County seeks coordination after unrequested Aquifer Protection District referral from Hayden staff
Summary
Kootenai County Community Development told commissioners that staff in the City of Hayden sent a referral to the Aquifer Protection District without county coordination; county staff said future referrals should be routed through county staff so the county can respond or notify cities when developments fall within critical recharge overlays.
Kootenai County Community Development staff told commissioners Jan. 23 that the county learned a City of Hayden staff member had sent a referral to the Aquifer Protection District (APD) without notifying county staff.
"The city of Hayden staff without contacting anyone sent a referral to the Aquifer Protection District on a project within the city limits. The chair reached out to me and said what's going on? I said I have no clue," David Callahan, director of community development, said. Callahan said he contacted APD staff and advised that future referrals be routed to county planning staff so the county can coordinate responses and pass matters to the Planning Commission as appropriate.
Callahan said the APD is not a regulatory body and that the county could act as a conduit for information when developments overlap critical recharge areas. He described work underway to create an overlay in the county's GIS system showing critical recharge areas; where a development falls inside that overlay, the county may want to notify a city.
"We could drive it. We might need to show up at an APD meeting and just tell them we're doing this," Callahan said, adding that staff can coordinate outreach when APD information is relevant to municipal projects.
Commissioners agreed with Callahan's approach. No changes to county policy or formal referrals were made during the meeting; the discussion was informational and aimed at improving coordination between county staff, APD, and municipalities such as Hayden.
No formal action was taken.
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