Post Falls OKs Foxtail project annexation
The controversial 823-acre planned Foxtail housing project north of Post Falls was approved for annexation Tuesday night in a split vote that required Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin to make the final call.
“If you put it on my shoulders, you live by my decision,” Larkin said.
It was the third time Foxtail developers had requested that the city annex their development. The project will be built over more than a decade and include 740 single-family homes and 124 multifamily units.
Council members Linda Wilhelm, Kerri Thoreson and Scott Grant voted in favor of annexing Foxtail. Council members Joe Bodman, Ron Jacobson and Skip Hissong were opposed.
The Post Falls Council chambers were packed with people interested in the project, mainly those who opposed annexing the property east of Highway 41 between Poleline and Prairie avenues.
Proponents told council members the time is right for the project. Foxtail developer Hayden LLC is working with developers of neighboring sites on a plan to extend a main sewer line to the area, they said, adding that the developer is also donating land for a school and city park, and is building bike trails.
“This is a good annexation and a good project,” said John Mueller, who represented the developer.
Opponents pointed to the large number of vacant lots already in existence in Post Falls, saying that infill should be achieved before adding to the city’s footprint and further taxing parks, police and street crews.
“Now is the time to start looking toward inward growth,” said Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency Executive Director Luke Malek.
Fiscal impact estimates generated by a Post Falls-hired consultant show that the project will pay for itself in most scenarios by generating as much or more tax revenue as services cost.
Neighboring property owner Fran Hughes said he feared that new homeowners adjacent to his farm would file nuisance lawsuits against his grass seed farming operation.
And opposing council members also pointed out that an official agreement regarding paying for sewer extension has yet to be finalized between the four involved developers. The other projects’ properties have not been annexed into the city at this time. If their requests are denied or they decide not build, what then, Hissong asked.
For Mayor Larkin, the main consideration was who should govern development of the property: Post Falls or Kootenai County?
He said the answer is Post Falls.