Progress on housing solution education

The housing solutions partnership is just that. It is a partnership of all of the jurisdictions in Kootenai County that deal with housing and growth-related organizations. 

One of its main goals is to provide education on what is and is not possible in our area, and to offer solutions that work and to educate our decision-makers, citizens and building community. 

There are multiple education opportunities on the horizon. The most recent was for all members of the Association of Idaho Cities. This association provides city leaders, elected officials and appointed commissioners an opportunity for training in areas of best practices for healthy cities. Annual educational sessions are held throughout the state as well as an annual conference. 

The spring training session was in Coeur d’Alene earlier this week, with over 80 in attendance. The one-day session had realistic exercises for learning the fundamental forces that affect community development. It offered practical and realistic approaches to assist leaders on how to think critically about the planning and development process. 

Attendees learned how development decisions impact city finances. It is important to understand the risks of lengthy negotiations and how to help protect desirable community aspects in the face of growth, along with other legal and operational training.

At another public training event with about 14 attending, John Pattison, community outreach builder for Strong Towns, a membership organization, spoke on a different way of looking at community-building. The discussion surrounded mobilizing the community to become stronger.

Another meeting is in May when the Idaho Housing and Finance Association will have its Spring Housing Roundtable in Coeur d’Alene. It is designed for networking with other housing professionals and to learn about current activity in the housing industry, including program and resource updates. 

This fall will be the third annual Planning and Zoning workshop facilitated by the Housing Solutions Partnership. Commissioners, council members and other municipal leaders are given an opportunity to explore the progress made in all of the solutions to the housing crisis. Plans to add a comprehensive section to the state statute on the use of development agreements are underway. 

See housingni.org for more. There are plans to post a recording of the highlights of the meetings as they become available.