From the KEA Board of Directors: If you value the life you enjoy in the county, we urge you to support the adoption of the county’s Unified Land Use Code. The code will implement the newly adopted comprehensive plan and replace current codes that are decades old. Right now the new code is being assaulted by people claiming their private property rights will be taken more »
Although it seems to have fallen on deaf ears, here’s a great letter from conservative east side Republican Chris Fillios to the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee regarding the Unified Land Use Code controversy. It’s not just KEA with concerns about the “property rights” concerns: I understand tonight’s Republican Central Committee meeting is for the purpose of passing the resolution re: the ULUC, ensuring the more »
One more thing on the unenlightened ULUC opposition. Opponents need to recognize that being against the new code has the same effect as being for the old one. Until a new code is passed, the old one is still in effect. The purported “property rights” issues in the ULUC already exist — in the current code. But much worse. The reality is that Idaho state more »
Wow. I leave town and two weeks later, crazy takes over. From relentlessly sunny Southern California, I noted the recent and growing uproar over Kootenai County’s land use code re-write. And from here, where the sprawl goes on and on and on for miles, the growing opposition to Kootenai County’s Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) project appears to be either pointlessly obstructionist or appallingly uninformed. more »
Yesterday, the CDA Press reported that the Kootenai County Commissioners were “scrapping a proposal to expand shoreline protection requirements” in the re-writing of the zoning and development codes. And, in one sense, it is true that the Commissioners and the consultant and the Advisory Committee panel have gone back to the drawing board. But rather than this being some political victory for property rights, or more »
We caught this press release (pdf) over at Huckleberries Online, and it is an important development in Kootenai County’s ULUC land use code project. One of the major difficulties in any zoning code overhaul is what to do with properties that already exist and would be allowed under an old code, but not allowed under the new one. Kootenai County ‘s consultant is suggesting a more »
We got word from some dedicated ice climbers that Kootenai County Parks and Waterways is considering the sale or disposal of Chilco Falls Park, one of the best ice-climbing spots in the entire inland northwest. Difficult to find, difficult to access, and with no park amenities whatsoever, the property is being considered for surplus, with the proceeds of any sale rumored to go toward facilities in more »
We’ve been looking for a good primer on “property rights” to help people understand the debate when it comes to re-writing our land use codes in Kootenai County. And lo and behold, there’s a superb piece on the website dedicated to the project. We re-publish it here in hopes that more people read it and understand it and reject the silliness being promulgated by some more »
With the remarkable rains over the last weeks, our waterways are both swollen with water, but also choked with pollution. Streams are running the color of chocolate. Stormwater runoff is probably the most significant problem for our region’s water quality. Unfortunately, there is very little being done to stop the flow of pollutants. In fact, a preliminary survey of industrial stormwater in Kootenai County indicates more »
