Commissioner, citizens grapple with growth problems

In a sit-down discussion, members of the Responsible North Idaho Growth Facebook Group asked Commissioner Chris Fillios if the county can do anything to ease local growing pains. 

Kootenai is the third-largest county in the state, growing at a rate of 2% per year and upward of 26,000 new residents in the last 10 years. As a result, the county is increasingly challenged by balancing service levels with budgetary restrictions. 

"There's a lot of either misunderstanding or misinformation, and that's understandable because the county is complex," Fillios said. "We deal in a lot of different and diverse issues." 

Similar to a discussion held by the Post Falls City Council on March 3, the group asked about the viability of enforcing a growth moratorium, caps on issuing building permits and approving annexations, and the possibility of an advisory vote for public opinion on growth management. 

"Can you help us to limit it?" Facebook group creator Ed DePriest said. "Can you?"

Moratoriums and limitations are largely out of reach, Fillios said, because Idaho's designation as a "Dillon's Rule" limits local entities' authority by what is specifically sanctioned by the state government.

"Much of what we can do in the county, for that matter even at the state level, is determined by state law," Fillios said. "So the system's working the way the state allows."

A present worry for Kootenai County residents and the Facebook group was the cost of living. As Lee Wheeler, a group member, mentioned, property value escalation is causing longtime residents to be priced out of available housing. He said builders are taking advantage of the boom and contributing more financially to supporting the county's infrastructure — like roads, schools, law enforcement, water, and sewer, and not affordable homes. 

"I think it's going to get to a boiling point when people are going to get really, really frustrated," Wheeler said. "You are giving so much leeway to these builders."

There have been attempts to ease the pain within the county's jurisdiction, Fillios noted, such as the $50 vehicle registration fee proposal that failed by a wide margin in the November election. He said passage would have eased at least some traffic concerns.

"We can't have it both ways," Fillios said.

DePriest referenced a public input survey from Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, and a recent Rathdrum workshop. He said residents agreed on what they want — elected officials to deal with growth, traffic, and density.

"Tell Mr. Developer, 'Sorry, we can't give you what we gave those people five years ago because we have this situation that is developing that is not going to be good for the community," he said. "The elected officials don't appear to be dealing with the growth issue the way a man on the street would like it to be done."

Though the discussion offered no solutions, some group members said that a way to take action could be through a large, well-organized citizen initiative that would push for accountability and management plans. 

"It's the only chance that we've got to get some responsibility for the growth because we don't see those that are representing us, representing us in elected positions," said Mike Fox, a Rathdrum resident and group member said.