POST FALLS — An urban renewal district to establish a central core region of Post Falls took its first steps forward Tuesday night.

City Council members voted unanimously to update the city center master plan. The updated plan will then enable the city to conduct a feasibility study for an urban renewal district in the city. The master plan has not been updated since 2005. The city center urban renewal district closed in 2018.

“If urban renewal is done properly, it is done in Post Falls,” Mayor Ron Jacobson said.

The city currently has five urban renewal districts including Center Point, Expo, West Seltice II, PF Tech, and East Post Falls. Urban renewal districts generated $4,609,779 in increment revenue in fiscal year 2019. The 248-acre West Seltice II district will close in August.

In the past year, the urban renewal agency funded $180,063 for sewer improvements in the East Post Falls District and completed the Expo Parkway extension to Beck Road.

The mission of the Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency is to foster sound economic and community improvement that enhances the overall quality of life in the city by providing and improving infrastructure, attracting jobs, and enhancing citizen safety and health.

• City Council members approved three zoning changes. Two parcels, one 27.6 acres and another 42 acres, were rezoned from industrial to single-family residential within the Montrose Planned Unit Development with the intent to match existing zoning in the area.

Additionally, the council passed an amendment to the Montrose PUD to facilitate additional housing in a location that was otherwise planned for industrial/commercial development.

The third change occurred after some debate among council members, as the 9-acre Wildflower Meadows subdivision on the southwest corner of McGuire Road and Midway Avenue was changed from single-family residential to medium-density multifamily.

Property owner Steven Cassel voiced his desire to provide an affordable housing alternative for young families and seniors in Post Falls. He proposed building exclusively duplexes to provide a transitional area lacking in other residential development.

City Council member Alan Wolfe expressed concern that while Cassel’s proposal adhered to the lightest density in a multifamily zone, the bump in designation would open the property to any building approved within that zone designation. The council therefore approved the zone change with a development agreement that would limit the size of each dwelling to a duplex or less. The council approved 4-1, with City Council member Jon Malloy dissenting because he felt McGuire Road provides a clear delineation of density incompatible with the request.

• Momentum continued for revitalization of Black Bay Park as the council validated the park’s schematic design and approved the consulting services agreement with Denver-based urban design and landscape architecture firm Civitas Design. The $5 million park will be paid in large part from impact fees and grants.

The parks and recreation department anticipates construction will begin in spring 2021. In the past several months parks manager Brian Meyers and Civitas principal Scott Jordan identified guiding principles for the project with direction from the public. They aim to preserve the 60-acre natural setting along the Spokane River that’s been protected since the 1930s while providing a place for people across all age and socio-economic demographics to engage and enjoy the outdoors.