Growth puts pressure on planning
This is the second of two columns addressing the issue of Kootenai County’s explosive growth, attempting to answer some questions we hear continually from local residents. Why isn’t anything done to clear up traffic problems? Are area planners catching up to this recent migration? Will there be any open space left after housing is built to accommodate newcomers?
It’s startling.
Looking at the emails we get addressing Kootenai County’s traffic and land use issues, nearly half mention the notion of poor planning.
No one seems to be specific about which city — or the county itself — might be making mistakes with planning and zoning.
It’s just a general impression.
Consider a note from Judie Whitaker of Rathdrum, who was born in California but has spent 50 years in Kootenai County.
She loves everything about the area, and even though she misses that rural village vibe from back in the day, Judie says she has no problem with newcomers.
But then she adds this …
“I don’t mind progress, such as it is. What bothers me is a mindless lack of planning.
“No infrastructure planning, just more housing developments, more people, more cars, but no real planning. We are inundated with people and housing developments.”
JUDIE WAS perhaps overstating the problem just a bit, but she did hit on a crucial issue — trying to keep development and transportation growing together compatibly.
There sometimes can be a feeling that new arrivals, having replaced dwindling open space with homes, roads and countless vehicles, have overwhelmed parts of the county infrastructure.
Despite comments to the contrary, our area planners are working on it.
Marie Holladay, a Hayden city planner, put it this way: “We have a comprehensive plan that was adopted in 2008 but which has been updated regularly, and the plan is tied directly to transportation.”
Interestingly, Hayden’s planners make no recommendations to the planning and zoning commission, nor to the city council.
“We just present facts and interpret the code, as needed,” Holladay said.
All Kootenai County cities are working from similar comprehensive plans, and so is the county itself.
But these can be shifting documents.
“It feels like a revolving door at times,” Holladay said.
OF COURSE, each of the cities has different priorities.
Hilary Anderson, community planning director for Coeur d’Alene, wouldn’t quite concede that the job now, with the city fully built out, is a bit like shifting deck chairs on a cruise ship.
“We still have challenges,” she said. “For instance, we get a ton of inquiries about hotels. That’s fine, but we’re trying to keep a balance with our land use.
“We need to protect our parkland and the shoreline, among other things.”
Contrast that with Post Falls and Rathdrum, which have undeveloped open space on the prairie.
Developers are hovering.
Within the last 10 days, Rathdrum’s City Council approved a 152-acre annexation for Bluegrass Development’s single-family residential development near the southeast corner of Meyer and Lancaster roads. A technicality requires a new hearing and vote, but the stage is set for development.
Post Falls now has an online portal that allows customers to apply, upload plans and documents, submit, track and pay fees online on their own customer dashboard page.
Per the city website: “This program implements cross-platform technology, making it available to use your iPhone, Android, tablet, etc.
“Staff will be able to issue permits, complete plan reviews, track, file, report and complete inspections out in the field within the program.”
Wow.
How fast can you build a subdivision with THAT device?
BACK TO Judie Whitaker’s original concern …
Is development racing ahead of infrastructure, particularly a traffic overhaul that might keep the county out of gridlock?
Well, more or less — if everyone will be patient for a few years.
Glenn Miles, executive director of the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization (KMPO), confirmed that several rumored road projects are in the pipeline.
The U.S. 95 improvements are coming soon, work on extra lanes for Highway 41 will begin in 2020, and the long-coveted Huetter Corridor bypass actually may become reality.
Just not real soon.
“We have a (transportation) system in place,” Miles said. “What this sudden growth did was take what we expected to see occur over 7-10 years — but it happened in 2-3 years.
“It put an accelerated demand on the system.”
Miles had plenty more to add, thoughts both positive and negative, but we’ll save that conversation for another time.
To wrap up this segment on planning, however, wouldn’t you have to say that — even if local officials are NOT really mindless — Judie Whitaker’s worries seem pretty accurate?
I suspect you would.
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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.
A Brand New Day appears Wednesday through Saturday each week. Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday.
Email: scameron@cdapress.com.
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