SmartCode for Dummies

After a decade of use, the Post Falls City Council discussed how adopting the SmartCode zoning regulations was not so smart.

During a meeting last week, the council approved the City Center Master Plan Addendum, but not before reflecting on how the city's SmartCode zoning regulations have affected infill development.

Councilmembers sparked the conversation after 44-year Post Falls residents Travis and Kathy Chaney spoke against the City Center Master Plan. Travis participated in the original 2005 Post Falls City Master Plan, which is now being revamped.

He fears that, like the 2005 plan, the interests of business owners and other stakeholders will outweigh residents — resulting in homeowners being surprised when the final report is presented, and an apartment complex is designed in the family's "peaceful neighborhood on Second Avenue."

"I want you all to know what your smart code is doing to my part of town, my neighborhood," Kathy Chaney said. "What you see as tax dollars and wasted space we see privacy and space to breathe … You are going to destroy the best part of Post Falls with density, high rise apartment buildings."

Travis Chaney encouraged the council to look for themselves at the apartment complex under construction in the 700 block of Second Avenue and see how it will overlook the homes of the Cheneys and their neighbors.

"Ask yourself, 'If this was my home, would I like to have multiple windows and balconies overlooking my windows from an elevated vantage point? Would I be at peace with apartment residents constantly surveilling my children or me within the privacy of my yard?'" Chaney said. "Why do city officials have the sole right to place extended height apartments next to my established single-family home? Why do they have the authority to violate my family's basic right to visual and conversational privacy within my home or yard?"

Mayor Ron Jacobson, a city councilman at the time of SmartCode adoption, noted that he did vote in favor of the provisions. However, he has come to regret that decision.

"We were led to believe that (the SmartCode) was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread," Jacobson said. "I've not seen anything about SmartCode that I like, and I know that I've pushed to try to eliminate that zoning, but it's an extremely lengthy process."

According to the written form, when the SmartCode was implemented in 2010, it aimed to "promote the health, safety, convenience, and general welfare" of the residents in Post Falls and encourage economic development. With an emphasis on natural features, infill development, and affordable housing, the city was hopeful.

However, Jacobson said "loopholes" in the plan turned into an 18-unit, compact, mixed-use apartment complex with no off-street parking. Since adoption, the council has changed parking requirements and other zoning provisions within SmartCode to avoid similar situations in the future.

Considering the City Center Addendum, Jacobson advised city staff and planners to ensure there are no faults in the document that would allow multifamily developments in an unsuitable area.

"I want to make sure that as we move forward, any of these loopholes that we've seen are closed or eliminated," Jacobson said. "So we don't have these, I will call it, a three-story monstrosity."

As a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, now-Councilman Alan Wolfe was also part of the city leadership during SmartCode adoption. He empathized with the Chaneys' story and encouraged city planners and development officials to reflect on project requirements.

"We don't have a crystal ball to see what's going to happen when a lot of this is brought forward," Wolfe said. "I don't want to see that kind of stuff happen again. So if we need to go through this again, maybe look at different areas and make sure that somebody doesn't have to go through the same thing as the Chaneys, I think it's worth the effort."

Community Development Director Bob Seale said that while the SmartCode may not have turned out to be as favorable as hoped, replacing it would result in adopting primary zoning language with a similar type of plan.

"Whether smart codes are the problem or the plans are the problem or how it is being implemented, that can be looked at," Seale said. "It is a major land-use study to undertake as to how we can do that, but that is something that planners or the planning department can begin to look at."