The mayors of Kootenai County's biggest cities have declared the new county Comprehensive Plan as unacceptable, and are calling for the county commissioners to start all over.

A letter sent by the mayors of Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Rathdrum and Post Falls on Monday labeled the plan as "irretrievably broken," and urged the commissioners to rewrite it, this time incorporating more public input.

"We do not make this recommendation lightly," the letter read, alluding to the many hours county staff invested in the planning document. "However, adopting this plan, based on those considerations, would be a disservice to all county residents."

The mayors fingered several issues with the visionary document, intended to guide development in the county over the next 20 years.

The plan is too lengthy and convoluted, according to the letter, and relies on out-of-date information. It also contains contradictory policies, like aiming to prevent urban sprawl while planning 30 percent of new growth outside urban areas.

On top of that, the letter read, the plan creates an adversarial relationship between the county and city governments, by dictating to cities the terms of future Area of City Impact Agreements.

Clay Larkin, Post Falls mayor, said he was rankled by how the document calls for clustered "villages" at intersections, putting more homes on municipal septic tanks.

"We have enough trouble trying to keep the aquifer clean without the clustered septics that they're proposing," he said.

Larkin hopes the commissioners will take the $350,000 set aside to implement the plan, and instead use it to hire a consultant to rewrite the document.

"They could meet with all the cities and get it into a workable, passable service document," he said.

Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire said he thinks it's too late for the current commissioners to make real improvements.

"We've got an election in a week, and with all the other things coming up, they might as well leave it to the next people in line," McIntire said. "This has been going on for so many years. It doesn't make a difference if it's another six months or another year."

Rathdrum Mayor Vic Holmes and Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said he appreciates the input, but he disagreed that the document is too long.

"We actually shortened it quite a bit," he said.

He added that though some policies compete with each other, they don't conflict.

Tondee doesn't expect the commissioners to start all over.

"I think it's a pretty far-fetched idea," he said. "This (letter) makes it sound like it's totally not acceptable, and I don't think that's the case."

The letter will be considered with other comments tonight at a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan.

The commissioners will collect testimony on the document at 5 p.m. in Room 1 of the Kootenai County Administration Building. The officials could go into deliberations to update the plan.

The county Planning Commission completed the fourth draft of the plan last January. The commissioners finished retooling it this July.

The county has been updating the 1994 Comprehensive Plan since 2006. After adoption, it will be enforced with new ordinances and regulations.

"We have their (cities') input, so we can look and see what's valid," Tondee said. "We can see if there are things we can clarify or give better direction."