Spokane families who lost homes in the recent fires need to return to safe, affordable housing as quickly and cheaply as possible. Government’s role should be to clear the path, not add new obstacles, mandates, or delays. Drawing from the practical lessons of past disasters, here are three concrete recommendations to speed recovery, cut costs, and get government out of the way of rebuilding.
Immediately waive building permits (and associated fees) for homes rebuilt in substantially the same footprint after the Spokane-area fires
Local and state officials should issue a temporary, automatic waiver of standard building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits for homeowners reconstructing residences destroyed by the recent wildfires, provided the new home is of comparable size and location. Spokane County has already reduced some demolition fees and is waiving some building permits within the building footprint; that is a start, but full waiver of rebuilding permitting is the logical next step.
When the state needed an Interstate 90 overpass fixed quickly, it cut red tape for itself. Families who lost everything deserve the same treatment. Permit processes routinely add weeks or months of delay and thousands of dollars in costs (often 20–30% of total housing costs in high-regulation areas of Washington). Waiving permits for these rebuilds removes bureaucratic friction, lets contractors start work immediately, lowers insurance and out-of-pocket expenses, and gets displaced residents home faster. Temporary on-site housing should also be allowed without additional permitting hurdles while construction proceeds.
Let the homeowner rebuild under the original building permit issued for the home. Honor the property's pre-fire legal development rights and allow substantially equivalent reconstruction without requiring the homeowner to re-litigate setbacks, lot configuration, building placement, height or other previously lawful characteristics.
Suspend application of new state energy and building code upgrades for fire-damaged properties for at least three years
Homeowners should be allowed to rebuild under the building codes that were in effect on the day their homes (or a less restrictive standard based on safety updates) were built, not the newer, more expensive state codes that mandates, enhanced requirements, or other “green” features with little proven benefit in this context.
These code upgrades frequently add tens of thousands of dollars that standard insurance policies do not cover. If owners voluntarily want higher-efficiency systems, they remain free to install them. Flexibility here keeps costs down and puts people first.
Create a one-stop, expedited “rebuild desk” at the local level with automatic fee waivers and a hard timeline, while redirecting Climate Commitment Act funds toward actual wildfire-risk reduction rather than unrelated projects
Establish a single point of contact in Spokane County (or a joint city-county desk) empowered to issue all necessary clearances within five to seven business days for qualifying rebuilds, with all related fees waived. At the state level, the Legislature and governor should audit and reallocate portions of the billions collected through the carbon tax toward proven wildfire mitigation, fuel reduction, better forest management, and community hardening, while keeping recovery free of new mandates.
The Disaster Assistance Center will help, but the homeowner still has to go out to several different locations for permits and clearance to rebuild.
This combination removes the everyday friction of dealing with multiple agencies, prevents cost stacking, and ensures tax dollars already extracted from Washingtonians actually help prevent the next firestorm instead of funding political priorities. Rapid, low-cost rebuilding creates jobs, stabilizes neighborhoods, and demonstrates that government can step back when families need it most.
These steps are straightforward, low-cost to implement, and focused on results rather than process. Three years from now the measure of success will be simple: how many families are living in rebuilt homes in Spokane versus how many gave up and left. Keeping the main thing the main thing, getting people home, requires government to get out of the way.
