Growth tool kit

After nearly 10 months of research, the Kootenai County Department of Community Development has released a comprehensive "white paper" study on possible approaches to managing the county's rapid growth. 

Kootenai County's population is swelling, with a predicted increase from 167,000 residents in 2019 to 304,000 by 2040 based on the 2018 Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization estimates. This rise has, in turn, caused a substantial uptick in subdivision permit applications, traffic, and land developments, according to the document. 

The white paper study, which pulls from court cases and investigations, explained growth management as a "tool kit" rather than a "single tool." 

These tools, the document states, are "necessary in places experiencing faster-than-average population growth, pressure to convert agricultural land to other uses and traffic congestion problems, all of which characterize Kootenai County to some degree."

Created by Community Development Director David Callahan and seven other planning staffers, the document touches on subjects like overlay zoning, conservation/cluster designs, transfers of development rights, urban growth areas, and Areas of City Impact, and open space programs. Each of these tools, the document says, could be incorporated into the Land Use and Development Code.

"A lot of what we threw in there we hope will be a springboard for ideas, just to get the topic out there and available for people to discuss," Callahan said. "The white paper intends to get people thinking about what's possible."

The plan has already been submitted to different organizations and officials in the Kootenai County area, Callahan said, but he hopes the general public will also contribute their thoughts. Referencing a quote by Dennis O'Harrow, an influential voice in community development and influence to Callahan, the county director emphasizes the public's importance. 

"Planning really can't come from the top down to be effective in our community," Callahan said. "It really has to come from the people, or else it doesn't come." 

In Commissioner Chris Fillios' opinion, the need for a plan like this is long overdue. 

"David and his organization researched thoroughly, looked at examples of different management around the country and how they could apply to Kootenai County in a manner that does not discriminate," Fillios said. "It finds balance in such a way where everyone wins if there is such an approach." 

Two court cases in particular — Golden v. Ramapo (1972, New York) and Construction Industry Association v. City of Petaluma (1975, California) — provided the Community Development staff with precedent to what the county could do. Those two cases, Callahan said, set the tone for growth management for the next 60 years and have included dozens of municipalities. 

"From a planner's point of view, you don't want to start with something that could not be upheld by the courts, so that's why we've listened to Rampo and Petaluma since the early '70s," Callahan said. "We know that if we model things after that, it will withstand challenge." 

Growth management, according to the white paper, is proactive, rather than reactive, "going beyond traditional land use planning tools such as zoning and project review to advance a more holistic approach to creating sustainable futures." All of these, the study says, will depend on timing, quantity, and spatial distribution. 

"It's very necessary we look at this subjectively wherever we go from here because we can't go on without planning," Commissioner Bill Brooks said. "We need to do long-range planning otherwise, we're going to have a big mess here." 

The board of commissioners will discuss the document during Thursday's 9 a.m. Community Development. 

Online version: https://keepingkootenai.com/growth-management-1