spokane.
New §120 of Article XII: Businesses required to have a business license from the City of Spokane who, during any given month, have fifteen (15) or more employees, shall pay those employees who work within the City of Spokane no less than a Living Wage, which shall be an hourly rate of one hundred sixty-five percent of the Washington minimum wage per hour (as of the date of enactment of this Amendment), for those hours worked within the City of Spokane. The living wage rate shall be adjusted each January 1st to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area.“Employees” shall include persons performing work on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal basis, including independent contractors, contracted workers, contingent workers, and persons made available to work through the services of a temporary services, staffing, or employment agency or similar entity. New §120.1 of Article XII: It shall be unlawful for any employer or any other party to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action against any person in retaliation for exercising rights protected under this section or for informing other employees of any legal rights under this section. The City shall be authorized to coordinate implementation and enforcement of this section and may promulgate appropriate guidelines or rules for such purposes. The City Attorney, any person aggrieved by a violation of this section, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of this section, or any membership organization that represents workers, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an employer or other person violating this chapter, and upon prevailing, shall be entitled to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including the payment of any back wages unlawfully withheld, reinstatement in employment, compensatory damages and/or declaratory and injunctive relief, and shall be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. An employer shall be jointly liable for violations of this section by its subcontractors. New §120.2 of Article XII: All or any portion of this section shall not apply to employees covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement to the extent that compliance with this section is expressly waived in the collective bargaining agreement in clear and unambiguous terms that expressly make reference to this section. This section shall not be construed to preempt or otherwise limit or affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, retirements, policy or standard that provides for payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits, or that extends broader protections on behalf of the public or employees.
Ninth, Workers have the right to employer neutrality when unionizing and the right to constitutional protections within the workplace.
Workers have the right to employer neutrality when unionizing and the right to be free from captive audience meetings in the workplace.
Tenth, Workers have the right to work as apprentices on construction projects.
Workers have the right to work as apprentices on all public, publicly subsidized, and private construction projects exceeding two million dollars in construction costs, under the Washington State Apprenticeship Training Program, and each contractor and subcontractor building those projects shall be required to use apprentices for a minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of the work performed on each project.
Eleventh, Residents, neighborhoods, workers, neighborhood councils, and the City of Spokane have the right to enforce these Charter Amendments.
All rights recognized by this Charter are fundamental and inalienable, and the City of Spokane shall enforce these rights. Any person, neighborhood, or neighborhood council aggrieved by a violation of their rights, or any person seeking to enforce the rights of ecosystems, may enforce these rights. Enforcement actions shall be filed as civil actions in a court of competent jurisdiction, against any person or entity violating these rights, and sufficient legal and equitable relief shall be awarded to remedy the violation, including restoration of a damaged ecosystem. For purposes of enforcement, corporations and other business entities shall not be deemed to possess any legal rights, privileges, powers, or protections which would enable those entities to avoid the enforcement of these rights, or which would enable them to challenge or nullify these rights.
***If you want to know more about this effort, or want to find out how you can directly participate, contact the Board of Directors of Envision Spokane at 509 328-1475 or at tal@pa.net.
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.
-Paul Dillon
Frequently Asked Questions about Envision Spokane:
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.
Draft text of proposed Bill of Rights to add to the City Charter:
First, Residents have the right to a healthy, locally-based economy.
Residents have the right to a healthy, locally-based economy, the right to have local monies reinvested locally, and the right to equal access to capital, credit, contracts, incentives and services when residents choose to own or operate a business.
Second, Residents have the right to preventative healthcare.
Residents have the right to preventative medical and dental healthcare.
Third, Residents have the right to housing.
Residents have the right to housing, which shall include the right to a clean, safe, affordable, and well-maintained dwelling, the right to continue to reside within that dwelling, and the right to low-income housing stock sufficient to meet the needs of the low-income housing community. People and families may only be denied renting or buying of a dwelling for non-discriminatory reasons and may only be evicted from their residence if non-discriminatory causes exist for that removal.
Fourth, Residents have the right to a healthy environment.
Residents have the right to a healthy environment, which shall include the right to unpolluted air, water, soils, plants, and animals, the right to a climate unaltered by pollution emissions, the right to access non-polluting
energy, and the right to be free from harmful chemical trespass.
Fifth, The natural environment has the right to exist and flourish.
Ecosystems, including but not limited to, all groundwater systems, river systems, aquifers, soil, air, and populations of native plants and animals, have the right to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve. River systems have the right to flow and have water quality necessary to provide habitat for ecosystems and living creatures. Aquifers have the right to sustainable recharge, flow, and water quality.Sixth, Neighborhoods have the right to determine their own futures.
Neighborhoods have the right, through their neighborhood councils, to determine their futures, which shall include the right to adopt and enforce legally binding neighborhood plans. The City of Spokane shall provide sufficient funding for these purposes.§74.5. Rights of Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Councils
A. A neighborhood council may veto a land development project if requested to veto that project by a number of electors equal to or greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general state election within that neighborhood. After being petitioned, if the neighborhood council determines that the land development project may adversely affect the neighborhood and that the project is incompatible with either the neighborhood’s planning or the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the council may veto the project. Such action by the neighborhood council shall stop all site development associated with the project, and such action shall be binding upon the City of Spokane.B. A neighborhood council shall veto a land development project if requested to veto that project by a number of electors equal to or greater than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general state election within that neighborhood. Such action by the neighborhood council shall stop all site development associated with the project, and such action shall be binding upon the City of Spokane.C. The City of Spokane shall notify neighborhood councils of any proposals for commercial, industrial, or multi-unit residential land development that may impact neighborhoods represented by those councils. That notice shall be given during the pre-development stage of those proposals, and shall include notice to neighborhood councils representing neighborhoods adjacent to the neighborhood in which the proposed land development will occur. Seventh, Neighborhoods have the right to have growth-related infrastructure costs provided by new development.
Neighborhoods have the right to have growth-related infrastructure costs paid by new development.
Eighth, Workers have the right to be paid a living wage, and if greater, to be paid the prevailing wage on construction projects.
Workers have the right to be paid a living wage, and, if greater than a living wage, to be paid the prevailing wage on all private construction projects exceeding two million dollars in construction costs, and all publicly subsidized construction projects, within the City of Spokane.
New §120 of Article XII: Businesses required to have a business license from the City of Spokane who, during any given month, have fifteen (15) or more employees, shall pay those employees who work within the City of Spokane no less than a Living Wage, which shall be an hourly rate of one hundred sixty-five percent of the Washington minimum wage per hour (as of the date of enactment of this Amendment), for those hours worked within the City of Spokane. The living wage rate shall be adjusted each January 1st to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area.“Employees” shall include persons performing work on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal basis, including independent contractors, contracted workers, contingent workers, and persons made available to work through the services of a temporary services, staffing, or employment agency or similar entity. New §120.1 of Article XII: It shall be unlawful for any employer or any other party to discriminate in any manner or take adverse action against any person in retaliation for exercising rights protected under this section or for informing other employees of any legal rights under this section. The City shall be authorized to coordinate implementation and enforcement of this section and may promulgate appropriate guidelines or rules for such purposes. The City Attorney, any person aggrieved by a violation of this section, any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of this section, or any membership organization that represents workers, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an employer or other person violating this chapter, and upon prevailing, shall be entitled to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including the payment of any back wages unlawfully withheld, reinstatement in employment, compensatory damages and/or declaratory and injunctive relief, and shall be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. An employer shall be jointly liable for violations of this section by its subcontractors. New §120.2 of Article XII: All or any portion of this section shall not apply to employees covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement to the extent that compliance with this section is expressly waived in the collective bargaining agreement in clear and unambiguous terms that expressly make reference to this section. This section shall not be construed to preempt or otherwise limit or affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, retirements, policy or standard that provides for payment of higher or supplemental wages or benefits, or that extends broader protections on behalf of the public or employees.
Ninth, Workers have the right to employer neutrality when unionizing and the right to constitutional protections within the workplace.
Workers have the right to employer neutrality when unionizing and the right to be free from captive audience meetings in the workplace.
Tenth, Workers have the right to work as apprentices on construction projects.
Workers have the right to work as apprentices on all public, publicly subsidized, and private construction projects exceeding two million dollars in construction costs, under the Washington State Apprenticeship Training Program, and each contractor and subcontractor building those projects shall be required to use apprentices for a minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of the work performed on each project.
Eleventh, Residents, neighborhoods, workers, neighborhood councils, and the City of Spokane have the right to enforce these Charter Amendments.
All rights recognized by this Charter are fundamental and inalienable, and the City of Spokane shall enforce these rights. Any person, neighborhood, or neighborhood council aggrieved by a violation of their rights, or any person seeking to enforce the rights of ecosystems, may enforce these rights. Enforcement actions shall be filed as civil actions in a court of competent jurisdiction, against any person or entity violating these rights, and sufficient legal and equitable relief shall be awarded to remedy the violation, including restoration of a damaged ecosystem. For purposes of enforcement, corporations and other business entities shall not be deemed to possess any legal rights, privileges, powers, or protections which would enable those entities to avoid the enforcement of these rights, or which would enable them to challenge or nullify these rights.
***If you want to know more about this effort, or want to find out how you can directly participate, contact the Board of Directors of Envision Spokane at 509 328-1475 or at tal@pa.net.
