EDITORIAL: Annexation, sewer connection should not be forced

Jinny and Lloyd Wayne Dorsey had a simple plan for their 12th Avenue property near Post Falls. Remove their doublewide mobile home and replace it with a house on the same footprint. They just wanted a house instead of mobile. Seemed easy enough. 

It wasn’t.  

The Dorseys soon learned removing the mobile home constituted a new development, which per Kootenai County is required to go through the city of their area of impact, which is Post Falls. 

Initially, Post Falls staff said the Dorseys would be required to be annexed into the city and connect to the city’s sewer, even though they already have a sewer connection for their mobile home. This meant they would need to spend far more money than they budgeted or they believed was necessary.

Naturally, the Dorseys are balking at the annexation and the sewer hookup and until things are resolved, are living in their RV. 

During the council meeting last week, Mayor Ron Jacobson stated that the Dorseys are not going to be forced either to be annexed into Post Falls or to get an additional sewer hook up. City Councilor Joe Malloy wondered if others trying to modify their county property would face the same fate if their home burned down and they wanted to rebuild. 

Now, some may believe this is nothing more than government overreach, getting involved with private property where it was not previously involved, and forcing people to pay for things they don’t want. 

But there is another point to consider.

This is a case where rules are rules, and they were already in place before the Dorseys removed their doublewide. They didn’t realize once it was removed, it would trigger more government oversight. 

Yes, the Dorseys should have done a bit more homework to be sure their bases were covered before the mobile home was removed. That was a mistake. They got stuck between what they thought they were required to do and what government rules said they had to do. 

But as this is one house, an exception can be made. We don’t think the government should adhere strictly to its regulations. 

We understand the city and the Dorseys are in talks to resolve the matter. That’s good. We believe government should, in this specific case, make an exception for the Dorseys and allow them to build their home without being forced to be annexed into Post Falls.