Airway Heights Boosts Comprehensive Plan with Climate Element

Airway Heights, a fast-growing small city near Spokane, is now required under Washington law to include action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through its comprehensive plan. With limited staff, the city needed climate measures that also advanced its broader goal of planning well for a growing, vibrant community.

SSG built a citywide greenhouse gas inventory and modeled emissions to 2050 under business-as-usual and comprehensive-plan scenarios. By isolating the measures Airway Heights can act on itself, SSG turned a broad mandate into a focused, co-benefit-driven plan the city can carry out.

To keep the plan grounded in what staff can deliver, SSG modeled six measures within the city’s control: retrofitting existing buildings, applying stronger energy codes to new construction, supporting electric-vehicle adoption, electrifying the municipal fleet, reducing how far residents drive, and expanding the urban tree canopy. Larger shifts already set by Washington policy, such as a cleaner electricity grid and statewide vehicle standards, were left out of the city’s numbers so staff could focus on their own levers. For every measure, SSG also mapped the co-benefits: cleaner air, lower energy bills, and greater resilience.

We can help you address the climate crisis and navigate the energy transition