Kootenai County hears Post Falls AOI maps as residents raise concerns about notice, sewer costs and annexation

Kootenai County commissioners on Dec. 18 heard a multi-hour presentation from Post Falls staff and dozens of public commenters on ORA25-0009, the proposed “area of city impact” (AOI) maps that will define where cities and the county coordinate planning and where annexation may be more likely.

Community Development Director David Callahan told the board the principal effect of the proposed maps and the accompanying text amendments will be to reduce the degree of city regulation that currently applies in many places, because county land-use rules will govern in the AOI unless a city’s later text amendments say otherwise. "An area of impact map does not require annexation," Callahan said, adding that staff sent roughly 4,500 postcards notifying owners and entered public responses into the record.

Warren Wilson, Deputy City Administrator for Post Falls, outlined the city’s approach to drawing AOI boundaries under the recent state law changes. He said AOIs now focus on parcels "very likely to be annexed within the next five years," are limited to locations within two miles of city limits, and should reflect where utilities and transportation improvements are planned. "It protects the ability of property owners to annex. That's it," Wilson said, stressing that annexation requires a willing property owner and a willing city council.

Wilson also summarized Post Falls’ infrastructure planning: the city’s wastewater master plan (most recently updated in 2019), plans to move toward land application of treated effluent in the 2030s, and the preservation of about 1,000 acres for that use with an additional roughly 600 acres sought (Wilson described the 1,600‑acre total as a rough estimate). He told the commissioners the city’s transportation master plan includes about 91 projects in the impact area with an estimated cost near $400 million spread through 2045.

Much of the hearing was taken up by public comment. Supporters such as civil engineer Gabe Gallinger urged the board to approve the maps to help cities plan utilities and transportation; Gallinger said staff had "done a lot of work" and called the maps beneficial. Multiple property‑owner speakers — including Ray Kimball, who said he represented several clients with roughly 1,200 acres — urged adoption so owners would avoid regulatory limbo and preserve development options.

Many residents expressed concerns about notice, costs and the possibility of incremental annexations. Tamara Lowe said only four of the 37 households in her neighborhood received mailed notice and asked how long‑time residents and livestock owners would be protected from being compelled to connect to sewer systems or otherwise lose their way of life. Multiple speakers, including Vince Hughes, pressed the county and city to provide clearer data demonstrating which parcels are "very likely" to be annexed within five years; Hughes estimated Post Falls’ AOI included about 7,000 acres (an estimate he attributed to his reading of materials and public records), a number city staff did not confirm during the hearing.

County legal staff clarified how annexation consent works under the annexation statute cited in the hearing. Pat Braden, civil deputy prosecutor, said consent must be reduced to writing and recorded with the county recorder (as described by Braden), a step that would be visible on a property's chain of title.

City staff addressed several resident questions in a rebuttal: Post Falls said the city does not have authority to impose local improvement districts (LIDs) on properties that remain outside city limits; consent to annexation is handled through a recorded document; the city’s typical noticing uses bright yellow signs, mailings within 300 feet of a parcel and newspaper/website postings; and impact/connection fees are generally structured so developers pay for much of new infrastructure when feasible.

The hearing ended without a final vote. Commissioners recessed for 20 minutes and planned to reconvene at 1:25 p.m.; a commissioner said the board could proceed to vote on the Post Falls AOI when it returned. Any formal adoption, or subsequent text amendments that would change applicable regulations in the AOI, would follow separate noticing and hearing processes.

What to watch next: the board’s reconvening and any vote on ORA25-0009, the separate hearings when cities propose AOI‑related text amendments, and the county’s comprehensive plan public engagement the staff referenced as the place to raise detailed infrastructure and growth‑management concerns.