Workshop makes public input central for growing Post Falls

It’s a planning marathon in Post Falls next week as the city takes seven days to hash out a growth plan for the ever-expanding town between the Rathdrum Prairie and the Spokane River.

And Post Falls needs everybody’s help to make the workshop, known in planning lingo as a “charrette,” work. It’s a concept used across the country but fairly rare in the Northwest. Senior Planner Collin Coles calls it a “big step.”

“We want citizens to be there and put on their thinking caps and actually contemplate what Post Falls should look like in 10 to 15 years,” Coles said. “Then we try to boil that down into codes we can apply to help us get there.”

By Oct. 30, the end of the intensive exercise that’s likely to include 14-hour days, the city will have a clear picture of how residents want Post Falls to grow. Consultants hired by the city will take that vision and return in about six weeks with a draft code specific for Post Falls. It’s up to the City Council whether to adopt the plan.

Coles said the charrettes are unique because they condense planning into a month, instead of traditional methods that can drag on for a year and cause public interest to wane.

Kootenai County recently hired consultants to spark public involvement in the rewrite of the comprehensive plan, which is the foundation of land-use decisions. The county is using the “meeting-in-a-box” concept, where residents host in-home meetings over a month. The consultants then compile the results and make recommendations to the commission. In all, the rewrite is expected to take at least a year.

The foundation of the charrette is the SmartCode, an action plan adopted by the city this spring that focuses on creating neighborhoods that have commercial centers and walking trails and encourages people to live in the area they work.

The idea is to get away from the typical subdivision with cul-de-sacs and street-facing garages and houses on large lots that are far away from shopping and services. Post Falls wants to act before it becomes more of a sprawling suburb like Spokane Valley. It also wants to protect the Rathdrum Prairie and the Spokane River, assets that make Post Falls attractive. Another aspect is to define standards for Post Falls’ city center.

To do all this, Coles said Post Falls needs the help of residents, business owners and developers.

That’s why it is paying PlaceMarkers, a Florida-based consulting group, $250,000 to organize the charrette. The company backs the SmartCode concept and leads workshops for the code’s authors. It will have 14 consultants on hand throughout the week to facilitate the discussion and come up with actual drawings for how some of the proposed design concepts may look – everything from the relationship of storefronts and sidewalks to how homes are situated on lots.

The event kicks off Tuesday with a 6 p.m. public presentation and ends Oct. 30 with another public gathering. The public is welcome to drop by the workshop at Red Lion Templin’s Hotel anytime during the week.

Starting now, Post Falls residents or those living in the surrounding area can fill out an online Visual Preference Survey at www.SensibleGrowthInPostFalls.com that focuses on development options for streets, pedestrian areas, parks and open space, retail and residential. The opinions from the survey will factor into the proposed recommendations presented at week’s end.

Stakeholder meetings – for landowners, developers, transportation officials, business owners and prairie advocates – will take place throughout the week. There are open houses Thursday through Oct. 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. On Friday, consultants will pin up all the ideas gathered that far and present them at a 5 p.m. session.

Residents also can check the Web site for daily updates in the process.

All events are at the Red Lion Templin’s Hotel, 414 E. First Ave. For a schedule and more about the charrette, go to SensibleGrowthInPostFalls.com or call Post Falls senior planner Collin Coles at (208) 773-8708.