County land use code updated

COEUR d'ALENE — After two years of tweaks and public input, Kootenai County's Land Use and Development Code will go to two public hearings before approval.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the county's administration building at 451 Government Way.

County commissioners will then hold a hearing on the proposal on April 28 at 6 p.m. at the administration building.

"It consolidates all the (land use and development) titles into one document with one table of contents, eliminating overlap and superfluous and conflicting language," said David Callahan, the county's community development director, who has been working on the document since he was hired.

"It makes it more user-friendly for developers and the layperson who just wants to find out how the code works. And all of that is helpful for the staff."

The proposed code is online at http://bit.ly/1R9Wlqw. Hard copies can also be picked up or viewed at the community development office in the administration building.

Callahan said there have been several workshops on the code during the past two years.

"It has been a very interactive process of dialogue and trial and error," he said. "We've had a tremendous amount of input and turnout along the way that have helped us get to where we are."

Callahan said the document does not change policy.

"For the most part, this is a technical fix for the sake of ease of understanding," he said.

Kootenai County's subdivision regulations date back to 1971 and zoning regulations 1973.

"There have been amendments since then, but nothing that pulls everything together for a useful development code under one umbrella," Callahan said.

Callahand said the proposed code streamlines the approval process for platted building lots. It currently is a three-to four-month process and requires a survey. In the new code, Callahan said, the process can be completed in a day.

Callahan said a new cottage land-use category allows applicable businesses to be approved without going through a conditional-use permit process.

"The cottage industry category is an acknowledged use that we expect to have in the county without any additional review," Callahan said. "I hope it is an example of common-sense thinking that we've added to the code."

Contemporary regulations such as an airport overlay zone have been incorporated into the code to make it easier for the airport to perform land-use planning, Callahan said. The airport is operated by the county, but is subject to Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and also must be a good neighbor with the city of Hayden, he said.

Rand Wichman, executive director of the Coeur d'Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association, said the group is "generally supportive" of the direction of the code with regard to the site disturbance provisions and believes improvements have been made.

He said the group has two lingering concerns.

The code allows for an additional stairway or walkway encroachment into the shoreline management area for parcels with more than 500 feet of shoreline frontage.

"While an allowance for more encroachment is welcome, they should be allowed with 200 feet or 300 feet of shoreline frontage instead of 500 feet," Wichman wrote in comments on March 10.

The code also adds new language that prohibits many activities in a stream protection buffer or shoreline management area.

"This prohibition is overly broad," Wichman wrote. "Literal interpretation would outlaw common waterfront activities such as beach volleyball or building sandcastles or whatever activity an overzealous administrator might take issue with. It should only preclude activities that impact or have the potential to impact water quality."

Under the current code, all of the following are prohibited along the 25-foot no disturbance zone, but are allowed under the proposed code:

• the use of mechanical and other equipment for removal of dead or dying trees, shoreline debris and other similar activities related to routine maintenance;

• the repair, replacement, alteration and relocation of existing site improvements, including, without limitation, landscaping, retaining walls and shoreline protection revetments;

• the addition of seating, picnic and barbecue areas and recreational equipment which do not cause a major disturbance of the shoreline management area;

• some shoreline erosion control measures;

• some trimming of shrubs and removal of branches from trees for the purpose of creating a view corridor; and

• the addition of pervious pavers, wood or composite decking, and similar types of construction which do not concentrate runoff.

Callahan said the code is an attempt to strike a balance between property owner interests and environmental concerns.

"Consequently, and in the spirit of cooperation, I requested that the board allow me to work through a series of concepts that might ease the tension," he said.

Rural zoning had been a hot topic after the county hired Texas-based consultant Kendig Keast Collaborative more than two years ago to develop the Unified Land Use Code that was scrapped in favor of updating the code in house. ULUC foes said that proposal was flawed because it didn't respect the primacy of property rights under Idaho law.

At one point, it was proposed to expand the minimum developable lot size from 5 acres to 20 acres.

"In this matter, there is no change in this code from the current code," Callahan said. "So the 5-acre lot size in the rural zone, and all other minimum lot sizes, are preserved.

Kootenai County's new land-use designation for resort lodges, conference centers and guest ranches is a part of the code. The new land-use classification will be allowed in commercial zones, meaning applications in such zones do not need to go through the conditional-use permit process. Applications for such uses in agricultural, agricultural suburban, rural and restricted residential zones would need to go through the conditional-use process.

A similar effort — for short-term rentals — will be added to the code after commissioners make a decision on the topic.

Callahan said he enlisted county attorney Pat Braden to help write the proposed code.

"We have a new structure with this," Callahan said.

"We can use the framework for continued movement on whatever direction the community sees fit."