Commissioner bid in plans for Green

COEUR d'ALENE - After eight years on the Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Commission, Dan Green is ready to try his hand as a county commissioner.

The Planning Commission chairman announced Friday he is running for district seat 3, currently held by Commissioner Rich Piazza.

Green said he already has a grasp on the mechanics of county government, especially after guiding the drafting of the 2008 Comprehensive Plan the county commissioners are now deliberating.

"The two primary jobs of a county commissioner are managing county resources and making land use policy," said Green, 54.

He is ready for both, he said.

A Kootenai County resident for 19 years, Green recently retired from three decades in the lumber industry and most recently owned Red Hill Forest Products.

Originally from Orange County, Calif., he has a bachelor's in political science from California State University.

Now living in the Rimrock area in Hayden, Green was appointed in 2003 to the Planning Commission, an advisory board on land use issues for the county commissioners.

He has been chairman for five years.

"(Those years) have given me qualifications in land use policy," he said.

His primary interest is accelerating the completion of the new Comprehensive Plan, he said, which will replace the 1994 plan and guide the next decade of county growth.

Speed is essential, he said, due to confusion that often arises because the old plan isn't up to date with current laws.

"Right now we waste time, staff and resources on litigation because of inconsistencies existing from the comp plan," he said.

Once the new plan is completed it will be implemented through new ordinances and regulations, Green said, which is essential for ongoing development in the region.

"The comprehensive plan dominos into so many things, into jobs and economic development," he said.

Green said he is in favor of creating a county administrator position, but it's a position he would only want created by a public vote.

He would prefer making more immediate improvements to the county government itself, he said.

"Changes need to be made like restructuring some of the departments," he said.

Green has been married 24 years and has two children.

As commissioner, he said he would listen to all sides of issues.

"Take the word 'job' out of it and put 'public service' back in," he said. "I think we've gotten away from that."