Multi-family plan prompts Post Falls traffic concerns

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Two controversial annexation public hearings, zero consensus gained.

A 20.8-acre single-family request — that has some Rathdrum Prairie residents riled up over what they believe will intensify railroad crossing safety concerns — was postponed a month at Tuesday night's Post Falls Planning and Zoning Commission meeting attended by about 60 people.

Meanwhile, a 10-acre, multi-family proposal for the other end of the city was sent to the City Council with no recommendation after the board's vote was 2-2 on a motion to approve the request. CLACDA Investments is seeking medium-density multi-family zoning designation on the north side of 12th Avenue about a quarter of a mile east of Highway 41.

"A project of this nature is needed and would be an appropriate buffer between commercial and lower-density residential," said Daryl Wilder, a board member who supported the proposal with Vicky Jo Carey.

Commissioners Ryan Davis and Warren Keene voted to not recommend approval because they and several residents who testified against the plan believe the additional population would increase traffic issues off Highway 41.

"If you put development in there, that will only be more traffic on Highway 41 when it's already maxed out," said Ann Isenberg, who lives on Maverick Lane.

Commissioners Mark Latham, Nancy Hampe and Ray Kimball were not at the meeting.

Concerned residents said some motorists are already using Maverick, which is maintained privately, as an alternate route in that area to avoid wait times.

Dana and Mary Horton, who live on 16th, wrote they don't believe the roads can handle more traffic.

"I guess we don't understand why these people who build don't have to pay for making our highways safe before they build," they wrote.

Shauna Scarcello, who also lives on Maverick, said the new Goodwill location at 16th and Highway 41 has already made traffic in the area a mess. She said traffic signals at 16th and Highway 41 aren't projected until 2019 but they are needed now.

A previous request for a high-density multi-family zoning for the site on 12th was denied.

On the single-family annexation proposal, property owners Douglas Boseth, Alston Durant and Dale Zook are seeking to annex three parcels as Staples Acres totaling 20.8 acres north of Staples Road, west of Chase Road south of the Meadows subdivision. It is currently zoned agriculture.

The public hearing on the request was postponed until May 9 because a letter to the city sent from Henry Madsen, an attorney representing Citizens for the Protection of the Prairie, hadn't been received in time for the city staff or board to review it even though it had been emailed on time.

The group believes traffic will bottleneck at the railroad crossing on Chase even more with the increased population. They say some drivers already make U-turns and race to other crossings to try to get across before trains come rather than wait.

Bobby Wilhelm, who formed the group, said he was prepared to read the names of 35 residents who have died in vehicle versus train incidents on the Rathdrum Prairie, hoping decisionmakers will keep an eye on housing density as the city expands north.

- In other business, the commission unanimously recommended the City Council approve the Northern Plains Second Addition subdivision request of Sandra Runcorn. Sixteen single-family lots are planned for the 5.26-acre site west of Chase and north of Poleline.