SOAR: Time to pass initiative

A Rathdrum city councilman once told me, “If people what to move here … we have to build housing for them.” My unspoken reply was, “No we don’t.”

Reading in almost every edition of the Coeur d’Alene Press articles about rezoning, urban growth/sprawl, an unresponsive city council and county commission; I’m thinking the voters of Kootenai County are ready to pass a Ventura County style SOAR initiative. From the SOAR website, “SOAR is a series of voter initiatives that require a vote of the people before agricultural land or open space can be rezoned for development.” The first SOAR initiative was approved by the voters in 1995 and the expiration date was recently extended, again by the voters, to 2050.

It appears that the only residents of Kootenai County that want unchecked urban sprawl and growth are developers and elected city/county representatives. The common citizens that I speak to don’t want it. If our elected leaders will not reflect the will of their constituents, then it is time for the voters to avail themselves of the initiative process and put a stop to runaway urban growth. Slow, well-managed growth is good and vital to the economic well-being of a region. Runaway growth and sprawl is not.

STEVEN ADAMS

Rathdrum