Hauser planning goes mainstream
The City of Hauser's new Area of City Impact agreement is now defined by county zoning designations instead of topographic lines (identified in red) as they had before. Photo curtesy of Kootenai County.
After speaking with property owners and city representatives, the Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a new Area of City Impact and zoning designations for the city of Hauser.
The result of work between city and county staff aimed to eliminate aspects that were what Kootenai County Community Development director David Callahan described as "awkward and time-consuming." Initially adopted in 1999, Hauser's ACI's chief issue was its reliance on city zoning instead of the county.
"This makes it difficult for the county staff to review and enforce, and is a frequent point of confusion for the public," Callahan wrote in his staff report.
State law requires Idaho cities to have an ACI agreement, which aims to manage growth cooperatively and develop the fringe area around the city for annexation.
Under the previous agreement, properties within the joint ACI agreement were subject to different rules for issuing building permits, developmental processes, and zoning boundaries more restrictive than other unincorporated areas. One difficulty was the reliance on project review by city staff and a joint planning commission, making subdivision proposals more lengthy and challenging, Callahan said.
On the top of the priority list was redefining Hauser's zoning areas from the topographic features — which cut many properties into multiple districts — to county designations.
"I think for me the takeaway is we have a vastly better zoning application and process in place," Callahan said.
Over 20 property owners in the area helped develop the proposed zoning changes, Callahan said, through a series of hearings and meetings. During the public comment period, there was no opposition to the proposal, Callahan said. However, there were some concerns about fees returning to the city of Hauser and about the expansive boundaries.
The fees, which are now on a sliding scale, will allow the town to be slowly weaned off county reliance. Callahan and legal counsel Pat Braden said it was essential to have those dollars go back to Hauser's city as the county has been giving back only 85% of fees since the 1990s.
"This was the least we could do to get better zoning, a better process, and a better ACI back to the people," Callahan said. "It doesn't affect at all in any way what property owners are paying in any way."
Planners also included provisions to continue protecting the Hauser Lake Watershed Area from further pollution and to make urban services perform more efficiently.
"This really puts us back in mainstream good planning practice, and I believe everyone will agree with that," Callahan said.