Developer Pushes Mountaintop Dream Subdivision Designed For Horse Riding In Post Falls Up For Approval This Month

A developer’s plan to transform 325 acres of mountaintop south of Post Falls into a horse owners’ paradise will go before the county soon for approval.

Mark Wiggins will appear before the Kootenai County hearing examiner March 16 with his proposed Equus Ridge subdivision. It’s located on Blossom Mountain with the single entrance off of Green Ferry Road, about a mile south of the Spokane River.

Wiggins wants to divide the land into 41 lots that range from 2.5 acres to about 14 acres. Plans also include a 100-acre commons area that contains several hiking and equestrian trails.

“This is where I want to live,” Wiggins said.

“It’s just a bigger piece than what I could afford.”

Sandy Meehan, associate planner with Kootenai County, said the steep lay of the land will be Wiggins’ biggest challenge.

“He has a few more obstacles than the average developer because he has a unique piece of ground,” Meehan said.

“But he’s been willing to comply with everything we’ve asked of him. In the end, I think he’ll have a great development.”

The land contains some view lots, but most have enough land to attract horse owners. “You can actually ride all the way to Liberty Lake. I don’t know how far it is, but it takes all day,” Wiggins said. “I can’t sell lots yet, but I have a list already of 10 people who want to buy acreage in that area.”

The land includes dense timber, secondary streams and rock outcroppings.

Meehan said Wiggins’ plan includes leaving many of the natural landmarks.

He is applying for a planned-unit development because some of the lots are smaller than 5 acres, Meehan said.

“Because the lay of the land, it wouldn’t be conducive for lots as big as five acres in some areas,” Meehan said. “From a planning standpoint, we would rather see this than cookie-cutter five acre lots. (Wiggins’ plan) shows some thought behind the placement of homes and lots.”

The subdivision would fall within the Post Falls Highway District and Post Falls Fire District. Wiggins has letters of approval from both entities, he said.

The county has not received any letters of complaint about the project, Meehan said.

The county asked Wiggins to allow some open space and wildlife corridors in the plan and he complied, she said.

Each lot will have a well for water and a septic system.

“Probably his biggest challenge is to mitigate storm water,” Meehan said.

Wiggins - who developed the Timbers subdivision in Rathdrum - said he plans to use dry wells and silt retention ponds to deal with water runoff.

“We’re hoping to be under construction by June,” he said. “It’s been an almost two-year process to get to this point. I’m really excited to get it going.”