Post Falls considers 1,000-acre annex

In a city sick of urban sprawl, Post Falls officials are considering inflating the city’s geographic footprint by more than 15 percent and edging the city limits farther into the prairie.

The developer of the newest plot – 108 acres north of Prairie Road between Spokane Street and Chase Road – was given permission by the city council to apply for annexation this month. It joins the ranks of 560 additional acres, including a parcel owned by Philips Edison & Company north of Prairie Road straddling Highway 41and a Hayden company-owned piece east of Highway 41, north of Poleline Avenue.
City administrator Eric Keck said an additional 450-acre plan is being submitted for annexation in the near future.
“The more we annex the more it costs us in terms of expanding services,” he said. “Every interaction requires a trip with a car, whereas infill has the opportunity for multimodal transportation.”
The city’s ideal would be to focus development efforts around infill rather than annexation.
Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency’s executive director Luke Malek said encouraging infill is one of the URA’s top goals. Additionally, focusing on infill leaves more green space on the prairie.
 “Open space is part of our identity in the northern part of the state,” Malek said.
City planner Collin Coles voiced a concern in a letter that a new supply of open land for development would take away some pressure to fill in the dead space throughout the city.
And Keck said developers need that pressure.
“Infill is harder to get developers to do because they have to fit the project into the existing urban fabric,” he said. “A lot of them come in thinking it’ll be easier to go out on a big green field and build a big development from scratch.”
Downtown development does have potential, though. City officials are hoping the new city hall and the Post Falls Landing project (new residential, retail and office space) in the city center will increase traffic flow in the area and make it more attractive to developers.
The annexation applications all come at an important time, Keck said. The planning and zoning commission is considering the city’s SmartCode, a mandate for smarter neighborhoods – meaning sustainability by being pedestrian friendly and having live-work-play potential.
“We really want change and we’re never going to see that change unless new ordinances are put into place,” Keck said.
But by applying before the SmartCode is adopted, developers are getting a foot in the door so they won’t be required to live up to the tougher standards.
Keck said the annexations are not necessarily bad things. The city will have to make sure they approach the applications in an educated way to ensure the decision they make will be smart for the city, especially in terms of available public services.
Keck said the most recent property approved to apply for annexation has shown a willingness to conform to the SmartCode. That property is owned by MCD Properties and will eventually be home to a mixed-use development.
John Magnuson, a MCD partnership member, said the project is a natural extension of city boundaries. He said the proposed SmartCode designation will allow for the “lion’s share” of the housing to be workforce housing, which will come in handy for employees of the nearby Cabela’s and the big box store proposed by Philips Edison.
 “Everyone gives lip service to the phrase ‘workforce housing,’ and it’s almost cliché to utilize that phrase,” he said. “But … you can’t just turn on the faucet and have workforce housing.”
Planner Collin Coles said each development will have to be considered independently and with the public’s comment.
“Each property is different, each property has its pluses and minuses, each has its challenges,” he said. “(The council) has to weigh all those things and make a reasoned decision, and that’s about all (the community) can ask of them. They do have the city’s interests at heart. There are lots of issues on the table when talking about annexation or development – they have to consider jobs, homes, streets, classrooms. All those issues weigh in; some are easily resolved and some are not. It’s a tough decision.”