We continue to see plenty of development in Kootenai County with new homes and subdivisions cropping up all about the Rathdrum Prairie. The land there is affordable and the building easier than in the foothills of Coeur d’Alene and Hayden.

Much of the growth taking place in those cities is infill growth or “pocket housing.” Pocket houses are usually clustered groups of neighboring houses or apartments gathered around a shared open space. The city of Coeur d’Alene is issuing permits for pocket houses in multi-family zoned neighborhoods that might typically see apartment complexes, condominiums or multi-plexes.

The pocket neighborhoods are settings where nearby neighbors can easily know one another, where empty nesters and single householders with far-flung families can find friendship or a helping hand nearby, and where children can have shirttail aunties and uncles just beyond their front gate.

A lot of an acre that is zoned R12 in the city may have 12 single homes on them instead of the monolithic 12-unit apartment building. Each unit will have 300 square feet of “usable open space” according to city requirements. That space can be shared to make a larger space available communally or each unit may have its own. Shared spaces will undoubtedly lead to a sense of community and be neighborly where individual space will make the pocket neighborhood feel more private.

If you are looking for privacy though do not count on fences to make good neighbors. These pocket developments can have fences no higher than 4 feet. Parking lots shall be screened both from the street and adjacent residential development by a combination of trees and shrubs. Trees shall be no more than 30 feet apart. Shrubs shall be at least 30 inches in height at the time of planting. Decorative walls or fences no more than 48 inches in height may be used in lieu of shrubs. No chain link fences are allowed.

Additionally each unit must have paved parking. Each one-bedroom unit must have one parking space and units with more than one bedroom must have two paved spaces.

Pocket housing is proving to have its benefits as the units are generally thought to be more appealing than multi-unit dwellings. Some good examples of these types of neighborhoods can be seen at the Riviera Walk at Riverstone or the Circuit at Seltice. Other infill housing is taking place in many parts of the city where old decrepit houses are being razed for new smaller homes to create better use of existing land that may be currently under utilized. Most will agree, these are attractive developments too.

Trust an expert…call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.

Kim Cooper is a real estate broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664.