Time for the debate to begin.

Kootenai County has scheduled another public workshop on how to shape the new Unified Land Use Code, which will replace all current building ordinances.

The topics of discussion will be big ones: Community character, land use and densities.

Setting development densities has remained an important issue, said Scott Clark, director of county Community Development, because specific numbers were removed entirely from the new Comprehensive Plan.

"This (workshop) in particular is important because it's kind of the beginning of discussion as an extension of the Comprehensive Plan," Clark said.

The previous commissioners agreed to remove densities from the Comprehensive Plan - a visionary plan for how growth in the area should occur - because they considered such specifics better suited in ordinances.

This workshop will kick off discussions on how to set those densities, Clark said.

"It's certainly not going to end here. This is a beginning point," he said.

Densities establish how many houses can be built in a given area.

Terry Harris with Kootenai Environmental Alliance said he hopes the county will focus on protecting rural areas and preventing suburban sprawl.

"The current 5-acre zoning just doesn't work for that," he said, alluding to the one-dwelling-per-5-acre density. "Our hope is that the code will fix that."

The county is looking to collect input from a broad range of public interests, Clark said, before any new ordinances are drafted.

"It's better to do that now, instead of trying to write it and then redraft it later," he said.

Working with consultant Kendig Keast Collaborative, the county plans to soon release "issue papers" about common development concerns for the public to comment on, he added.

The papers will be based off concerns raised among community groups, Clark said.

The upcoming workshop is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30 in Room 1 of the county Administration Building.

Workshops and other public comments will eventually allow for draft ordinances that will be reviewed, re-reviewed and modified, Clark said.

"The idea is to make sure that the process includes all those ideas and thoughts, so we can get it presented early and people understand what the issues are," he said. "So later in the process, people understand why we are where we are."