Hayden City planning commission advances 2040 comprehensive plan draft, outlines new rural zone and sewer rules

Hayden City planning staff presented a revised 2040 comprehensive plan land-use chapter and future land use map at a Planning and Zoning Commission workshop, and commissioners agreed to send the plan to a public hearing on Oct. 20.

The presentation, led by Don (staff member), summarized changes to the land use chapter and a new rural-zone designation intended to bridge residential suburban and agricultural zones. Don said the city began the update in August 2023, hired SCJ Alliance to assist with chapter drafting, and has since incorporated council and commission workshop input into a cleaner, consolidated chapter and maps.

The new rural zone would create a graduated set of minimum lot sizes and use rules. Under staff’s draft, residential suburban begins at a half-acre minimum; the proposed rural tiers include RU‑1 at 1 acre, RU‑2 at 2.5 acres, RU‑5 at 5 acres, and agricultural minimum lots increased to 10 acres. The draft adds dimensional minimums intended to avoid narrow, unusable parcels: lots of 2.5 acres or less would be at least 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep; 10‑acre lots would generally be at least 200 by 200 feet.

Staff proposed continuing the city’s current limit of one primary dwelling and one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per lot; ADU rules follow existing code notes. Don said certain uses common in higher-density zones would not be allowed in the rural zone, while others would be allowed only by conditional use permit so the city can evaluate impacts. Examples discussed included limiting multifamily housing (apartments and condos) from the rural zone, allowing home occupations (Class A allowed outright; Class B by conditional use), and permitting hobby beekeeping under conditional review to enable code enforcement responses to neighbor concerns.

The draft also maps airport-related buffers around the Coeur d’Alene airport and applies a 300‑foot measurement from runway protection zones to identify areas where higher‑intensity uses are inappropriate. Commercial and light industrial frontage areas were drawn along Highway 95, Government Way and other corridors; the plan notes these lines are intentionally “fuzzy” and would be refined during future zoning map amendments.

Staff outlined infrastructure expectations and limits for rural development. New lots 2.5 acres or larger would generally use private roads that the city would not accept for maintenance unless road and utilities meet city standards. For sewer and water, staff said lots of 5 acres and larger would likely rely on individual wells and septic systems; parcels between 2.5 and 5 acres may require a community water or sewer system or other solution and would often need review by Panhandle Health District. Don said the draft requires property owners using a non‑city community sewer system to sign an authorization recorded with the land committing to connect to city sewer once it becomes available, but the draft would not require abandonment of a private system for at least five years after constructing that system to allow owners reasonable use of their investments.

Commissioners discussed use‑table choices for the rural zone, including whether to allow meeting halls, recreation centers and small seasonal retail (for example farm stands) by conditional use. Several commissioners emphasized the need to avoid creating many cul‑de‑sac subdivisions that would isolate neighborhoods and increase long‑term city maintenance obligations for streets and utilities.

Staff said the land‑use chapter text will be provided as a clean draft for final review and recommended scheduling two public hearings on the comprehensive plan: one at the Oct. 6 workshop for a clean review and then a public hearing on Oct. 20. Commissioners moved to recommend the plan go to public hearing on Oct. 20; the motion passed by voice vote.