Meyer Market on the way

Rathdrum residents can anticipate a new commercial business in the community following a 3-1 vote of approval by city council Wednesday night.

Over the last year, Rathdrum has been updating the city’s comprehensive plan to guide where and how types of developments will emerge.

Like the one proposed in the Meyer Market permit, commercial nodes are one of many items the city is interested in bringing to Rathdrum through the updated comprehensive plan, city planner Cary Seiss noted Wednesday. By locating the development near housing communities like Brookshire, Seiss explained that residents would have walkable access to retail conveniences instead of driving several miles down the road.

“It’s not anticipated that the development will attract traffic from outside the area,” Seiss said. “But will mostly provide services for local residents that live nearby.”

Located on the southeast corner of Meyer and Lancaster Roads, the Meyer Market will include:

• A convenience store that provides refueling and propane sales
• An attached brew-pub and wine bar with indoor and outdoor seating
• A detached drive-through coffee stand

Previously recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission on May 27, the conditional use permit plans to use approximately 4.3 acres of the 5.7-acre parcel for commercial use. The remaining will be reserved for future needs, Seiss said.

Councilman Mike Hill, the lone dissenting vote, expressed multiple concerns with the development and how it could affect the surrounding community. Specifically, he noted how an increase in traffic and commercial opportunities could disrupt the quality of life and pose pedestrian safety hazards.

“(That property) was zoned agricultural and then got changed, and now it’s being developed into a gas station,” Hill said. “The people that are there didn’t know that this was going to be there...Put yourself in their shoes.”

Seiss noted that those concerns were addressed two years ago, in 2019, when the city annexed the property. She also expressed that public comment and opportunities for input were accepted then and during the permit planning and zoning hearing.

“Places develop, and the only way to prevent that from happening is if you buy a property yourself,” Seiss said.

Mayor Vic Holmes pointed out that the Meyer and Lancaster Road intersection has long been looked at as a potential convenience store or amenity for surrounding housing units.

Seiss said the applicant - who owns the Lancaster Market - hopes to begin construction in the near future.