County commissioners, transportation planners reach agreement for Cd'A airport

COEUR d'ALENE — An agreement aimed at breaking down planning barriers around the Coeur d'Alene Airport was finally approved by the Kootenai County commissioners Tuesday.

Reaching that agreement had agencies at a standstill for nearly three years. But the result — a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization (KMPO), a regional transportation planning board — is a non-binding agreement that gives direction for both entities to move forward in planning efforts for the Coeur d'Alene Airport and adjacent land and roads. KMPO approved the MOU last week.

The county-KMPO MOU is expected to be signed at the commissioners' business meeting on Tuesday.

A similar MOU between the county and city of Hayden was also recently approved by those agencies.

"The MOUs are a significant step in reaching out to the other entities in building trust and working collaboratively to address land-use and transportation issues around the airport," Commissioner Dan Green said. "All entities recognize the importance of the airport to our region.

"I see it as a win-win and I don’t think of it as sacrifices, but rather acknowledging and respecting different viewpoints and issues and being respectable of the different opinions."

The airport has been acquiring land to improve safety zones and for possible future expansion as development closes in on the operation.

Meanwhile, transportation planners — including at the city of Hayden, KMPO and Post Falls and Lakes highway districts — are planning to extend Ramsey Road east of the airport and create a bypass on Huetter Road west of the airport to alleviate traffic on U.S. 95.

"KMPO will remove its objections to the recent purchase of (58 acres) contiguous to the airport," Green said, referring to the MOU. "Removing objections will clear the path for the county to be reimbursed by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purchase. The county also promises to not pursue other purchases without keeping KMPO in the loop in advance."

Commissioner Marc Eberlein said the FAA requested the MOU so the federal agency knows its investment in the airport will not be wasted.

The farmland east of Huetter Road and north of Hayden Avenue was purchased from the Jacquot family of farmers for $609,000.The FAA will pay for 90 percent of the purchase, while the county and state will split the remaining 10 percent.

The MOUs provide a road map of how the transportation and land use plans can coexist.

"The goal is to get in general agreement to work together," said Lynn Humphreys, chairman of the Post Falls Highway District where much of Huetter Road is located and a KMPO member. "Road maps are always subject to change, but this has a been a jigsaw puzzle that's finally coming together."

KMPO Executive Director Glenn Miles said the MOU will address both aviation and surface transportation interests in the area of the airport.

"I believe the 7-0 vote by the KMPO board is a good indication the MOU should be considered a win-win for the region as a whole, and a strong willingness to work collaboratively together into the future," Miles said.

The Ramsey Road extension is a federally funded project in the concept phase that will make the road continuous from Interstate 90 to Highway 54.

"The city has been working closely with property owners and other stakeholders along the corridor to finalize the proposed alignment," said Sean Hoisington, Hayden's public works director. "As this alignment is solidified, an Environmental Evaluation will be developed to assess the impacts of the project."

The concept is expected to be finalized in early 2016. The project will likely be programmed near the end of the five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program calendar, which could place construction in 2020 or 2021.

Hayden plans to hold an open house on the project this winter, but details of the event haven't been determined.

The Huetter Road bypass, meanwhile, is further out.

"The concept is there — but that's all it is — to preserve the corridor," Humphreys said, adding that the district has not purchased any right of way for the project and a timeline has not been identified.