POST FALLS, Idaho — Subdivision decisions will be the focus of the Post Falls Planning and Zoning Commission meeting tonight, as reported by our news partner the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The panel will meet in City Council chambers, 408 N. Spokane St., at 5:30 p.m.
The commission, consisting of Chair Ryan Davis, Vice-chair Ray Kimball and members Vicky Jo Cary, Nancy Hampe, Ross Schlotthauer, James Steffensen and Kevin Ward, will look at two action items: the reasoned decisions on both the Elm Place Subdivision and the River City Center Subdivision.
A presentation will also be given with requests to amend several portions of the Municipal Code.
The Elm Place Subdivision applicant, Dobler Engineering, requested to subdivide 1.11 acres north of Interstate 90, on the west side of Elm Street, south of Seltice Way for 12 twin-home lots.
The land is currently used for single-family homes, and already carries an R-2 or multi-family zoning.
To the south of the land is an I-90 right-of-way. On the west and north sides are single-family homes, and a duplex is located to the east. All land surrounding the property is zoned for single-family residential, other than the I-90 right-of-way.
The commission determined that the area proposed is zoned for the proposed use and conforms to all code requirements.
The River City Center Subdivision was submitted by Olson Engineering. The 14.4-acre project is southeast of the Highway 41 and 12th Avenue intersection in Post Falls, west of October Glory Street.
The applicant seeks to subdivide the property into six commercial lots. The land is currently zoned CCS, for community commercial services use. The site sits mostly vacant with a portion already developed with shops and retail services.
According to Planning and Zoning documents, the proposed land use “is intended for new commercial businesses such as food services, grocery and retail.”
To the east of the River City property is a single-family subdivision. To the south is a commercial business next to a single-family home, within a CCS zone. To the north is a mobile home park on Kootenai County property and a commercial business exists to the west across Highway 41.
Ethan Porter, community development associate planner for the city, testified Jan. 26 that “the three existing lots are being turned into six total, to make it easier for the developer to lease or sell commercial pad sites,” according to planning commission documents.
The commission determined that the proposed subdivision is zoned for the proposed use and conforms to all code requirements.
Both subdivision proposals were originally presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 26 and were open for public hearing. None was received. Both will be taken before the City Council at a later date for follow-up on the recommended approvals.
Also this evening, Jon Manley, planning manager for the city, will present requests to revise city zoning codes.
The proposed changes will: establish 10-foot setbacks surrounding all property within the Public Reserve Zone; modify RV parks in industrial zones to require special use permits; exempt fencing height standards for sports and recreation facilities; require that single-family and duplex buildings adjacent to a public or private street be clearly visible and face the public street; update ADA parking stalls to be the same length as other stalls; and clarify the landscape buffering exemption for single, double and triple-family dwellings.
The Land-Use table will be updated to define permitted land uses, special uses and non-permitted uses, as a part of this proposal.
Following the presentation, planning commissioners must provide a recommendation to approve or deny. Public testimony may be heard. Planning commissioners can decide they need further testimony or more time to deliberate. Public hearing may also be taken when the request goes before the City Council at a later date.
Meeting schedules and agendas for all City Council, planning and zoning, parks and recreation and urban renewal meetings are posted in advance on: postfallsidaho.org/
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our news partner, click here.
