Priest River discusses Title 10 draft

PRIEST RIVER — Work on a complete rewrite of Priest River's Title 10 — the city's zoning and other land-use regulations — continued Monday, as city administrator Jake Gabell walked the City Council through a draft of Chapter 4, which governs zoning districts and land uses.  

The discussion centered around the draft of the chapter, which lays out Priest River's zoning districts and use tables.  Gabell walked through proposed verbiage changes, such as R-1, R-2, and R-3, to low-, medium-, and high-density residential uses instead of to match the city's comprehensive plan language.  

The draft also covers residential uses defined as single-family dwelling units, accessory structures, caretaker units, accessory dwelling units, short-term rentals and low-impact home occupations.  

Gabell said the draft adds clearer definitions for caretaker units, accessory structures, home occupations and other uses, and consolidates some of the city’s more fragmented categories into broader, easier‑to‑interpret groups, to eliminate vagueness about where each use is allowed.  

“What we’re doing here is tightening up the code, so it matches our comprehensive plan and is easier to apply,” Gabell told the council. “By defining these uses more clearly and grouping them into broader categories, we’re trying to take the ambiguity out of where things are allowed and at what scale.”

When discussing each proposed use, Gabell said some, such as short-term rentals, will need additional language in the code to comply with state statute, which largely requires cities to treat those rentals the same as single‑family homes. That means Priest River cannot impose stricter rules on short‑term rentals, particularly for parking and length of stay, than it does on other residences. 

Council members asked questions about how the changes would affect parking, downtown lodging, RV parks and daycare centers, and generally agreed to keep some uses — such as lodging downtown and RV parks in mixed‑use areas — as conditional so the city could review them case by case. 

Chapter 4, according to Gabell, will ultimately determine where different housing uses can go in Priest River and at what scale. The chapter is expected to guide future land use decisions.  

The current chapter is still under review by Gabell, as he plans to finish drafting additional language for dimensional standards, setback requirements and density.