Twilight zoning

On Thursday, the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners will be asked to approve a text amendment that will allow for commercial development in every zoning district within the county, including agricultural and rural zones. This is simply wrong.

Zoning ordinances exist for a very simple reason: “to match proposed uses with the area for which they are best suited. Under the text amendment, which was drafted by a commercial developer on behalf of its client, commercial development would be authorized anywhere within the county. In effect, there would be no zoning discretion regarding commercial development within Kootenai County.

The practical effect will be to destroy Kootenai County’s rural and agricultural zones, and the traditional lifestyle that goes with them.

I urge the Board of County Commissioners to reject this unwise text amendment and rule that commercial development belongs in commercial zones, not rural and agricultural neighborhoods.

I also urge everyone who is worried about the effects of this proposed text amendment to come to the commissioners’ Thursday hearing, 6 p.m., in the county building, 451 Government Way, Coeur d’Alene, and oppose this destructive change to county zoning.

Jay N. Fromkin

Post Falls