County fires back in land use debate

Kootenai County's ordinance consultant, Kendig Keast Collaborative, will be giving a presentation on the Procedures and Processes proposed in the new Unified Land Use Code (ULUC). The idea of this workshop is to provide a summary of what has been learned thus far, including a public discussion of the initial draft text for these topics. The procedures and processes of the new code are critically important components of the project. The public, agencies and all interested parties are strongly encouraged to attend and participate. We welcome and encourage your ideas and participation.

Additionally, there have been numerous inaccurate claims about the proposed code update and these statements need to be refuted with factual information.

Claim: Every use is forbidden unless approved.

Fact: The proposed ULUC actually states (Section 2-3-10) that if proposed use is not in the ordinances then it will be evaluated and "may be unregulated, permitted, conditional, special or prohibited based on the evaluation." As is true today, a number of uses will be permitted without even the need for a land use permit. The ULUC proposes to streamline and simplify the process for approval for which permits will be required. Furthermore, the ULUC proposes to allow certain uses which are currently prohibited under today's ordinances.

Claim: The new ULUC contains restrictions the purpose of which is to create a demographic which places 90 percent of the population inside city limits and allowing only 10 percent of the population to live in rural areas.

Fact: Ordinances cannot dictate population growth. With that being said, the Comprehensive Plan does have a goal which recognizes that the majority of future urban type growth should take place within cities where services can be provided, while at the same time allowing rural areas to develop in ways which maintain their character. The ULUC is being drafted with this balance in mind.

Claim: A proposed increase of over 300 percent in land use regulation.

Fact: Currently there are approximately 30 ordinances related to land use. These ordinances are outdated and inconsistent. The ULUC proposes to consolidate all of those regulations into a single cohesive ordinance and eliminate inconsistencies within and between existing ordinances, as well as those regulations which no longer make sense. Compared to our current ordinances, there's much more language about what's not to be regulated!

Claim: The Director of Community Development will have the power to arbitrarily decide what land is a "Wetland."

Fact: A determination of wetlands (with today's code and the ULUC) is under the jurisdiction of and is typically made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as the applicant's professional consultant, utilizing the U.S. Department of Interior National Wetlands Inventory maps.

Claim: Prior to developing your property you may be required to perform an Environmental Impact Analysis while coordinating with EPA, U.S. Forest Service, State and Federal Departments of Fish and Wildlife.

Fact: Compliance and/or State and Federal agencies are already required for certain types of projects. The county will continue to refer certain applications to any agency with jurisdiction for their review and comment.

Claim: There will be new restrictions on subdividing and developing your land. Some will lose the right to build on their own property.

Fact: No one will lose the right to build on their property! The new code will recognize, and in some cases, actually enhance development rights in order to reduce the need for variances and other lengthy land use approval processes. Some of these include recognizing existing neighborhoods and acknowledging the vested rights of recent zone changes.

Claim: For properties of 5 acres or more, 90 percent of the land must be set aside to preserve "open space." 40 percent of the county is already public lands but future private land development will be restricted to promote additional public "open space" which cannot be developed.

Fact: These claims are totally lacking in truth - future land development will not be mandated to provide public open space.

Claim: The proposed ordinance update constitutes a "taking."

Fact: The proposed ordinance update will not constitute a "taking" as defined by both the United States Supreme Court and Idaho Supreme Court. Changes to zoning or development ordinances do not constitute a "taking." Both courts define a "taking" in this context as a deprivation of all economically beneficial uses of property.

Claim: "I do not approve of bringing in an outsider to write code for our county."

Fact: In September 2009, a request for proposals was advertised in the western United States. A total of nine firms responded. No firms from Kootenai County applied or submitted a proposal. One firm from Spokane and one from Boise applied. Kendig Keast was chosen after a thorough interview process that incorporated interview panels consisting of realtors, builders, environmentalists, chambers of commerce members, municipality representatives, land use consultants and numerous citizens.

Claim: The proposed ordinance update will make nonconforming uses unbuildable.

Fact: Unlike our current county ordinances, the new draft proposes Existing Neighborhood Districts which will make all currently nonconforming lots and homes in the district conforming. The district is an important step towards making it easier to buy, sell, and improve homes in the county. Buyers and sellers benefit because financial lenders are usually more comfortable loaning on properties which conform to local codes.

Claim: The proposed ordinances will be more restrictive for waterfront property.

Fact: The ULUC includes increased flexibility than the ordinance in effect today. The site disturbance regulations will be developed with greater flexibility in order to make it easier to construct and maintain improvements within and along shorelines. Existing residential lots will have several flexible alternatives to encourage investment.

Overall, we've tasked Kendig Keast to deliver what most developers want when they bring in blueprints: timeliness, certainty and codes that aren't overreaching. Consequently, unlike our current county ordinances, the proposed update is designed to provide a more objective review process which will have a high level of predictability for all land owners. In fact, the proposed codes are specifically designed to protect property rights, protect property values and promote investment in Kootenai County.

For more information about the code update process, the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners encourage the public and agencies to visit the Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) project website at: www.kccode.com and provide input online or attend and participate at the upcoming ULUC Procedures and Process workshop. The workshop will be held Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012 at 5 p.m. in room 1 of the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way, Coeur d'Alene.

This column was submitted by the Kootenai County Board of Supervisors: Dan Green, Todd Tondee and Jai Nelson.