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 first-home occupancy in early 2027 with overall neighborhood buildout estimated around fall 2032.

Staff and technical findings: City staff confirmed the plat complies with applicable lot-size and width requirements established for the MR zoning and the recorded development agreement. The staff report cited Rathdrum City Code (referenced in the hearing as Chapter 12.3.17) as the approval standard for preliminary plats and reported the city engineer’s memorandum finding adequate water supply and wastewater capacity to serve the proposed development at this stage.

Public comments and concerns: Public testimony included supporters and residents with concerns. Maggie Lyons, executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, spoke in favor and praised a developer commitment to make 5% of the homes deed-restricted to remain affordable with preference to Lakeland School District employees. Lyons said the model helps middle‑income workers who want to remain in the area.

Opponents and adjacent homeowners raised several concerns: residents near Corbin Crossing asked that larger R‑1 lots be concentrated adjacent to existing large-lot neighborhoods rather than scattered; others asked the developer to pay for replacement access gates where the new subdivision would remove informal rear access to private property; residents also pressed for guaranteed parks and larger common green spaces rather than drainage-only open space. Laura Fuller, a resident, asked the commission to condition approval on the addition of a small park or publicly accessible green space to align the plat with the city’s comprehensive-plan language on neighborhood open space.

Water and sewer: The city’s public works representative (identified in the hearing as the Public Works Director) told the commission the water system has capacity by daily pumpage calculations. The director said the city’s calculated pumping capacity is about 10 million gallons per day, with a recent peak of about 8.4 million gallons, leaving margin under maximum capacity. The representative and the city engineer explained pressure issues are driven by the distribution layout and topography, and that planned looping and main upgrades in the neighborhood would improve pressure and circulation in the surrounding area. The developer and city engineering staff said the plat and the DA require specific water‑line extensions and hydrant placement that will be included in construction plans.

Traffic and mitigation: The applicant submitted a traffic impact study. The developer committed to a proportionate contribution for certain intersection improvements: Hayden Homes told the commission it will contribute up to 10% of the cost or up to $150,000 toward an existing deficiency at the Lancaster and Meyer intersection. The traffic study identifies trigger points tied to the number of lots built that would require additional improvements (for example, turn pockets or lane additions at adjacent intersections). City staff and the developer said some intersection projects (including a planned Lancaster/Meyer roundabout) are already in the city/regional capital improvement program; the plat’s mitigation obligations are intended to fund the incremental impacts attributable to this development when those trigger thresholds are reached.

Lot mix, setbacks and open space: Mitchell described the planned mix of lot sizes (R‑1, R‑2, R‑3) and said city council required that each phase include a mixture of lot sizes rather than segregating smaller and larger lots. Mitchell said most lots will be about 116 feet deep, with a 25‑foot front-to-garage standard and a minimum 15‑foot rear setback under the zoning code; she said the developer’s product depths (45–62 feet) would leave 29–46 feet of rear yard behind the house footprint on typical lots. The developer also pointed to multiple linear and pocket park areas and said two larger neighborhood parks and a north‑to‑south linear pathway are part of the plat design; staff noted one low point in the northwest corner will be a drainage facility while other green parcels are intended to be programmed as amenity spaces.

Commission action: After staff and applicant presentations and public testimony, a commissioner moved to recommend City Council approval of the preliminary plat with the recommended conditions in the staff report (as provided in the meeting packet). The motion was seconded and passed; the commission asked staff to forward a written recommendation and the commission's findings to the council.

What’s next: The commission’s vote was a recommendation. The final approval authority for the subdivision rests with the Rathdrum City Council, which will receive the commission’s recommendation packet. If the council approves the plat following its review, the developer will submit construction drawings and phased construction will proceed under the terms of the recorded development agreement and required city inspections. The applicant estimated phased home starts at 4–6 per month within a phase and said phase 1 contains about 42 lots and phase 2 about 53 lots; first occupancy is forecast for early 2027 under an optimistic schedule.

Ending note: The public record for this application includes the development agreement recorded in July, the applicant’s preliminary plat drawings, the traffic impact study and the city engineer’s memos on water and sewer. Commissioners stressed that final construction drawings and agency permits (including fire district requirements) will be reviewed before construction and that mitigation commitments in the DA and the plat will be binding on the developer.