GROWTH: Expand study focus

Kudos to Madison Hardy for her informative article on the Regional Housing & Growth Partnership’s new study (Coeur d’Alene Press, June 17). A regional group like this is essential for dealing with growth, and this new study will hopefully bring some objective outside expertise to the issues.

But the focus of the new study appears to be only on providing housing and accommodating growth. I hope they will give equal time to evaluating limits to growth posed by our infrastructure, such as streets, water supply, sewer systems, schools, police and fire services.

These infrastructure systems have limits and capacities, which should dictate just how much growth can be allowed. So in addition to simply studying how to provide more housing supply, controlling the capacity for new housing must also be part of the solution.

For its part in this regional effort, the city of Coeur d’Alene should help identify its capacity for new housing as it works to update its Comprehensive Plan, now underway in a process called ‘Envision.’ It will be important that city officials adopt policies for land use and zoning that will limit growth to a level that our infrastructure can realistically handle.

ROGER SMITH

Coeur d’Alene