Rathdrum planning commission recommends approval of Solara preliminary plat after public hearing

The Rathdrum Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 15 recommended that the City Council approve the Solara preliminary long plat, a Hayden Homes proposal to subdivide about 157 acres at the southeast corner of Bacall and Meyer into 436 residential lots (in 10 phases) and about 21 industrial lots. The applicant said the development is subject to a recorded development agreement that memorializes traffic, utility and open-space commitments discussed during an earlier rezoning.

The recommendation follows a staff presentation and a public hearing that drew residents, an affordable-housing advocate and developer representatives. Commissioners asked for and received technical clarifications on water availability and pressure, traffic mitigation timing and the proposed mix of lot sizes. After debate the commission moved to recommend approval with the conditions listed in the staff report; the motion passed.

Why it matters: The Solara plat would add hundreds of single-family lots and industrial parcels to Rathdrum and obligates the developer to specific infrastructure improvements and funding commitments laid out in the development agreement and the project's technical studies. The scale of the project and the engineering commitments — especially for water and traffic — shaped most public comment and staff questioning.

Hayden Homes representative Sabrina Mitchell, identified as a forward planning manager with Hayden Homes, summarized the project and emphasized that the site was rezoned earlier this year and a development agreement (DA) was recorded in July. Mitchell said the proposal would retain about 33 acres for industrial use and rezoned roughly 124 acres for mixed residential (MR) with a mix of R‑1, R‑2 and R‑3 lot sizes. "This is not gonna be in 1 year," Mitchell said of buildout, noting the developer expects phased construction and estimated…