Council closes public hearing on Hayden Sky PUD and tables final decision for further review

A public hearing on the final Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the Hayden Sky project drew detailed presentations from the applicant and staff on March 25 and ended with the city council tabling deliberations until an April 8 meeting to allow more time for review of traffic mitigation, phasing and related infrastructure.

The project: Applicant representatives told the council the Hayden Sky site — roughly 127 acres that had been annexed with prior conditions — would provide a mix of housing types and a limited light‑industrial area. Eric Olson of Olson Engineering and Dale Rainey of Rainey Design Group described a plan for up to 411 dwelling units (a reduction from a prior 412) in four construction phases, and the dedication of 15 acres for a city park.

“Out of the staff report it says per the written decision of the approval in concept of the Hayden Sky preliminary PUD, this requirement has been met in concept,” Olson said, describing changes from the preliminary layout and the utilities approach. He detailed proposed road connections, utility mains, and a rear‑loaded townhome area with two‑car garages and overflow parking.

Staff and applicant presentations

Donna (city planning staff) summarized the code standards for final PUD approval, the conditions carried forward from the preliminary approval and agency comments. She said the Hayden Lake Irrigation District and the city had provided will‑serve letters for water and sewer, and that stormwater treatment is expected through grassy swales consistent with city street sections, with detailed review at construction plan submittal.

Dale Rainey described parks, buffers and landscape plans, saying the 15 acres required by annexation would be split into a larger active southern park (sports courts/fields) and a smaller northern pocket park. He said park construction was scheduled for Phase 3 and that the developer would pay park improvement costs and then dedicate the land to the city; the city would be responsible for long‑term maintenance.

Traffic, intersections and mitigation

Traffic drew sustained council attention. The applicant proposed traffic mitigation that would include signalized intersections at Hayden & Hutter and Hayden & Carrington, to be constructed early in the pro‑rata phasing. Olson said the project team plans to “front‑load” construction of the signalized intersections and seek credit for developer contributions against later impact fees.

Councilmembers and staff repeatedly asked whether the traffic impact analysis (TIA) and the proposed mitigations will produce durable, long‑term safety improvements. Donna told the council the TIA identifies mitigation requirements; if those mitigations are built to the city’s satisfaction the intersections would meet the city’s minimum level‑of‑service standard in the modeled year.

Other technical points

- Utilities: Hayden Lake Irrigation District is the water purveyor; the City provided a will‑serve letter for sewer into the H7 basin and adjacent lift station. - Airport and buffers: The Coeur d’Alene Airport requested avoidance of bird‑attracting landscaping and is constructing a berm; staff and applicant proposed to coordinate with the airport on buffer details. - Setbacks and lot sizes: The developer sought common PUD exceptions (reduced combined side setbacks to a 15‑foot minimum, varied front/rear tradeoffs and townhome standards). Townhomes are rear‑loaded with internal circulation. - Park timing: Parks were proposed to be designed in Phase 2 and constructed in Phase 3; applicant estimated roughly two to three years per phase and suggested a 10‑year PUD completion timeframe. - Odor/utility easements: Staff recommended an odor easement to be recorded on plats as required by Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board and other easements and covenants for utilities and park dedication.

Public comment and applicant rebuttal

No public commenters signed up at the council meeting to speak during the PUD public comment period; the council received several written comments in opposition prior to the hearing that raised safety, school capacity and neighborhood character concerns. In rebuttal the applicant emphasized the benefits of early intersection construction and said the phased approach would begin infrastructure improvements before the bulk of homes are occupied.

Council action

After questions and deliberation, the council voted to table final deliberations on the Hayden Sky final PUD to the regular council meeting set for April 8 at 5:00 p.m. to allow members additional time to consult with staff and review TIA details and other outstanding infrastructure questions. The motion to table passed by roll call vote with councilmembers recorded as voting yes by the clerk (Council Member Schaeffer, Council Member White, Council President and Council Member DePriest were recorded as voting in favor).

What comes next

If the council resumes deliberations and approves a final PUD they will do so with conditions to secure infrastructure construction (including traffic mitigations), dedication of parkland and recorded easements and CC&Rs for homeowner association maintenance of common areas. If approved, construction plans and final plat approvals will follow the development agreement and will require detailed construction drawings and easement documentation.