PRIEST RIVER — City residents will have the chance to voice what they want the city’s future to look like at a pair of open houses this month.

The first open house on the city’s draft comprehensive plan is set for Thursday, March 5, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., with a second planned for Thursday, March 19, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Both will be held at the West Bonner Library, 118 Main St.

Updating the comprehensive plan has been a six-phase process, beginning with a decision on whether to create a draft document first or seek public input. In Priest River’s case, the council opted to create the draft plan to give the public a clearer sense of where the city is and where it could go, Jake Gabell, Priest River Planning & Zoning administrator, said.

“As I worked through this, I found that as I was collecting data, I was drafting plans,” Gabell said. “So phases two and three kind of happened simultaneously as I worked through different chapters. I went through, chapter by chapter — it’s 150 pages now, so it’s a lot.”

A comprehensive plan is designed to guide future decisions related to land use, housing, infrastructure, and community character.

While the city last reviewed the comp plan in 2017, it was never adopted, making 2013 the last time the city’s plan was officially updated. To give officials and residents a clear picture of current conditions and the policies guiding future growth, Gabell drafted the updated plan.

“The policies should really be the driver,” he said. “One thing I’ve told the City Council several times is to really pay attention to the policies I’ve drafted here. Those are the distillation of all the data and text going into it. They should be the driving force that leads toward code changes.”

Whether the discussion is about ensuring the city doesn’t max out its service capacity or looking at density and annexation, the policies will help officials ensure that decisions align with the city’s vision for its future.

In the past five years, the county’s population has grown dramatically, increasing from just under 46,000 in 2019 to an estimated 56,000. Priest River has seen more modest growth within city limits, rising from roughly 1,896 people in 2019 to an estimated 1,933 in 2026.

However, city officials note that many residents live just outside city limits, impacting city services and growth. In 2021, Gabell said that of the 51 building permits issued in the county, six to 10 were within Priest River, much of that from a single subdivision.

“You look citywide, and that’s a pretty substantial jump,” he said.

While some of the proposed changes are based on data and others respond to where the city has been, the document also looks ahead to where — and what — Priest River wants to be.

“But rather than be reactive, we want to be a little proactive in how we want growth to happen throughout the city,” Gabell said. “Oftentimes, we as government are always reactive to a change.”

Change is inevitable, he said. Demand isn’t going away. Growth will need to be accommodated — and that puts the city in the driver’s seat.

“We’re not going to control the demand, right? We’re not going to shut the borders and build a wall,” Gabell said. “People want to move here, so either prices will keep going up if you don’t allow for more growth and more new single-family homes, or you’ll displace your current population within 20 years.”

The new comp plan is designed to give the city options, providing a clear roadmap for officials and opportunities for residents.

And those options are the focus of the two open houses. Community members will be able to review printed copies of the draft plan, view informational posters and handouts, participate in interactive activities such as sticker boards, and provide feedback through surveys and written comments. The draft comp plan is also posted on the city’s website, and a digital survey is available.

“The survey, this whole engagement process — it’s not specific projects or even zone changes or anything like that,” Gabell said. “It’s foundational stuff, and it’s going to drive some changes. When we come through this, we’ll do an evaluation of the policies we’ve written.”