Post Falls to mull subdivision
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — Not too many years ago Prairie Avenue was considered to be a part of the Rathdrum Prairie.
Today, new subdivisions and current requests straddle both sides of the busy stretch on the north side of Post Falls.
The latest request to reach Prairie Avenue is Meadow Vista, a 26-lot single-family residential project on 8.78 acres at the southeast corner of Howell Road and Prairie Avenue.
The Post Falls City Council will consider the preliminary planned unit development proposed by Chapel Meadow LLC of Hayden tonight at 6.
The Planning and Zoning Commission in March recommended that the council approve the proposal.
Some residents voiced access concerns about the project. They want more access than just Arrowleaf that passes through the Craftsman Meadow Ridge development.
"That is too many houses to be built with only one entrance," Toby and Lisa Ficklin wrote. "There needs to be another entrance for their subdivision at either Howell or Prairie and not just an egress road on Howell."
Resident Ron Urbina said the project will have negative impacts on his small farm.
"It will also have negative effects on the entire neighborhood such as noise pollution, air pollution, increased traffic and increase in taxes," he wrote.
The proposal has planned open greenspace to meet the 10 percent open requirement for a preliminary PUD.
- In other business, the council will consider a new leak policy that will allow possible reduction in water overage fees to customers due to a water line leak as a result of accidents or natural deterioration. Currently such a policy does not exist.
"It is important to note that these occurrences will be addressed on a case-by-case basis and the customer must comply with certain requirements to receive financial assistance," city administrator Shelly Enderud wrote in a memo to the council.
The maximum credit is set at 50 percent of the water that is calculated to have been lost. Utilities manager John Beacham said, even if a customer takes swift action, thousands of gallons of water can be lost during a break or leak.
City officials say the city could see a decrease in revenue in water and sewer funds of between $1,000 and $10,000 per year as a result of the policy, depending on the number and severity of claims.