Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Call the meeting to order. Please rise for the pledgece to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat] All right. Good evening everyone. Welcome to the January 13, 2026 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. We'll start with uh roll call, please. Walton here. Kimble present. Stephenson here. Sean Hower here. Shriber here. Will

here. Okay. Thank you. Next item is ceremonies, announcements, appointments, or [clears throat] other presentations. [snorts] Mr. Manley. So, um, there was a request to bring back, uh, some national type day. So, today is, uh, happens to be National Rubber Ducky Day. So, those familiar with Sesame Street, that's kind of, well, you know, why this is what it is. I celebrate this every year. Nice. Put up a flag in front of your house. Okay.

And then the other thing I wanted to bring attention to for you guys is on uh February 17th. Currently there's a tenative workshop, a joint workshop with city council and the advisory committee to go over the fiscal impact analysis with urban 3 to support our comprehensive plan. So I just wanted to get you guys aware that right now that's the tenative tenative itinerary. Urban Three.

Urban 3 is um they're kind of a well-renowned fiscal impact that does visualizations to look at the costs and revenues of a city to kind of look at, you know, its balance for looking at long-term operation and maintenance and looking at uh the sustainability of your revenues versus costs for with growth. And what day was that? February 9th. February 17th. February 17th. Thank you. So, would that be at 5:00?

Possibly 4:30. We're kind of Okay. We're We don't know the actual length of the presentation. There's going to be some coordination that's going to have to go on with that. So, um just wanted you guys know since we're about a month out. Yeah. But it does it would be time boxed because there's a city council meeting that night, right? Correct. So, it' be before city council. That's the the current plan. Gotcha. All right. Anything else? Nope. [snorts] All right. The only thing I will add is Sir Walson over here. It's his last meeting, Kibby. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Was it three years now? Yeah. I think two and a half. Two and a half. Okay. Something like that. Yeah. We'll round it up to three. Close enough. [laughter] So, thank you for your uh volunteering and all your input over the past.

Appreciate it. Thank you. I know you've learned a lot just me being here when I was here and then and now what you can do now versus then. You've learned a ton. So, thank you for doing that and good luck on your uh your move to the the other side of that line over there. Not too far from here, though. Not too far. Still close.

Uh so, with that being said, uh there is an opening on planning zoning. I don't know if there's any openings on any other boards or commissions or agencies the city has, but that application is online and always available on the website. So, if anybody is interested in that or if you know somebody, just have them go. It's a form letter. It literally is super quick and easy. Five minutes and can be done. So, city's always taken that in case positions come open for various reasons on any of the uh boards and commissions. All right. Moving on. Any amendments to the agenda? There's none. Okay. Any declaration of conflict, exparte, contact, site visits?

All right. Seeing none, [snorts] I don't see any action items on the consent calendar. True. None. All right. So, we don't need a motion now, right? Not even to say there's nothing. All right. All right. Citizen issues. This section of the agenda is reserved for citizens wishing to address the commission on an item that is not on the agenda tonight. Persons wishing to speak will have five minutes. Do we have anybody? [snorts] All right. Moving right along. unfinished or old business? None.

Okay. All right. Tonight we have uh two public hearings. If you are wishing to uh testify in the um public testimony part of this, please make sure you fill out the form. They're back there by the front door. And then bring those up to the front here. And we'll call you up at that time. First, we'll start with the Prairie Medical Zone change file number ZC25-2 and open that hearing.

[clears throat]

Good evening, Planning Commission. My name is Justin Souder, and as you just mentioned, this is the Prairie Medical Zone change, file number ZC-25-2. The applicant is requesting the planning commission forward a recommendation to city council to reszone approximately 30.88 88 acres from community commercial services to community commercial mixed zone. [snorts] [clears throat] They intend to construct a medical campus at the site that includes a future hospital bed tower. The current CCS zone has a maximum allowable height of 45 ft while the CCM zone has a maximum allowable height of 105 ft. The zone change would allow the hospital bed tower to be constructed at a height greater than 45 ft and that is the main reason for the requested zone change. Here is the location on the southeast corner of Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue. You can see in the red box here [clears throat] and here you can see the zoning. It's currently within the CCS zone which is represented by the red. The properties to the north and the south are also in the CCS zone. And then one of the properties to the west right there on the corner of Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue is also in the CCS. And then we have CCM zone on the parcel to the south of that. And then we have some residential zoning further to the east and west.

Where where's the CCM zone on there? Striped stuff. The red and yellow striped is CCM. Okay, got Thank you. Yep. And then the applicant is requesting to change to CCM. So the red and yellow is striped as well.

The site is currently undeveloped. It's over the Wrath Prairie Aquifer. Water would be provided by Ross Point Water District and wastewater would be handled by the city. The city has the capacity to provide service and is willing to serve the property um at the requested zone. [snorts] Prairie Avenue and State Highway 41 are both considered principal arterial roadways and also critical arterial corridors. And then Prosper Avenue, that was the avenue to the south and Zoros Road to the east are both minor collectors. Now we'll begin to review criteria for zone change. And the first is the proposed zoning district consistent with the future land use map and focus area contained in the currently adopted comprehensive plan. So the site actually has two land use designations. The majority of the site is within the business commercial designation represented in pink and the northwest corner of the site is within the commercial designation in red. Both land use designations pro provide for a wide variety of general services, retail, professional office, light industrial, artisan manufacturing, and mix uses to serve both local and regional needs. The requested zone change is consistent with the future land use map because the site is adjacent to properties with the land use designation of business commercial to the north, south, and east and then commercial to the north. [snorts] The applicant is requesting to reszone the property from CCS to CCM which is an implementing zone district for both the business commercial and the commercial land use designations. The CCM zone should be applied in areas primarily located near arterial and collector streets to support commercial, residential, professional office, and civic uses that support accessible live, work, and shop environments. This zone targets hight traffic corridors with existing infrastructure such as Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue uh to facilitate

largecale development such as a medical campus. And the site is within the 41 north focus area. Here is a view of the site and the surrounding area as well as the zoning. You can see there are a variety of different zones within the area with commercial zones along Highway 41 and north of Prairie Avenue. And then we have some residential uses further to the east and west. [snorts]

The 41 north focus area states that the highway 41 corridor will rival Seltis in terms of importance as a retail and mixeduse res residential and services district and [snorts] residential development has been predominant in recent years and it's a trend that's likely to continue. Such growth is expected to spur commercial uses adjacent to Highway 41, which you can see that's why there's commercial designations there. The focus area also seeks to provide regional uses along major transit corridors such as Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue. And the future Prairie Medical Campus may support the residents in the immediate vicinity as well as on a regional scale for the entire city due to its location. Moving on to the second review criteria. Is a proposed zoning district consistent with the goals and policies contained in the comprehensive plan? [snorts] The zone change request is consistent with goal one which seeks to grow and sustain a balanced resilient economy for postfalls providing community prosperity and fiscal health. The zone change may contribute to a resilient economy by providing the opportunity for a new employment center to be developed. A medical campus with a hospital creates a variety of employment opportunities that contribute to the economic diversity and long-term prosperity of the city and may even attract related businesses such as medical suppliers, pharmacies, and other wellness services. Furthermore, the commercial and medical uses along Highway 41 may require diverse residential developments nearby to support the medical campus.

[snorts]

There are several factors that need to be considered when applying a new zone designation. We have already touched on the fact that the proposed zone designation is consistent with the future land use map. It's compatible with surrounding land uses and the goals of the comprehensive plan. So, as far as infrastructure, sanitary sewer is located within the intersection of Prosper Avenue and Highway 41 and it would discharge to the 12th Avenue lift station. The city has capacity for the requested zone and is in conformance with the city's water reclamation master plan. Uh for traffic patterns, Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue are both classified as principal arterial roadways and critical arterial corridors. Prairie Avenue will be widening to the full paved width in 2026 or 2027 with the Post Falls Highway District's Prairie Avenue widening project. Prosper Avenue and Zoros Road are classified as minor collector roadways and when fully constructed the adjoining roadways will have the capacity to accommodate the projected projected traffic volumes for the surrounding land uses and this development. The annexation the zone change is also consistent with goal seven of the comprehensive plan which uh plans for and established types and quantities of land uses in postfalls supporting community needs and the city's long-term sustainability. The zone change would support community needs and the city's long-term sustainability by allowing for the development of medical campus which will be a major benefit to the city as it continues to grow. Additionally, a hospital can be considered a community need and an essential service. The zone change is also compatible with policy 8 which encourages infill development within city limits as this area is infill because to the south and west are already developed and the areas to the north east and northeast are currently being developed. The CCM zone and medical campus would be compatible with the commercial buildings being developed to the north and the other medical uses

that are being developed to the northeast. It's also consistent with policy 86, which seeks to work with local businesses to enhance, sustain, and diversify the local economy by supporting opportunities related to business campuses and attracting new businesses. The zone change would allow for the opportunity to expand medical services and jobs with a within a campus-like setting, and it's likely to attract other new businesses as well. The third and final review criteria. Does the proposed zoning district create a demonstrable adverse impact upon the delivery of services by any political subdivision? And there have been no identified demonstrable adverse impacts identified at this time. [snorts] Here is a list of all the agencies that were notified of the project. And here is a list of the comments we received. Of these five, they were all either neutral, they are either going to coordinate at time of development, or had no comments, and we actually did receive one comment showing support from the urban renewal. Here's the review criteria once again for you and the project location. That concludes my part of the presentation. I'm available for questions and I believe the applicant is here for questions as well.

Any questions? Uh just a couple quick questions. Um so we asked ITD for input too and they didn't respond. Is that we did not get a response from them? Correct. We did not.

Um and then I had a question on the CCM zone. When I look at the our city code, CCM isn't in our official bulk and placement regulation table. So where do we get the maximum height from? Where does that show up? So, it's in the code just a little further up when you're looking at zone designations. It's just in a different spot in the in that specific spot where it talks about the CCM zone designation. It has its own small bulk imp placement table and there it says that it's 105 ft. Okay. And uh what about residential in the CCM zone? I believe it's up to 50%.

Is it is it a similar uh density and so forth as it would be in the CCS? And is it subject to special use or have John help me with that one.

So this particular site, the way CCM is, you can do up to 50% of the land use as multifamily. This being the case though, we know the applicant is looking to do in a hospital. So we've drafted a development agreement that when it goes to city council that actually is going to not allow residential development as part of the zone change. And so that'll be in the zone change agreement. Um, typically we would do a CCM, we would request the applicant, if they are wanting to do residential, do some sort of bubble diagram and to propose what types of land uses as far as residential and where they would go. But in this case, because they want to do the whole medical hospital campus, no need for the bubble diagram showing, you know, where the residents would be because they're not going to be there.

Okay, that was it.

Cool. Um, sewer. I know you said it had the capacity, but we've had conversations out in this area and I think it's farther east that a lot of stuff would have to infrastructure would have to go in before there would be capacity for more development. That's going to be not a concern with this one. More that would be like that lot next to it got it developed. Yeah, I'm going to defer to engineering on this one. So, one of our engineers, Chris, is going to come up. Chris Schneider, staff engineer. So, sewer capacity in this area shouldn't be an issue. Um, this was part of our previous sewer studies and we have an ongoing sewer study. The buildout for this project is looking to be about 20 years. By that point, the 12th Avenue lift station improvements will be completed. Um, further to the east, that's getting into the Fenicus line, which is not completed. This will not be utilizing the Fenicus line. It'll either be going down Zoros or more likely highway 41. Cool. Thank you. Any other questions? All right, invite the applicant up. [snorts]

Name for the record, please.

Yeah. Good evening. Ben Mcgran. I am the owner's rep project manager representing OAC project management services. Thank you for having me today. Um we're excited to work with Post Falls on this project. It's obviously a huge investment and a great opportunity for the city of Post Falls. Uh it is a partnership that we have uh between Coutney Health Multicare and Parkwood business partners. Uh obviously all great community members here within Post Falls. Uh the need for this increase in the height limit uh for the CCM zoning is really a way for us to accommodate uh the need for an efficient modern healthcare design. Uh this would allow us to get up to six stories. Um by allowing this more efficient vertically designed campus uh it in it allows us to preserve open space uh design landscaped areas for walking trails and support patient wellness and staff and public access. Uh without this resoning the plan hospital and community serving the medical campus cannot be delivered in a manner consistent with current health care standards or really the city's long-term land vision. Uh here in front of you we have this project broken down in phases. Uh the first phase is anchoring on the southwest corner of the site. Uh what would be at the intersection of Highway 41 and Prosper. Uh we are planning for an 14 bed emergency department. Uh there is going to be an advanced outpatient imaging suite. There's going to be a connected lobby space that will be a gathering space for both staff uh patients and the public and then a medical office building that will host uh clinics like orthopedics, cardiology, uh pediatrics and women's health services.

We are going to be developing the ride ofway as part of this first phase which is the development of the Zoros road which goes south of the prairie uh traffic circle and prosper uh which is on the south side of the development. Uh the plan is in working with urban renewal uh that we want to develop the road network in conjunction with our partners both Parkwood and Lakeside Development which is to our direct east. Targeting to complete this first phase in late Q4 of 2027 for the ED and the MO would be completed in early Q1 of 2028. Here you can see the future buildout of the campus. As we talked about first phase is in the lower leftand corner and we would build out in phases as we extend to the northeast. The hospital tower and the massing of the hospital would be more flanking towards highway 41 and prairie while the medical office buildings would be built out closer to the Zoros and Prosper intersections with a future parking garage plan too. and we are planning that this uh future phase buildout will be in the next uh 10 to 15 years. So as stated our resone request is basically we want to create a efficient vertically integrated design. The current height limit uh does not allow us to uh create green space, walking trails and open space that we desire on our campus. Um, and we would appreciate your guys's consideration in our reszone requests and I'm open to any questions that you might have.

Any questions? So, basically the thought is to go more vertical and then allow more land area to be open for parking, landscaping, etc., etc. Yeah, it's it's a little hard to see here, but you can see the positioning of the hospital and the mo spaces. And we have this view corridor that we want to create that's kind of like an open welcoming space with ponds and water features and walking trails. This of course would be open to the public uh to patients to visitors to staff. Uh we we really do want to uh use the environment to help with the healing process for patients.

So it's not necessarily an increase in density, building density. It's more an just an increase in the potential height of individual buildings. that and I would just call it the efficiency of the design. Okay. All right. What does six stories look like if you had to compare it to a building around here? Because I can see people's concerns with the six-story building out there when there's nothing anywhere near that height. Uh that's a good question. Off the top of my mind, I couldn't uh give you a six-story building top of mind. Um, but I think if you looked at any, um, hotel that is in the area, um,

I was going to say, fell down the street, the brand new one. Yeah, it's probably close to that. Close to that. Close to that. Yeah. And I imagine existing Cney Health is about six stories, I think, if not bigger. Yeah. Yeah. the the the tower uh that they have with the um helicopter landing pad on it, which we're not planning for this to be a trauma center, but the Cordelane campus is is about 105 ft in total height. Any other questions?

All right. Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat] Any public testimony? All right. No public testimony. No need to rebut. All right. What are we doing? Close out the hearing and look at the review criteria.

Thank you, commissioners. Uh, so we've got a zoning zone change recommendation that we'll be forwarding on to council for final approval. Prairie Medical ZC25-2 30.88 acres from CCS to CCM extensively to increase the height limitations uh from the CCS zone. Uh number one is the proposed zoning district consistent with the future land use map and focus area contained in the currently adopted postfalls comprehensive plan.

Yeah, I think that's pretty straightforward as an implementing zone. um for the highway 41 focus area as well as um the CCS and commercial or the commercial business commercial land. So, and just a a further note, this is kind of a a prime corner of our basically the two biggest transportation corridors in the city when you really think about it with Highway 41 and Prairie, at least long term, they will be. Yeah. So, if we're going to have something that's a little higher density or a little bit more of an intensive use, that corner is prime for this,

my opinion. Yeah. I think if that's if there's some place that where you would expect something of a high intensity, that would be the place. Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Okay. Thank you. Uh commissioners, uh number two, is the proposed zoning district uh consistent with the goals and policies contained in the currently adopted comprehensive plan? Yeah, I wrote down policy 45 and it says uh hospital development compatibility with um annexation and growth and just looking at the comp plan and like what we just said with criteria one it's business commercial. This is where you would think you'd see something like this.

Yeah. Specifically, goal one speaks to um grow and sustain a balanced res resilient economy for postfalls and medical centers are well known for providing um an economic boost to many communities. Um and so they not only do they bring jobs directly to them, but the ancillary businesses that pop around to pop up to support um medical centers, you know, I'm talking restaurants, um coffee stands, all these other types of businesses that [clears throat] follow along hand in hand and glove uh afterwards um go to fill that goal. Um policy 8 speaks to infill development which this is. Um it's been annexed for quite some time and so seeing this develop as infill is fantastic especially on that intersection and policy 84 speaks to u promoting businesses that provide local living wage jobs which um this is one of those as well.

Yeah. And goal two, big one. Goal two, a hospital essential community services.

Commissioner Kimbo, did you say did you say 84? I think I said 84. Okay. I I just couldn't recall. Thank you. I wrote down 84. I think I wrote it down correctly. Living wage. Yep. Yeah. 84. Thank you. [clears throat] Okay. Uh and finally, number three, uh demonstrable adverse impact discussion. Nothing was brought up in presentation or public testimony.

The only other thing I would note, commissioners, is there was a a letter to the file talking about the delivery of services um for sewer capacity. uh some some discussion was brought up as to being at capacity, but it sounds like our engineering staff and has reviewed that and has said that for these types of uses, the uh capacity exists for these anticipated uses. Just not note that.

Well, and the reality is is that a hospital can go there today um with today's zoning. It's just they're looking for a different height restriction. So, it it's almost irrelevant um whether there's capacity or not. the zone change isn't going to change that. It's just going to it's going to go from commercial to a commercial. The only difference is is a height restriction. So, from that standpoint, it's um kind of a moot point. I would think [clears throat] I I would even go further to say it's not adverse, but I would say there's a demonstrable positive impact from this potential development, and that would be um all the right of ways being developed as part of this. Mhm.

Uh it's it's significant. I mean, it's all four sides of this property are on right away. And that's that's a lot of investment dollars going back into the community for uh sidewalks, bike paths, all the landscaping that goes into there. And then on Zoros and Prosper in particular, those streets are basically not there yet. And those are going to be built as part of this. That's a major undertaking. So, Thank you. Any other commissioner discussion or are we ready to

The only concern I had uh was in regards to the CCM zone allowing residential and specifically multif family because I know that question always comes up but that's already being addressed um with the development agreement. not really concerned about that with this particular uh property owner, but I I had concerns coming in. So, I'm glad that was addressed.

Yeah, it's a good point. That was in the letter that was included. So, that was a good point to bring up. So, any other discussion? I'd like to make a motion. I move to recommend approval of file number ZC25-2 finding that the requested zoning of CCM meets the approval criteria Postf Falls Municipal Code 18.20.10 as outlined in our declaration and direct staff to prepare a zoning recommendation to be provided to city council. Okay, we have a motion. A second. Oh, couple seconds. Roll call, please. Uh, Schllethower,

yes. Wilham, yes. Walton, yes. Stephenson, yes. Triber, yes. Kimble,

yes. All right. The recommendation on the uh zoning is approved and we'll move on to city council. Next item on the agenda is Prairie Annexation file number ANNX-25-5. Open that public hearing. All right. Now we have the Prairie AMD annexation file number ANX-25-5.

[clears throat]

All right. The applicant is requesting the planning and zoning commission to forward a zoning recommendation to city council for single family residential on approximately 20 acres as part of an annexation request into the city. The project site is generally located north of West Prairie Avenue and it's about a third of a mile east of the intersection of Greens Ferry Road and Prairie Avenue. And then also you can see Highway 41 a little further off in the distance uh about at the limit of this screen to the east. Here you can see that the site is not currently within the city and therefore does not have a zoning designation. The properties to the north and east are undeveloped and are within the technology mixed zone and are intended for multif family uses and some commercial uses along Prairie Avenue. The properties to the west contain single family homes on five aur lots and these were annexed into the city in 2022 with the community commercial mixed zone and the community commercial services zone designations. The properties directly to the south across Prairie Avenue are also within the community commercial services zone. And then the applicant is requesting a zone designation of R1. As you can see on the map, there are some single family homes within the R1 and R2 zone designations further to the south in the yellow colors. And then also you can see um where the medical campus was um just forwarded on for the zoning recommendation over there on the east on Highway 41. Um the site is currently undeveloped and it's over the Roth Prairie aquifer. The water service will be provided from Ross Point for wastewater be handled by the city of Post Falls and the city does have capacity to provide service and it's willing to survive provide service um at the requested zone designation. Prairie Avenue is a principal arterial

and a critical arterial corridor and then additional rights of way and easements would need to be provided as part of annexation and road widening at the time of development. Now for the zone change criteria number one is the proposed zoning district consistent with the future land use map and focus area. The future land use designation of the subject property is transitional which is designated for areas suitable for growth. You can see that there in the purple color or the bluish color. The timing of growth is undetermined, but guidance can be found within the comprehensive plan in the focus area which is the 41 north focus area. The assigned zone should be compatible with the adjacent zones and uses and consistent with the guiding principles of the focus area. And you can see the site is adjacent to properties with land use designation of transitional to the west and south and then the business commercial designation to the north and east. The 41 north focus area states that highway 41 corridor will rival Saltis in terms of importance as a retail mixeduse residential and services district. Residential development has been predominant in recent years and it's likely to continue. So such growth is expected to spur commercial uses along Highway 41, which we just talked about in the last presentation. As this area of North Prairie of the North Prairie grows, land values may pressure development to attract a range of residential developments offering shared amenities and a variety of different housing types. To help enrich the future identity of the focus area, growth should include strategically located and carefully designated land uses, incorporating trails, interconnected walkable street network. [snorts] In this snapshot of the surrounding area, you can see there are generally residential zones to the south of Prairie Avenue in yellow and more commercial zone designations to the north of Prairie. And then when you get

closer to Highway 41, the proposed R1 zone may be compatible with properties in the immediate vicinity to the west which are currently utilized as single family homes and then further to the south of the site to there is R1 and R2 as well. The request may also be consistent with the focus area which talks about residential uses within proximity to highway 41 in order to support commercial and also as we can see medical development along the highway corridor. Justin, yes. Back to that map, please. Yeah.

Can you show us where the multifamily designation within the technology mix zone is supposed to be relative to this? Yes. Let's see. Does this have a laser?

[snorts] Hold on one moment. It was on there a second ago. [snorts] I'm not able to Oh, here we go. Come on. The mouse is not showing up. Um, it would be directly bordering the north and east side of the project site. Oh, because it's kind of like that upside down L. Yeah. Go. So, there's Oh, okay. Does that make sense? Is that clear? It It does. So, that's all going to be multif family.

Uh, as far as I know, John might be able to approximately 45 acres of that. So there there may be some that's fronting Prairie Avenue, a small little bit that may be um some other commercial type use, but because there's slightly more than 45 acres in that Tetris shaped ale.

Okay. All right. Uh for the second review criteria, um states, is the proposed zoning district consistent with the goals and policies contained in the comprehensive plan? The annexation request is consistent with goal one which looks to grow and sustain a balanced resilient economy for post falls providing community prosperity and fiscal health. The R1 zone can deliver single family homes which make up the majority of the desired housing uh product within Post Falls. An annexation of the property would allow future residential development, near commercial, and future technological services where residents would be able to live, work, and patronize these services, contributing to the economic diversity of the city. There are several factors that need to be considered when applying a new zone. We talked about the proposed zone designation being consistent with the future land use map and it may be compatible with surrounding land uses. And then the goals and policies of comprehensive plan sanitary sewer is located at the southerntherly property line and would discharge to the green fairy service basin which has capacity for the requested zone and it is in conformance with the city's water reclamation plan for traffic patterns. Prairie Avenue is classified as a principal arterial and also a critical arterial corridor. It's currently configured with two eastbound lanes, one westbound lane, and a two-way center turn lane. However, to accommodate future projected traffic volumes, Prairie Avenue would be widened to five lane configuration at the time of site development. The annexation is also consistent with goal seven, which seeks to plan for and establish types and quantities of land uses and postfalls supporting community needs and long-term sustainability. The R1 zone may help with community needs and long-term sustainability by

providing housing. It's also consistent with policy 15, which ensures that adequate land is available for future housing needs. Annexation of the subject site with the zoning request would help provide land for future housing needs at a low density in an area projected to be incorporated into the city. And upon subdivision development, roadway and pedestrian improvements would be required and completed, allowing for continuity of roadway and paths and help create future pedestrian connectivities through sidewalks and trails, which is encouraged by policy 33. The third and final review criteria, does the proposed zoning district create demonstraable adverse impact? And there have been no identified demonstraable adverse impacts identified at this time. Here's a list of the agencies that were notified. And here's a list of the agencies that we received comments. All of these agencies were either neutral or will comment at the time of development or had no facilities within the project site. Here's the review criteria one last time and then the project site. That concludes my presentation. I'm available for questions and the applicant is here this evening as well.

Questions? Can you go back to the zone map? This one? Yeah. Uh, north of Prairie, east of Greens Ferry. So, we got CCM and CCS. Is that right? Correct.

Do we remember why those were zoned that? What was supposed to go in there or what is going in there? So the area that's CCS, that's the red on the very northern part of that intersection. At the time of the application, the intent was for a storage facility to be there in that red. South of there where you see the CCM, the intent from the applicant was to do some more neighborhood or lower intense commercial along Greens Ferry and Prairie. Um do some more community service type commercialism there. And then possibly between that and the red and the CCS, they were contemplating doing more industrial storage type flex space in that location. They were looking at maybe trying to figure out how to get a a access road off Greens Ferry and have it be able to run through the middle of that uh CCM to some degree. So that was the plan on that for those. That may change whenever they develop, but Okay.

What what are the the what's the city's perspective on if this is all developed R1 and how would the roadways work? Would roadways go through R1 and then go into this the technology manufacturing zoning or into the commercial zoning? is are there concerns when we're kind of blending R1 with higher intensity commercial zones immediately adjacent or would all the traffic be sent back to Prairie and it's just a [clears throat] kind of a peninsula of residential? I know we don't have a site plan for this or anything yet. I'm just

correct some little bit of history on this. So the applicant and the applicant go in this too, but the applicant did get put into a little bit of a corner on this. the they did come forward. This is their third application. The first time they were going for a residential mixed um product in that that they were trying to blend uses to the multifamily and there was a recommendation from PNZ to council on that of which then that was denied. Then I the applicant did come forward with the multif family and it could have been reversed. It could have been one or the other didn't with the multif family application. Um there was talks that road that goes north south um into it um working on collaborating and seeing if there's access to the properties to the west and how we could maybe maybe improve that kind of circulation there being the current proposal being R1 because they've been denied for an RM been denied to for a uh CCM. Uh now they have um R3 to the north and east. So there'll be some buffering type stuff that'll happen. We'll have to coordinate that more than likely at the time of the multif family development. We'll have to buffer and mitigate its impact being adjacent to single family. Equally the product to the west when they develop would buffer and mitigate any impacts they may have on single family. As far as utilizing Lynn and going into commercial, sometimes with single family subdivisions, it's not best to m merge commercial package roads into and through residential um developments. And so more than likely without having other additional conversations with the applicant on this, I could see a lot of that traffic going westbound onto Greens Fairy, you know, and having its access on Greens Fairy because

from what I understand from engineering, they could verify this generally speaking that Lind Street's there because they're only going to want to have one access point on um Prairie between Greens Ferry and Cecil Road and That's why Lind Street, that's that one that bumps into it just to the south. And so the one access point will be into more than likely this single family subdivision. Okay. If it was approved. Sure. Any other questions?

Thank you. Invite the applicant up. [clears throat] Okay. Name for the record, please.

Good evening, Chairman Stephenson, uh, fellow commissioners. Drew Dipman, Lake City Engineering for the record. Um, here tonight to talk about 20 acres on Prairie Avenue. Um, as John had indicated, this is our third goaround with this annexation. We came in front of you guys in February of 2021 with an RM designation and received unanimous approval from PNZ. Went in front of council. Council wasn't quite ready to annex the property at the time. Had highway 41 stuff in the planning stages back then. Still council had suggest suggested they wanted to see Highway 41 get uh further along before we annex this property. So, we waited. We came back in in 2023. uh as John had indicated with an R3 in the back and commercial uh designations along Prairie received again unanimous approval from PNZ and were denied at council. Um they had suggested they didn't want to see some of the R3 perhaps R1 R2 would be more appropriate. Um and again they were worried about some commercial development and growth along Highway 41. Now, here we are two and a half, three years later. We're seeing some of that commercial growth along a lot of that commercial growth along Highway 41 as evident by the hearing before us. So, we're back in front of you guys now with an R1 designation, which we feel is where we've been directed by council to come back in front of you um with the residential use for this property. uh as as vice chair Kimell had indicated, there is multifamily uses um earmarked on the property directly to the north and directly to the northeast. Uh as John said, it's about 44 and a half 44 acres um that is earmarked for multif family development as part of that tech park. So residential uses on this property would blend in with that multif family to the north. Um we feel anyways you've got residential uh properties to the south. So, it fits in that context

as well. Um, you know, here's the zoning criteria. Justin had kind of gone through this, so I'm not going to spend much time going through it. We feel that we meet all three of these criteria. Uh, it's consistent with the future land use map and the comp plan. Uh, is designated transitional, which is um, you know, areas that are uh, suitable for growth are ready for growth. uh for highway 41 focus area [snorts] which is a mix of retail, mixed use, residential and services. Uh obviously residential development is predominant uh in this area. We're seeing a lot of it. This fits with that. Uh item three is uh are there any demonstrable adverse impacts? Um and I've kind of jumped ahead here a little bit because Justin had talked about the comp plan stuff, but there's really not any demonstrable adverse impacts. Sewer's available, water's available, uh streets, fire, police, uh school districts had not indicated any uh adverse impacts from the R1 zone that we're requesting. So, didn't mean to kind of skip through that, but Justin covered a lot of that. Uh so, I didn't want to double up on that. There's a full comp plan analysis that's in your staff report that we also submitted in our narrative that addresses um all of the goals and policies, which we've thrown some up here that we feel that it meets in the comp plan. So, I didn't want to get into into the weeds on that because you guys have already read that and seen that. So, um we're here asking for R1 designation on 20 acres. So, I'll take questions if there are any questions.

No questions. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. of testimony. All right. Wishing to speak neutral barb heights. just a name for the record. You have four minutes. I believe there should be a t timer right there and she'll she'll get it going.

Okay. My name is Barb Hitz. Um I live just south of Prairie on Mayella in this area. I am concerned because there are two bus stops between Lind Street and Greens Ferry on the north side and I frequently see traffic not stopping when the buses are picking up the students. I'm across the street. My backyard is not fenced so I get to see the traffic. I'm incredibly concerned about those drivers for the buses, the students on the buses, the students being picked up. How is this going to impact that having more houses on the other side of the street? Lynn, when I've crossed Lynn Street from the the west to the east or east to the west, I've had to really watch cars turning off of Prairie onto Lynn. So, I see that being a problem going north on Lynn. I've almost been hit a couple times as a pedestrian. And if I wasn't watching him backing up, I would have been hit. So I I just see traffic in that area as a concern. And I don't know what else to say. Thank you,

Mr. Dman. Rebuttal, please, if you like. [clears throat]

Thank you, Chairman. Uh Drew Ditman, for the record again. um [snorts] val valid concern. We can certainly work with the school district when we bring forward a subdivision on bus stops and whatnot. The school district has had the opportunity to provide comment on this and that wasn't a concern of theirs at that time. When we bring forward a subdivision, they'll have a chance to comment again and we can certainly work with them uh on on bus stops and traffic at that time. So, and then I know just just to add context, um a development that was developed north of Prairie, what is it? West of Chase. Um obviously got through here, went to city council and they put in the the little buttons for the crosswalk and stuff. So, that may be something

our RFBs. That's something we can certainly consider. And again, when we bring forward a subdivision, we will certainly work with the school district. they'll have the opportunity to comment and and if that's appropriate and we can work with Rob and and his engineering staff on that and if if they see that's appropriate we can yeah certainly accommodate that. So cool. All righty. Anything else for me? No. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Close out the hearing. Look at the review criteria. [snorts]

Okay. Commissioners uh Prairie Avenue annexation 25-5 20 acres requested R1 zoning recommendation to council. Number one is the proposed zoning district consistent with the future land use map and focus area contained in the currently adopted postfalls comprehensive plan. So I think yes and no. I think transition. Yeah, I was going to say yes and no. Yes and no. I I think uh [clears throat] it it does fit the the overall comprehensive plan and the designation for that area. I'm concerned that it's R1 in the completely circled by commercial.

Yeah. And that was one of the reasons I asked the question about what was going in that corner. That was a while ago. So, who knows what actually ultimately goes in there. And we can't Well, the corner is a commercial node. Well, yeah. And this is beyond the commercial node. So, I'd say you're transitioning from commercial, but then commercial commercial to single family back to commercial. Well, it's it's multif family. You're transitioning from multif family. There's just a to commercial in the node. Yeah. There's just a lot going on. Residential. Yeah. It it's just an unusual scenario. It it looks peace meal,

but that's not but that's not what's in front of us. It's not that we're being asked to approve something else because we actually already recommended approval of two different variations on this and city council shot both of them down. Yeah. And there and those other properties aren't being built on. So And those other properties aren't being built on right now. Yeah. [clears throat]

We can always use um I think more homes. There's a lack of variety of homes in the area as people continue to move here. And you know it does it will provide a transition from single family to the south. So on the south side of prairie it'll it'll extend single family to the north side and then transition it into multifamily. Um you know that area right now is basically single family to the south. There's red stuff on the map that hasn't been built but that area is single family.

It is true. And you know, we've there are spots in Post Falls where there are little peninsulas of single family that kind of pop into commercial areas. Um there's one on in Tillmore, a couple in Tulmore area and those seem to work out pretty well. They they buffer themselves with streets and people seem to like to live there. So um and I think a lot of them like to be close to businesses,

right? So, um, [clears throat] and I mean I think the applicant their prior applications were probably better, but um, they don't get the opportunity to, you know, you know, that'd be silly for them to come back with the same thing and get turned down again. So, I completely understand where they are. Um, and if it does fit within the focus area where there's a a mix of encouraging mixes of in of residential as well as um commercial development.

Yeah. And the commercial that's right across the street, that Prairie Athletic Center, that's a youth sports facility. So, a residential adjacent to a youth sports facility. Makes perfect sense. Right. And then furthermore, there's the city, you know, just on the southeast corner of Cecil and Prairie is the city's sports complex that is, you know, in various stages of construction. Yeah. And parks. Yeah. Parks department.

Yeah. So to summarize, commissioners, it sounds like there's concerns about the surrounding commercial uses, but generally I'm getting a nod of agreement that the proposed R1 compatibility for residential uses would be compatible with the adjacent uses, including the multif family residential uses.

I think I think when they're buffered um with our you know, our code requirements require buffers between uh commercial and residential and multif family and different types of residential. So, you know, those buffer requirements are are there. Um, so I I think it they're there for a reason. And so I think that allows for them to be adjacent and compatible.

Okay. Thank you. Uh number two, uh the proposed zoning district being R1 consistent with the goals and policies in the comprehensive plan. Policy 8 speaks to prioritizing infill, which this is. Um policy nine speaks to eliminating county islands, which this is. Um policy two speaks to infrastructure. Um, so that's that's one that the staff report hits pretty good, but you know, the Prairie Avenue is one of those uh as a major arterial prime. Yeah, whatever. Um, major arter as an arterial principal arterial in city of Post Falls that that's getting the rightway that comes with this annexation should be a priority. It comes with a premium value and um you can just ask Post Falls Highway District how much it's costing them uh on the east side of Highway 41 um because they didn't city plus falls didn't get the or didn't annex the Hughes property and now that Post Falls Highway District and and the taxpayers get the opportunity to um [clears throat] buy that right away as a premium versus get it for So, you know, there is a large infrastructure um consideration here. There there's a large benefit to the city to get both right away as well as the follow on subdivision uh infrastructure improvements to complete that rightway with. Um I think that's a big deal. I think that's going to potentially um help the school bus situation or potential school bus situation too as prairie widened,

right? Absolutely. Because this is a substantial widening to that whole section, right? I mean, even though people should stop I mean absolutely um [clears throat] I mean those red flashing lights are there for a reason. though. Um [laughter] and and hopefully [clears throat] um the the police do make an extra patrol out there or two. Um if you see that happening, uh it's it's important. Want to keep those kiddos safe.

Also, I think uh policy 15 is a big one. Adequate land for future housing needs. Um R1 housing is the number one desire of most people. the housing that people um you know that's their goal. That's what they that's what they ultimately seek and you know having more available housing helps with the price point and I think maybe here in the next few years is the economy and interest rates turn around. Having some available housing is going to create some nice opportunities for a lot of residents, present residents. Okay. Uh thank you for the discussion. Uh and finally, uh number three, the consideration of any demonstrable adverse impacts noted. And I'm not I don't recall any testimony on that issue. There were none.

Correct. There were none. Thank you. Thank you. Any other commissioner discussion? [clears throat] No. Somebody like to make a motion, please.

I'll make a motion. I move to recommend approval of prairie annexation file numbernx-25-5 to R1 finding that the requested zoning meets the approval criteria in postfalls municipal code 18.2000 as outlined in our deliberations and direct staff to prepare a zoning recommendation to be approved to city council. Okay, we have a motion on the floor. Second and a second. Roll call, please. Wilham, yes. Shriber, yes. Kimble, yes. Stephenson, yes. Schlattower, yes. Walton,

yes. All right, that zoning recommendation is approved and we'll move on to city council. Next item on the agenda, administrative staff reports. Just from the staff's perspective, just once again want to thank uh Kibby for his time. So, thank you. Thanks. And you get a duck out of here on National Ducky Day [laughter] and you can always come back and visit. Are you going to sing to me, John? You're our favorite ducky. I'll go walk down there occasionally. All right. Right. Any commissioner comments? Um Gibby, we're going to miss you. Thank you. Agreed. Okay, there's nothing else.

Move to adjourn. Move to adjourn. All in favor? I journed.