KEA Submits Comments to the Kootenai County Comprehensive Plan

Kootenai County’s important Draft Comprehensive Plan will be up for a round of hearings before the Planning Commission Dec. 1-3 at the County office building.  See the Planning Commission website (http://www.kcgov.us/departments/planning/newcompplan.asp )for their hearing schedule. (The most critical hearing, on land use issues, is Monday Dec. 1, starting at 3pm but expected to continue into an evening session.) 

Kootenai Environmental Alliance has drafted extensive comments and they are available now to view here.

The Comprehensive Plan is supposed to provide a vision of how to accommodate a dramatic population increase over the next 20 years.  We tend to agree with the Plan’s overarching goals – to direct development to areas of the county better able to sustain it, to provide greater protections to our rural areas, and to direct development away from open space and sensitive areas.

But there are important detailed considerations in the Land Use Chapter, particularly dealing with rural area protection and so-called Master Planned Communities, which may be worthy of your attendance at the hearing to present your comments to the Commission: 

1. KEA supports land use designations which will provide greater protection for rural areas.  Specifically, KEA supports less density in lands that are supposed to be rural.  Current land use patterns are leading to sprawl and leapfrog development.
2. KEA suggests that “Master Planned Communities” as contemplated by the Plan, be strictly limited to Areas of City Impact, which are best equipped to handle the large-scale developments envisioned.  Under no circumstance should such developments be allowed in rural areas. 

If you are interested in testifying, contact terry@kealliance.org for ideas and assistance.