Housing projects pack PF agenda
BRIAN WALKER/Press The readerboard containing public hearing notices outside the Post Falls City Council chambers hasn’t had much extra room in recent months. Land-use requests in particular have dominated the space.
POST FALLS — Three single-family subdivision proposals totaling 112 lots on 28.5 acres will be considered by the Post Falls City Council tonight at 6 in the latest wave of the housing boom.
The three proposals include:
- Jacob's Run, a 20-lot, 4.5-acre project at the northeast corner of Greensferry Road and Bogie Drive proposed by Jacobson LLC;
- Pioneer Acres, a 57-lot, 14.5-acre project on Guy Road north of Grange Avenue proposed by Larry Guy; and
- Cecil Estates, a 35-lot, 9.5-acre project at 2991 and 3039 Bogie Drive proposed by Matthew House and Marla Hedman.
Before the Cecil Estates subdivision is considered, the council will hold a public hearing to annex that property.
The Planning and Zoning Commission last month recommended that the council approve all of the requests.
Also tonight, the council will approve an ordinance creating a development agreement for the Tullamore Seventh Addition Subdivision, a 40-lot project on 9.76 acres on Charleville Road and Prairie Avenue.
"We are definitely under extreme growth pressures currently," said Jonathan Manley, Post Falls planning manager.
In other business, city engineer Bill Melvin is seeking an additional $109,286 in transportation impact fee revenue toward the city's share of the Seltice Way Congestion Mitigation Project, which will include three traffic signals to interconnect with signals on Spokane Street.
Thorco Inc. submitted the only bid of $2,098,750, which was 30 percent over the engineer's estimate. Awarding the contract at the bid received would require an additional $378,000 that is not included in the project grant.
The Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization secured an additional $290,000 for the project during a state transportation meeting this month.
"This would leave a shortfall of $88,000, requiring the city to fund an additional $109,286 to proceed with the project," said Melvin, adding that the city's 7.34 percent match would be $21,286.
Melvin said it’s unlikely that additional bidders would apply for the project if it were rebid, as there is a small local pool of qualified contractors for traffic signalization projects.
Melvin said that even with the higher bid than expected, there is still significant savings to the city.
"With the city's share of the project cost, the city will get three traffic signals constructed for approximately the cost of one traffic signal without the grant," he said.
The council is also expected to appoint Geena Duczek and Dani Zibell-Wolfe to the Parks and Recreation Commission. They will replace Tami Martinez, who served for 14 years, and Larry Noska. Martinez and Noska stepped down when their terms expired.
Other public hearings will be held on:
- Scott Rynearson's request to change the zoning of 1.6 acres on east Third Avenue east of north Ford Street from heavy industrial to commercial to allow for the construction of mini-storage units; and
- Developer Wadsworth/Pointe Partners LLC's request to vacate part of Beck Road between Interstate 90 and West Pointe Parkway since the section is no longer needed for a future roadway.