A potential land exchange contingent on a large, three-part annexation and zoning changes could preserve more prairie land and save it from development.

The Post Falls Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. May 17 to gather community members' input on the proposed Thompson/Satchwell Annexation and North Crown Zone Change. The properties in the proposed annexation are mostly north of Prairie Avenue between Chase Road and Highway 41. Some are on the south side of Hayden Avenue and some are on the north.

If the land exchange occurs, the Jacklin Land Company, which owns the land in question, would attain approximately 80 acres of city land that is developable in the near future in exchange for 175 acres of Jacklin Land Company land.

The exchange would increase the amount of undeveloped, preserved prairie land by 98 acres, bringing the total of preserved prairie land to 1,058 acres, a 10% increase to the present preserved prairie open space.

"This is quite the intensive, complicated project," Post Falls planning manager Jon Manley said Thursday. "It goes into three focus areas in the comprehensive plan."

The mix of zoning that is being proposed to be established:

• 80 acres of land zoned for public reserve changed to residential mixed

• 178 acres of Kootenai County land annexed to public reserve

• 28.1 acres of county land to be annexed as single-family residential, or R-1

• 20.8 acres of county land to be annexed as medium-density residential, or R-2

• About 34 acres of county land annexed as community commercial mixed, or CCM

Manley said no plans are in place at this time to build or develop the land included in the annexation.

"The city’s interest is to increase our prairie preservation area," he said. "It increases the land application, land that’s intended not to have development."

Following the public hearing, the Planning Commission will forward its recommendation on zoning to the Post Falls City Council, which will make the final decision pertaining to the annexation and/or zone change request.

Community members are welcome to submit written testimony by mailing to the Post Falls Planning Division, 408 Spokane St., Post Falls, ID 83854, visiting postfalls.gov/your-government/public-hearings or emailing comments to phnotice@postfalls.gov.

All written comments must be received by May 10.