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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rathdrum boom a bust for some


A mix of subdivisions and farmland makes up much of the scenery in Rathdrum, where some 1,900 new residents have moved in since 2000. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Sam Taylor Staff writer

Judy Naccarato has lived in the Rathdrum area for 19 years. She’s three miles outside the city center, but close enough to see the growth advancing onto the prairie.

She has some choice words about the rapid development of the city, where thousands of homes have sprouted up in just a few years.

“I hate it, I hate it, I hate it,” Naccarato said.

About 1,900 new residents have moved to Rathdrum since 2000, including more than 1,000 in the past year, bringing the population close to 7,000.

Just this year, more than 625 new homes went up. Eight developments are nearing completion or are just getting under way. The residential growth is pushing out the city limits to the north, south and east.

Radiant Lake, one of the more upscale developments, sits on former farm fields. Where crops once grew sits a 212-home subdivision with a man-made pond featuring two fountains that shoot water 15 feet high.

City officials say more projects are in the works.

Rathdrum is nestled along Highways 53 and 41 about 12 miles northwest of Coeur d’Alene. A less-hectic way of life and housing affordability draw people to this and similar small towns, turning them into bedroom communities for nearby metropolitan areas, Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor officials say.

The change has come to Rathdrum recently, but now it’s hitting hard. While the city grew 2.3 percent between 2004 and 2005, in the past year the population has exploded at 18.2 percent.

“It used to be a cute little town,” Naccarato said. “That’s why people moved to this place, because it was small and rural. And now it’s not.”

Her sentiments are echoed by other residents who have lived around Rathdrum for years, City Councilman Jesse Ojala said. Growth cannot be stopped, nor is it always a bad thing, Ojala said. The key is to effectively manage it, he said.

City officials have taken several measures in recent years to help the small town with its growing pains, Ojala said. Since 2004, the city has created a transportation plan and updated the Rathdrum comprehensive plan – the blueprint for how citizens want their city to grow.

A coalition of Hayden, Rathdrum, Post Falls and Kootenai County officials is working on a sewage treatment study for the Rathdrum Prairie. And Rathdrum instituted an impact fee program that requires new construction to pay for extension of city services, so other residents don’t have to foot the bill for that growth.

Because of these measures, the city is keeping up with its growth for now, and signs are that the boom may be leveling off, Ojala said.

Still, longtime residents don’t always agree that the wave of new construction brings benefits, he said.

“A lot of the people would like to see Rathdrum as it was in the ‘70s,” he said. “But you can’t just ignore growth.”

City planner Chris Riffe said he thinks the recent developments warrant another look at the Rathdrum comprehensive plan, despite the fact that it was updated just last year.

“We need a better idea of where we’re going,” Riffe said. “We need a better picture. We’re not … pro-sprawl. The prairie is a big question mark as far as where will it go, and that’s what we need to look at.”

Riffe, who has lived in Idaho since the ‘70s, has participated in planning initiatives undertaken by Kootenai and Bonner counties and also helped develop the comprehensive plan for Hayden Lake.

“It’s a matter of getting community input as best possible,” he said.

Riffe said he plans to have community workshops in late summer or early fall to discuss the plan with citizens.

Right now, city officials are working on the budget, Ojala said, so it would be too hectic to study the comprehensive plan immediately.

City administrator Brett Boyer also believes growth cannot be stopped. “If we try,” he said, “it’s going to grow outside our borders.”

And that, he said, would leave the city with more of the hassles and less of the benefits of development.

“We want to try and retain the character of the city we’re in,” he said. “The proposals that come in, you don’t have to accept all of them; you have to make sure they fit.”

Boyer said the “bottom line is to make sure that we don’t see a drop in the level of service” to residents.

Bill Guindon has lived in Rathdrum for two years and believes the growth there is inevitable.

But he said he and other residents who talk about the issue have noticed plenty of year-old houses still on the market. He wondered if developers will be successful in selling the houses they’re just now putting up in Rathdrum.

Pam Bogaert, a Realtor with GMAC Real Estate Northwest, is selling homes in Rathdrum’s 76-unit Boekel Ranch subdivision. It’s not that prices there are necessarily a lot lower than other areas, but a buyer might get “more bang for your buck,” Bogaert said.

“It’s quiet out here,” she said, talking about why people might be flocking to the area.

The homes in Boekel Ranch range from $175,000 for a condo to $400,000. One of Bogaert’s listings is a $296,000, three-bedroom home with granite countertops, a gas fireplace and a 390-square-foot bonus room.

Ojala said one of his goals is to be conservative in approving new developments or annexations around the city.

He believes there are plenty of houses that could be sold, and plenty of land in Rathdrum to be developed, without bringing more into city limits.

“I’ve been a little reticent to get on the bandwagon,” he said.

Like Naccarato, Guindon said he also dislikes how quickly the face of Rathdrum is changing.

But he said he’d rather live on his seven acres there than in a condo somewhere else.

“No matter what, it’s a great little city,” he said. “I don’t like it, but how can you stop progress?”