NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS - A BRIEF HISTORY
by Rod Minarik, Office of Neighborhood Services

I have been asked by Dave Griswold, Chair of the Hillyard Neighborhood Council, if I would draft a brief history of the Neighborhood Council. Since my memory is not as good as it used to be, I agreed to do it if my contribution would be considered a living document that could be corrected, if necessary, and expanded, if desired.

The City of Spokane’s Neighborhood Council Program was established by Ordinance in September 1995 and the Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS) was first staffed in July 1996. Although Neighborhood Councils are grassroots organizations that determine their own boundaries, the original map showed the City divided up first by Community Development Steering Committee boundaries, and where they did not exist, by neighborhood specific plans.

Early on, ONS made a couple of presentations to the Hillyard Steering Committee to invite them to become a Neighborhood Council (NC). The Steering Committee declined for a number of reasons. Then, in the summer of 1997, representatives of the Bemiss Elementary School Site Council approached ONS with the proposal to create the Bemiss NC by carving out the boundaries of the Site Council from the larger Steering Committee boundaries. Again, these are grassroots organizations that establish their own boundaries, so in October 1997, Bemiss NC was recognized by the Spokane City Council.

In the past, the City of Spokane had an Area Manager program as part of ONS. In early 1998, members of the Greater Hillyard Business Association approached its Area Manager and inquired if they could create a Hillyard Commercial District NC. The area of this NC would be a ‘dense mix of commercial enterprises and residential neighbors’ (The Advocate, 6/98) and would be centered around the Haven/Market couplet. A public meeting was held in June 1998, the name was changed to the Hillyard Neighborhood Council to better reflect its inclusiveness, and in July of 1998, it was officially recognized by the Spokane City Council.

Next, during the Fall of 1998, residents from the area around Whitman Elementary School met to organize a NC. In October, a public meeting was held and bylaws were approved. In late November, the Spokane City Council recognized the Whitman NC, the third NC to be recognized within the original Hillyard Community Development boundaries. Over time, there have been discussions regarding the combining of the Hillyard and Whitman NCs, but the Whitman NC has always remained independent.

In April 2002, a public meeting was held to expand the Hillyard NC boundaries into the County. The proposed boundary change would go both east and north, and would encompass the Morgan Acres area. One of the reasons for the proposed boundary change was ‘based on the growth management requirements for joint planning’ (Meeting minutes 4/17/02). The boundary expansion was approved 48 to 5. In June 2002, the Spokane City Council recognized this change.

The last area to be organized in the City-wide Neighborhood Council program was a small area in the southeast corner of original Hillyard Community Development boundaries. During the summer of 2004, residents of the Minnehaha area began working with ONS to draft bylaws for the establishment of the City’s 27th NC. Public meetings were held, officers were elected, and in January 2005, the Spokane City Council officially recognized the Minnehaha NC. Based on 2000 Census data, a portion of the new NC was removed from the Community Development neighborhood.

What is the future of the Hillyard NC? I am not sure, but I do know that the Hillyard NC and its members have always been leaders in the promotion of health, safety, and economic development in both the Hillyard area and throughout the City of Spokane.

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