Our way of life perishing for lack of vision

On Thursday, Aug. 17, the Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the proposed 117-unit Providence subdivision. If you live or work in Kootenai, especially on Providence Road, I ask you to pay close attention.

In 2012, when a development of only 39 homes was proposed on the same site, the city of Sandpoint would only agree to grant water rights if it annexed the subdivision into Kootenai.

Inexplicably, in 2023, the developer was granted a "will serve water" from Sandpoint for more than three times the number of homes in the 2012 plan.

The developer has chosen not to annex into Kootenai so as to avoid impact fees for its roads and services, yet somehow managed to acquire water rights from the city of Sandpoint.

If the zoning board approves this, the developer will pay for none of the added stress on Kootenai’s roads and services, despite the inevitable impact that these 117 additional units will have on the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, this subdivision is likely to be rubber-stamped.

How is this acceptable given the amount of growth in the last 11 years?

The city of Kootenai will get nothing but more traffic congestion and the environmental consequences of water runoff created by the removal of 40 acres of cedars and cottonwoods from the site of the proposed development.

As proposed, this subdivision will add roughly 1200 trips a day off Providence Road, and there will only be one ingress and egress.

At the very least, an alternative route would diffuse traffic congestion — already an issue on Highway 200 and Kootenai Bay road — and allow residents on Providence Road to evacuate in the event of a catastrophic fire such as the one that leveled Paradise, Calif., where there was a similar lack of alternative routes. 

But no, thanks to the city of Sandpoint’s "will serve" letter for water, the well-being of this community's residents is being put at risk in favor of saving the developer money. This is your local government operating at its worst. Not demanding a withdrawal of the "will serve" letter is a license for this and, worse to come, to your backyard. Your comments are needed. Our way of life is perishing for lack of vision.

JEANELLE SHIELDS

Sandpoint