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Lewiston council amends comprehensive plan to require groundwater considerations
Summary
The City of Lewiston approved a resolution to amend its 2044 comprehensive plan to incorporate state law requiring local plans to consider effects on source, quantity and quality of groundwater.
The Lewiston City Council on Sept. 22 approved Resolution 2025-21 to amend the city's comprehensive plan to add language requiring planners to consider the effect of plan changes on groundwater quantity, quality and source.
Assistant City Planner Katie Hollingshead told the council the change reflects a new requirement in state law and that the amendment would insert the statutory language into two places in the city's comprehensive plan. "The amendment that is in front of you tonight is to add that specifically to our comprehensive plan," Hollingshead said.
Hollingshead said the revision implements recent changes in Idaho law (cited in the staff packet as Idaho Code section 67-6508 and related language) that direct local governing boards to consider how proposed amendments, repeals or adoptions of comprehensive plans affect groundwater. She told the council the packet included the exact text showing where edits would appear in the physical plan (page 99 and page A-113 of the plan document provided to council).
Council members asked how the new wording would be applied in practice. Councilor Wright asked whether "reasonably available" surface water is defined and who would decide disputes about availability. City Attorney Jennifer Tingano replied that "reasonably available is defined in Idaho code" and directed councilors to Idaho Code section 67-6537 for the statutory criteria.
Councilors also discussed the local effect. Hollingshead said the provision primarily affects the orchards area of the city where dual water sources exist and that current projects already underway would not be subject to retroactive change. She said the Planning and Zoning Commission held a prior public hearing and recommended the amendment; her staff packet noted support from Lewis & Orchards Irrigation District and the Idaho Water Users Association at the commission hearing.
Councilor Schroeder moved to approve Resolution 2025-21; Councilor Forsman seconded. The council voted unanimously to adopt the amendment (recorded vote: Council President Klieberg, Councilor Wright, Councilor Forsman, Councilor Schroeder, Councilor Spickelmeyer, Councilor Klein — ayes). The resolution updates the Lewiston 2044 comprehensive plan to incorporate the state-directed groundwater consideration language.
The amendment is textual: it adds the statutory requirement to the plan's groundwater and plan-adoption sections and does not itself change zoning or authorize any specific development. Any future land-use applications will be reviewed under the amended plan language and applicable state statute.
Provenance: first related remarks appear when staff opened the CPA 25-1 public hearing and introduced the amendment; the council later voted on Resolution 2025-21 to enact the change.
