Group decries ‘overdevelopment’
Kootenai County decision-makers should start to protect the agricultural atmosphere of Rathdrum Prairie and outlaw any golf courses from springing up there. They also should forbid “overdevelopment” on the banks and hillsides of the Spokane River and Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Those are a couple of the recommendations that a grass-roots citizens group wants to see woven into the Kootenai County comprehensive plan.
The plan is being revised by the Kootenai County Planning Commission, a seven-member volunteer panel.
Once it has been adopted, the plan is a “constitution” for the county’s development, said Cheri Howell, a county planner and project manager of the Planning Commission’s work.
After that, “our county ordinances, implementation strategies, agreements and memos of understanding … must comply with it,” she said.
The plan will guide property development, building construction and public access to land and water as well as other vital aspects of life in the county.
The citizens group was one of eight such groups that labored over the summer to come up with suggestions for management of eight “sub-areas,” or geographic zones, all governed by the Kootenai County comprehensive plan.
Theresa Shaffer helped come up with ideas for management of the Rathdrum Prairie area, defined as the regions of Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, the Rathdrum Prairie, Hauser Lake, the Spokane River in Idaho, and Coeur d’Alene and its lake.
“Land use was probably the most important (issue) followed by (protection of) special sites and implementation” of our recommendations, Shaffer said of her group’s proposals.
The Kootenai Environmental Alliance facilitated but did not influence the work of the eight groups, said Barry Rosenberg, KEA executive director.
The Rathdrum Prairie Community Plan is a 13-page report encompassing proposals on 14 aspects of life in the area.
On Aug. 23, the plan and its companion reports were presented to the county Planning Commission.
Property rights; population; school facilities and transportation; economic development; land use; natural resources; hazardous areas; public services, facilities and utilities; transportation; recreation; special sites; housing; community design; and implementation are addressed.
“Rathdrum Prairie … is undergoing rapid building of housing developments and high-rise, expensive/elite condominiums, along with unrestricted commercial development,” the group writes in the introduction.
“Growth has been rapid and sporadic with little planning,” it adds.
The committee’s recommendations include “controlled growth, establishment of publicly owned land for multiple purposes, improved infrastructure, better and more mass transportation, planned multi-use cluster neighborhoods (and) protection of the diminishing natural forests and open spaces and the aquifer.”
Paul Matthews, an architect, is a member of the commission. He said the reports were thoroughly researched and are comprehensive.
Because the reports are well-supported, they could carry a fair amount of weight with the commission, he said, adding that this is his personal opinion.
Said Howell: “There’s a wealth of information in there. The commissioners have read each one of the (eight reports). They’ll definitely be included in all the extensive public comments we’ve received.”
Commissioners hope to have a draft of the comprehensive plan by November. It’ll go out for public comment before being considered by the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners, which has ultimate say over its contents.