Council Again Postpones Action On Growth Plan

Concern over the impacts of growth on public schools once again has delayed approval of the city’s long-term growth plan.

At a Tuesday night City Council meeting, the Post Falls Comprehensive Plan was batted back to planners for several revisions. Topping the list of changes is a muchdebated paragraph that could protect schools from further overcrowding.

That paragraph - which gives Post Falls the option of rejecting annexations in the absence of adequate school buildings or sites - was eliminated from a recent version of the comprehensive plan.

Tuesday night, however, Councilmen Joe Doellefeld and Gus Johnson insisted that it be reinstated.

“It’s a major thing … it has some teeth in it,” said Johnson, who last summer proposed a moratorium on residential growth when school crowding caused a community-wide debate. “It needs to be in there.”

Post Falls’ schools are awash in students thanks to the ongoing building boom and a failed school bond levy last year. For example, Ponderosa Elementary, on the east end of town, is Idaho’s largest elementary school.

“The schools, particularly in their current position, need additional protection,” said resident Michelle Veale, who testified at a sparsely attended public hearing.

Rewriting the city’s growth plan began two years ago. Because of the lengthy process, public interest is waning.

Post Falls is growing by 8 percent each year, among the fastest growth rates among Idaho cities. Population within its planning area - which reaches beyond city limits - is expected to double to roughly 37,000 people in the next 15 years.

The city is among those communities courting a massive Micron Technology Inc. plant. That development would add thousands of children to the school system, but also provide a giant increase in school property tax revenues.

The comprehensive plan does not contemplate the arrival of a plant the size of Micron, but some residents already are voicing fear for the struggling school district.

Johnson and Doellefeld also suggested several less substantial changes in the comprehensive plan. Consequently, another draft will be written and reviewed at a public hearing.