Officials uneasy about proposed subdivision

SANDPOINT — A 39-lot housing development is raising concerns of the Kootenai City Council and adjacent landowners.

The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider the Providence Park project at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday at the Bonner County Administration Building.

The board will recommend approval or denial to the county commission, which will conduct its own public hearing on the proposal at a later date.

A limited-liability corporation managed by developers Jeff Bond and John Gillham seeks to subdivide the parcel into lots ranging in size from 5,280-10,043 square feet. The parcel is located on the west side of Providence Road, north of Highway 200.

A traffic impact study commissioned by the developers predicts the development will generate more than 300 trips per day. A left-turn lane will be added on the highway and Providence Road will be widened, according to a Planning Department staff report.

The project would be supplied with water from the city of Sandpoint, while the Kootenai-Ponderay Sewer District would handle its wastewater.

The neighboring city of Kootenai, meanwhile, has been raising a host of concerns over the proposal, the staff report indicates.

The city of Sandpoint would supply water only if Kootenai annexes the project, something the latter city has not committed to do because of compatibility concerns and the fact that the development’s streets would be private.

Other concerns on Kootenai city officials’ minds include traffic impacts, common area access, a lack of sidewalks or pedestrian paths, and the size and placement of homes.

The city is calling on the developers designate some lots for parking, create a pedestrian path and erect a 6-foot fence on one of the boundaries. However, the Planning Department said there is nothing in county code that would require the developers to implement such recommendations.

Several neighboring landowners, the report said, are concerned about impacts to wildlife, property values, water quality and neighborhood tranquility, the staff report states.

• The staff report can be downloaded from the Planning Department’s links on the county’s website (www.co.bonner.id.us).