Growth management
In the past year, nearly 900 homes – including apartments, condominiums and duplexes – have been approved or built in the city of Post Falls.
The city – one of the state’s fastest-growing – is poised to continue its population boom with an expected growth rate of 3.5 percent per year. In the next six years, city officials predict, Post Falls will expand to 30,000 residents.
By 2028, the city is expected to grow to roughly 50,000 residents – more than double today’s population of nearly 24,000, according to a recent growth study commissioned by the city of Post Falls.
Collin Coles, senior planner for the city, characterizes the growth as a “steady march.”
“When you’re in it every day, you don’t notice the growth,” Coles said. “It kind of sneaks up on you like pounds do. Before you know it, you have 20 pounds.”
In the last year, the city received eight requests to annex projects into the city and about two dozen applications for subdivisions or planned-unit developments, according to city staffers.
In 2005, the city issued 714 permits for new home construction, including single-family houses, duplexes and multifamily units.
In 2006, the city gave out 425 permits, a significant decline compared with the year before, said City Administrator Eric Keck, adding that the real estate market is cooling and beginning to normalize.
During the lull, the city needs to develop a better plan for dealing with growth issues, Keck said. The city hasn’t been able to keep up with infrastructure and services for the slew of developments proposed, he said.
But the city won’t put a moratorium on growth, and city officials are in favor of “letting the market dictate where things should go,” Keck said.
Instead, the city is hoping to manage growth by developing a smart code, a method that focuses on creating neighborhoods that have commercial centers and walking trails and encourages people to live near their workplaces.
The city expects to finish the code by the end of the year, Keck said.
In the next few months, the city also will have an annexation plan, giving the City Council another “tool in the toolbox” for growth management, Keck said.
Here’s a rundown of residential developments proposed in the last year:
•Foxtail development: Hayden LLC proposed to develop 280 acres with 568 single-family homes and 248 multifamily homes for a total of 897 units. The developer’s plan for the property – located south of Prairie Avenue, east of state Highway 41, north of Poleline Avenue and west of Meyer Road – also called for an area for commercial use.
The City Council denied the annexation request on Feb. 20, saying the timing for such a large development wasn’t right for the city.
•Prairie Properties or Tullamore East: Tullamore Properties/Prairie Properties LLC proposed annexing 96 acres on the southeast corner of Prairie Avenue and state Highway 41. The City Council approved the request March 6, but a formal application has not been filed. The project is expected to include retail, office space, commercial use and some multifamily dwellings.
•Obsidian Acres subdivision: Inland Northwest Consultants proposed building 44 homes or lots on 13.9 acres south of 16th Street, north of 12th Street and east of Greensferry Road.
The preliminary subdivision plan has been approved, and infrastructure is under construction. No building permits have been issued.
•Camden Place PUD: Copper Basin Construction Inc. proposed building 42 homes or lots on 7.1 acres south of 12th Avenue and west of state Highway 41.
The city is working on a development agreement, and infrastructure improvements are being designed.
•Camden Place: Copper Basin Construction Inc. proposed building 30 homes or lots on about 9.4 acres north of 12th and east of Cecil Road. The subdivision has been platted, which means that construction permits can be issued.
•The Hamlet: MGS Holdings LLC proposed building 34 residential condominium units or lots on 7.24 acres south of Poleline Avenue and west of Chase Road.
The project has received preliminary approval, but infrastructure hasn’t been put in.
•Morton Addition at Prairie Falls Golf Course: Quest Development Inc. proposed 34 residential condo units on 10.33 acres on Idaho Street north of Poleline and south of Bogie Drive.
The project is not recommended for approval, and the City Council is expected to make a decision Tuesday.
•Stratford Place: Cornerstone Real Estate Group proposed building 42 homes on about 9.5 acres east of Greensferry Road and north of 16th Avenue. The city is coordinating a development agreement, and infrastructure is under design.
•Syringa Court: Developer Chad Salsbury proposed building 23 homes on six acres south of Poleline and east of Syringa Street. The preliminary subdivision plan has been approved, and construction of infrastructure is beginning. No building permits have been issued.
•Arnold Estates: Triple Grace Inc. proposed to build 43 units on 10.5 acres on the northwest corner of Grange Avenue and Spokane Street. The preliminary subdivision plan has been approved, and construction of infrastructure is getting under way. No building permits have been issued.
•The Vineyards: Vintage Acquisitions LP proposed building 53 homes on 13.65 acres north of Poleline Avenue and east of Greensferry Road. The preliminary plans have been approved, and infrastructure work is in progress. No building permits have been issued.
•Early Dawn: Developer Paul Cahill proposed building 32 duplexes and five commercial lots on about 17 acres east of state Highway 41 on Early Dawn Avenue. The application, however, was withdrawn.
•Meadowlark Place: Developer Pat and Rosie Willy proposed building 16 units on about 4.86 acres between Cecil Road and state Highway 41 on the north side of 12th Avenue. The preliminary subdivision plan has been approved, and infrastructure work is beginning. No building permits have been issued.
•Aspenwood: Developer Brian Layton proposed building 20 homes on about 4.65 acres east of Greensferry and north of 16th Avenue. The preliminary subdivision has been approved, and infrastructure work is beginning. No building permits have been issued.
•Huckleberry Development: Developers Mike and Anne Fizzolio proposed having 17 lots on 4.65 acres at the southeast corner of Greensferry and Wheelbarrow roads. The preliminary subdivision plans have been OK’d, and infrastructure work is in progress. No building permits have been issued.
•Prairie Meadows: Prairie Meadows LLC proposed building four homes on about 3.6 acres. The subdivision has been platted, which means building permits can be issued.
•Contessa Estates: Developer Susan J. Thomas proposed building three homes on less than an acre on 12th Avenue across from Jasper Meadows. The subdivision has been platted, meaning that building permits can be issued.
•Treend Tracts: Developer Dan Treend proposed building two homes on less than half an acre south of Tybalt Street and west of McGuire Road. The project is pending final plat recording.
•Whitewater/Montrose: Whitewater Inc. proposed two lots for multifamily use on 9.6 acres east of McGuire Road and just north of Seltice Way. The project has been platted, meaning that building permits may be issued.
•Billetz: Developers John and Suzie Billetz proposed three homes on about 2.1 acres on 16th Street in the Jasper Meadows 1st Addition. The project has been platted, and building permits may be issued.
•Zimmer Estates: Developers Mark Zimmer and Jerry Sinclair proposed building 10 homes on about five acres north of Poleline Avenue on Chase Road.
The city is working on a development agreement, and infrastructure is being designed.
•Glacier Trail: Lobo Ventures LLC proposed building 14 lots on 5.21 acres at 3710 E. 16th Ave., west of state Highway 41. The annexation is nearing finalization, and a design for infrastructure improvements and a development agreement are in progress.
The developer plans to build multifamily buildings on the property, and city officials do not know how many units eventually will be located in the development.
•Black Stallion 1st Addition: Zahran Development Co. proposed building eight homes on 5.3 acres on the north side of Poleline Avenue, west of Chase Road. Annexation into the city limits was finalized this month. A development agreement is progressing, and infrastructure improvements are being designed.