Kootenai County has posted the first complete draft of its new land use code online, following a year-and-a-half-long process that had some property owners wary that their rights were threatened. The draft Unified Land Use Code aims for simpler development standards, said Todd Messenger with Kendig Keast Collaborative, the consulting firm that has helped the county write the document. It should also allow faster decisions and better notice to neighbors on proposed projects, he said. "We hope to make things easier," Messenger said. "The existing codes we think are badly broken." The new code is intended to streamline and update land use and development ordinances that contractors and property owners have complained are convoluted/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Are you worried that the a Kootenai County land-use plan will take away your property rights?