Home improvement

Homeowners might face a little less bureaucracy in Kootenai County next year.

The consulting firm helping rewrite the county's zoning ordinances has proposed the county create a whole new zoning district, which officials believe will make it easier to remodel, rebuild, buy and sell already existing homes.

"I think it's a really good thing, and it's probably going to need to be discussed to fully vet out what it does," said Scott Clark, director of the county Community Development Department.

Kendig Keast Collaborative, hired by the county to develop the Unified Land Use Code to implement the new county Comprehensive Plan, is proposing to create a new Neighborhood Conservation zoning district.

Applied to neighborhoods with existing homes on parcels of 10 acres or less, the NC zone would consider older lots and buildings that were built under different standards as now conforming with current county code.

That would help many current homeowners bypass fees and time-consuming processes they face now for home improvements, said Todd Messenger, code practice leader with KKC.

Under the current county building code, Messenger noted, homes that were built years back under different ordinances don't conform now with the newer building laws.

So if homeowners of older buildings want to remodel their abodes or make other improvements, it means going through the county hearing process for permission.

"What we needed to do is create a strategy where someone with a home can continue to work with it and build onto it, doing things people want to do to reinvest in their homes, without going to the county and saying 'It was good enough then to build 5 feet from the property line, and now you're telling me 15 feet away?' and then have to go to the commissioners," Messenger said. "They should be able to not go through a bunch of hoops."

The proposed zone would allow more flexibility for adding onto an existing home, Messenger said. Special procedures like variances wouldn't be required for typical home improvements.

That will expedite the remodeling process for homeowners, Clark said.

"It's prescriptive," he said. "It gives very straightforward options to get to 'yes.'"

Details of the proposed zone are available at the ULUC website www.zoningplus.com/regs/kootenai/index.aspx?index=488.

The zone would make it simpler for improvements than under the current standard for obtaining a variance, Messenger said, which requires the owner to prove it is necessary because of hardship faced without it.

"It's more in line with the values of the people we've talked to in Kootenai County," Messenger said, adding that the attitude tends to lean toward, "'Get off my back, if I'm not hurting anybody, I should be able to do what I want on my property.'"

The conformance standards under the new district will be appropriate, Clark said, considering the many new zoning and subdivision laws the county is about the adopt, which could otherwise render many homes as nonconforming.

"I think this is a really important issue to the community, because there's been a lot of discussions about what (the new code) is going to do," Clark said. "This really helps with implementing a new code for areas that are already developed."

A county press release also pointed out that the NC zone could help with buying and selling a home, as financial lenders are more comfortable loaning on properties that conform to local codes.

The county currently has nine zoning districts - like commercial, residential and industrial.

County board member Dan Green, who previously chaired the county Planning and Zoning Commission, said he is a proponent of the NC zone.

"We're giving people more predictability in what they can do with their existing parcels," Green said.

The commissioners will continue collecting public input on the proposals for the ULUC, he added. The entire code is expected to be adopted in January 2013.

"We'll continue to listen to input," Green said.

Spokespeople for North Idaho Building Contractors Association could not be reached for comment on the proposal.

The NC zone would be applied to several areas, or sub-districts, in Kootenai County, Messenger said. Neighborhoods with existing homes would be zoned in the sub district that applies to the typical parcel size.

For more information on the ULUC and how to participate in the rewrite process, go to www.kccode.com.

Messenger said KKC, headquartered in Texas, has developed a similar zone in other areas and seen success.

"It makes sense to give these property owners what they once enjoyed, in conforming to the law," Messenger said.