Comp plan makes huge assumption

Coeur d’Alene is in the middle of a rare opportunity … the updating of the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The plan provides a general framework for if and how the city will grow. That updating process, required by law, has been given the catchy name of “Envision” by the city.

The city has hired a consulting firm, MIG, to assist with this process, and back on Oct. 7 a representative of MIG presented an update to a joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission. I attended, and what grabbed me the most was when the consultant said they were assuming a projected population growth to 85,000 (about 60% growth!) in the next 20 years, and the council simply nodded in compliance. Really?

But wait a minute … did anyone ask CDA residents if they want that level of growth — and the many problems it would bring? I dare say that if Coeur d’Alene residents were asked if they wanted our population to grow by 60% in 20 years, most would answer, ‘Hell no! … we’re quite happy with our current size, and quality of life, thank you very much.’

In a desirable place like CDA, growth pressure is high, and some growth is inevitable, but the city can exercise control over just how much growth and development will be allowed to occur — and just how much loss of our quality-of-life will be tolerated.

Yes, city officials can control growth, and the current effort to update the city’s Comprehensive Plan is the perfect opportunity to do just that … to define just how wide open we should leave the ‘growth gate’. Questions like, ‘How much growth should be allowed?’ and ‘Where should growth be focused?’ can be addressed in the Comprehensive Plan. If we want to ‘apply the brakes’ on growth, now’s the perfect time to act as we update that plan via the “Envision” effort.

The recent proposal for the massive Coeur Terre project is a moment of truth for our elected leaders — both at the city and county levels. Will officials simply allow the sprawl of 4,500 new homes that will swell the local population by 11,000? Or will they work jointly to protect the quality of life for residents by only allowing development in smaller increments — to allow time to assess impacts on our traffic, sewers, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure.

Unlike Post Falls and other prairie areas, the city of CDA does not have room to sprawl outward. Our growth will be in the form of ‘densification.’ If permitted, our growth will necessarily be infill, and ‘up’ (not ‘out’), in the form of large apartment complexes and or pricey high-rise condos. Of course, growth is growth, whether ‘up’ or ‘out,’ with the impacts on traffic, sewers, schools and our general quality of life. But basing the rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan on a high level of projected growth will only give the green light to greater densification — higher high rises! Is this what we want to see in our city?

A recent effort by the city under the banner, ‘Coeur Housing,’ takes steps toward ‘smart growth’ by allowing limited infill (affordable?) housing development in areas with walkability to retail, public transportation and other services. That seems reasonable as long as it doesn’t negatively impact existing neighborhoods — especially those areas with older / historic character. (i.e., Avoid the mistakes made in Brown’s Addition in Spokane.) So representatives from neighborhood groups should be involved in this effort, and strict Design Review for new ‘infill’ structures will be important. Of course, assessing impacts on neighborhood infrastructure including parking, traffic generation, sewers — and schools — will also be big concerns.

So with the “Envision” process well underway, I implore city officials and their consultants to reject the assumption of a projected population of 85,000 by 2040! This kind of growth is not ‘inevitable,’ as we often hear. It will only happen if it’s allowed to happen, and could lead to CDA becoming a super dense or ‘high-rise’ city. Our city leaders must be strong and recognize that as they update the Comprehensive Plan, they have the power to control and shape growth — and to preserve our quality of life. A good start would be adopting a population growth projection far less than the 60% assumed by the city’s consultant.

Decisions made at this juncture will define life in Coeur d’Alene for years to come. Now is the time for you to tell our leaders what you want the city to look like in 20 years.

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Roger Smith is a longtime seasonal resident of Coeur d’Alene.