Old Law, New Headaches Loophole Allows Large-Lot Development Without Scrutiny From Planners

The land rush is on.

Kootenai County landowners these days are scurrying to split up property under an old county law that allows them to skirt modern development rules.

At best, some say, the so-called Idaho Code plat law is antiquated. At worst, the law can leave homeowners footing the bills for roads, power lines and other utilities.

For Jerry Harris and other unsuspecting property buyers, the loophole has spoiled plans for a home in the country.

In 1993, Harris bought land in Shamrock Ranch, a community near Athol with more than 200 lots platted under the old law. Harris says he still does not have a water line to his home.

“We’ve got a well, but sometimes my water pressure is dern near nothing,” he said. “I’d like a garden. I’d like a lawn, but if you can’t water it … I don’t know.”

Harris said the developer who sold him his land told him the line would come last year. It didn’t.

Developer Alann Krivor blames the delay on previous county employees who tried to force him to follow regulations he was exempt from because of the plat law.

Regardless, county planners say problems experienced by Harris are less likely to occur under traditional subdivision rules. Subdivisions typically require utilities to be put in before building starts.

Land splits of 10 acres or more have been exempt from subdivision rules for as long as there have been subdivision rules. But the old law has been used to cleave more rural land this year than in the frenzied development years of 1992, 1993 and 1994 combined.

Monday night, county planners will review requests for 14 such breakups on more than 1,000 acres.

“In one night, we will carve up two square miles of the county and there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Jon Mueller, planning commission chairman. “I’m all for development, but is this really the way we want to grow?”

Why the rush? The county is moving to change the old law, saying it allows no oversight.

With change on the horizon, landowners are scrambling to take advantage of the old law before it disappears. Engineers are swamped with work from landowners hoping to get in under the wire.

“It’s enough to make us all a little nervous,” said county planner Linda James.

Here’s how the old law works: Landowners skip costly red tape by dividing property into pieces of 10 acres or more. All developers are required to do is survey the land, show their plans to county officials and file a record of the land division at the courthouse.

Development cops - the planning department, planning commission and county commissioners - have no authority to change or reject these land splits.

At least 5,200 acres in Kootenai County - an area half the size of Coeur d’Alene - have been split using this approach since 1992.

Some of those splits have created headaches for road managers.

Mark Soderling, road supervisor with the Lakes Highway District, said since developers don’t need his approval, some “put in 50 lots and dump all these cars on some road that’s kind of primitive and we may not even know about it.”

Not all code plats are used to dodge subdivision requirements.

For example, farm families split land under the old law, because they plan to develop the property later. Other developments built under the old law meet county standards - even though that’s not required.

Jack and Paul Finney plan to develop 13 lots on 135 acres along the east shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The full-time loggers built a road, put in power and water lines and gave an easement to a nearby highway district.

“People want nice places out here,” Jack Finney said. “They don’t want to do all this stuff themselves.”

But, he added, other developers wouldn’t ignore typical county standards if there weren’t so many of them.

Developers tout the old law as a way of keeping land costs down.

Traditional subdivisions require more up-front work for developers to ensure roads are wide enough for fire trucks and ambulances to reach each piece of property. They also must develop plans to handle utilities.

All that costs big bucks. In a subdivision of only 150 acres, meeting those requirements can cost a quarter-million dollars, developers say.

By 1992, the popularity of 10- and 20-acre ranchettes was raising concern about unregulated developments. The county tried forcing landowners to seek its approval. That didn’t work.

A judge last year settled a 1993 lawsuit filed by developers, saying the county itself exempts parcels 10 acres or larger and, as a result, cannot impose any restrictions.

“I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but it’s the rule of law in this state,” said Ed Morse, a real estate expert. “It’s buyer beware.”

County commissioners are trying to raise the subdivision exemption to 20 acres, which is expected to slow the rush for land splits. But the change won’t likely take effect until January.

All commissioners need to do to change the plat law is go through the standard planning public hearing process.

That’s too late for people like Harris in Athol.

“We’ve been promised different things and they never showed up,” he said. “I think I’m going to put my place up for sale and get out of here.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo Graphic: Land rush