Powderhorn Ranch rezone recommended

A Kootenai County examiner has recommended approval to rezone 300 acres near Harrison that is part of a long-term plan for a large golf retreat and luxury home development overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The Kootenai County Commission will have the final say on Powderhorn Ranch LLC’s request to change the classification of the northern portion of its nearly 2,000 acres from agricultural to rural, which would allow construction of one home per five acres. Eventually the Seattle-based company wants to build as many as three golf courses and up to 1,300 homes and condos.

Hearing Examiner Rebecca Zanetti said much of the surrounding property is zoned rural and that Powderhorn Ranch proved that agriculture no longer is a viable use of the property, even though some of it is part of the federal Conservation Reserve Program. The program pays farmers to not plant crops on fields.

The request is separate from a previous comprehensive plan amendment and zoning proposals on the property that now are part of a court appeal. In October 2006, Neighbors for Responsible Growth, the Kootenai Environmental Alliance and four families living near Powderhorn Bay appealed the county commission’s initial decision to amend the growth plan. The case is before the Idaho Supreme Court. Many of the same critics oppose the current zone change request, arguing that the project doesn’t fit with the area’s rural nature.

Meanwhile, Powderhorn Ranch continues to negotiate with nearby Harrison to include the property in city limits, making it unnecessary for the company to get approval from Kootenai County. If the annexation is approved, it could become the largest in the county’s history and potentially boost the waterfront town’s population of 270 by 10 times.

The Harrison City Council voted in November to move ahead with Powderhorn’s pre-annexation application.