Kootenai County approves church plan

The Kootenai County Commission gave final approval Thursday of a megachurch’s proposal to put an extensive campus on the Rathdrum Prairie, keeping the condition that it can only build a 3,500-seat worship center and public ball fields until sewer service becomes available.

The commission didn’t discuss the controversial proposal by Real Life Ministries that has angered neighboring city leaders who argue the county violated a 2005 agreement not to approve large projects until a $300,000 sewer master plan study for the Rathdrum Prairie is complete.

“I’m very disappointed the commissioners basically have walked away from upholding our agreement,” Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin said Thursday afternoon.

The mayors plan to meet with their attorneys and decide whether to appeal in 1st District Court.

On Tuesday, Larkin and the mayors of Rathdrum and Hayden sent the commission and church leaders another letter – a last-ditch attempt to convince the commission to postpone approval until the sewer study is complete.

“We ask you to join us in examining this critical decision before we wander into territory where only lawyers can tread,” the letter said.

The commission didn’t discuss the letter before voting, and county planners said the commissioners never read the letter because they aren’t allowed to look at new evidence after a public hearing is closed.

Executive Pastor Bill Lehman attended Thursday’s meeting but declined to comment on the extra conditions the commission included in the approval of plans for a new campus on 116 acres east of state Highway 41.

Last month, the commission clarified its initial approval of the church’s conditional-use permit, saying it unintentionally left the false impression the church could start construction on the entire project of nine proposed buildings for a total of 458,000 square feet, including retail shops. The commission specified that the church can build only a 3,500-seat worship center and public ball fields until sewer service becomes available.

In addition to the play fields, the church can build a field house and maintenance sheds on 116 acres east of state Highway 41.

Real Life Ministries must wait until sewer service is available to build the remaining facilities, such as business offices, a 300-seat chapel and a children’s ministry – all organized around a village green that could include a 2-acre artificial lake.

Eventually the church, the largest in the Inland Northwest, wants to expand the worship center to seat 7,000 people.

The clarification came after the mayors began demanding a delay until the sewer study is complete.

Larkin questions how the church can start construction on a 3,500-seat sanctuary when the property only has the capacity to handle the equivalent of 23 residential septic tanks. Larkin said that means the property could handle sewage for only about 69 people.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said Panhandle Health District will have to monitor the sewage flow to ensure that the worship center doesn’t exceed the limit.

The nondenominational Christian church is outgrowing its Post Falls complex. About 12,000 people attended Easter services in April.

The commission clarified that Real Life must build the sanctuary first to establish the primary use of the 116 acres as a church, a requirement of the conditional-use permit. That was an issue the mayors raised – questioning whether Real Life even qualified for a permit under county law because the plan is not only for a church but also for business offices, retail space and other buildings.