POST FALLS — Following heated discussion from Post Falls City Council members, the Gaul annexation of four parcels totaling about 7.76 acres passed unanimously this week.

A residential mixed zoning code was applied to the land, which is at the southeast corner of North Cecil Road and East 16th Avenue.  

Testimony by Treva Gaul won over City Councilors Samantha Steigleder and Marc Lucca with her vision to get rid of the current buildings and create cottage homes.  

“They're old, they’re ugly. The whole place was even uglier, we’ve remodeled, but if we could, we would just fix things up and rent them and be fine, but they've got to go,” Treva said. 

Nolan Gaul’s log yard for his tree service is on site, as well as horses and cows owned by the couple. 

“I’d just like to get my husband out of climbing trees, he’s going to be 65 and he’s been climbing trees for 30 years. Maybe we’ll live in one of those homes and be happy there, Treva said. “I’m a small-town girl, I like a small-town feeling and that’s why I like Post Falls.”  

The family has had the ability to do higher density residences on the Kootenai County land and has chosen not to, instead sticking to their country roots. 

“We're going to sell all the homes to new young families or to older families that can’t keep up,” Treva said.   

Based on the zoning recommendation, 10% of the property can be used for commercial purposes and the Gauls have plans for something small like a bakery or coffee shop.

Because 10% of the parcel is allowed to have commercial and residential, the allowed height of up to three stories (45 feet) became a sticking point for Steigleder. 

“I think it’s a delightful mix in this residential area that’s mostly R1, but I think that at two stories, it’s a delightful mix. At three stories, I think it will be upsetting to the nature of this area of town,” Steigleder said.  

After initially raising concerns about keeping the area attractive with the right type of commercial, Lucca called Treva Gaul “a great steward of the land” and said he was also taken by the vision of cottage homes that Treva painted during the public hearing.

“I look forward to the fact that you want to help other people start out in the same way you did and achieve their dreams,” Lucca said. “It’s great, it’s beautiful. It’s American and it’s Idaho, specifically North Idaho-friendly.”    

When the conversation turned again to the number of stories possible for the commercial building in the parcel, City Councilor Nathan Ziegler spoke up to counter Steigleder’s assertion that only two stories should be allowed. 

“I think it is also incumbent upon us to consider if we’re going to allow commercial development in these little pockets to also support their viability and I think to limit their commercial viability by limiting the kind of vertical growth that is allowed in this zone would be hypocritical,” Zeigler said.  

Steigleder said she trusted the Gauls based on Treva’s long record of owning property in Post Falls and her ties to country living. 

“I don’t think I’m being hypocritical,” Steigleder said. 

She stated she is not against supporting commercial development, but said she still wasn’t sure about this location for allowing up to 45 feet for buildings. 

"I just don’t think that this teeny tiny 1-acre plot in a mostly built residential area is the exact spot to consider going vertical,” Steigleder said. 

Council members voted unanimously in favor of the annexation with the additional note that the agreement’s language will be modified so the single-family housing language doesn’t apply to the commercial area.