Kootenai County approves trimmed area‑of‑impact maps; orders opt‑out process, limits AOIs to 1/8 mile outside city limits

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved revised area‑of‑impact boundary maps requested by multiple cities, agreeing to shrink the proposed boundaries and directing staff to develop an opt‑out process for property owners.

The board voted to adopt the maps with a uniform limit of one‑eighth of a mile outside city limits, applied by whole parcel so properties would not be split. The measure passed by roll call: Commissioner Eberlein — “Aye”; Commissioner Duncan — “Aye”; Chair Muntari — “Aye.” The commissioners also asked staff to draft narratives and an opt‑out ordinance to accompany the adopted maps.

County and city staff had emphasized that the vote covered map boundaries only; annexation remains a separate, voluntary process requiring willing property owners and a subsequent hearing. David Callahan, the county director present for introductions, and city planners repeatedly told the board that maps are intended to allow pending annexations to proceed and to meet a December 31 statutory deadline tied to the state AOI process.

Donna Phillips, Community Development Director for the City of Hayden, summarized the city’s proposal and said it generally reduces Hayden’s existing AOI. Phillips noted statutory factors from Idaho’s Local Land Use Planning Act and emphasized that "none of us are forcing any annexations here," adding that AOIs are a planning tool tied to long‑range water, sewer and transportation plans.

Public commenters during three city items urged narrower boundaries in specific places. Jeff Harvey, speaking for the Hayden Lake Watershed Association, opposed inclusion of roughly 70 acres bounded by Honeysuckle Avenue and East Hayden Lake Road, saying the parcel is under a conservation easement and "there cannot be any development on this property." Leslie Barrios and other Coeur d’Alene residents asked the board to exclude steep hillsides east of Silver Beach from the Coeur d’Alene AOI, citing wildfire risk, limited access and reliance on individual wells and septic systems.

Rathdrum’s planner, James Agadias, told commissioners his city’s requested AOI represents a substantial reduction from prior boundaries and that Rathdrum had coordinated with neighboring cities on the proposals. Several Rathdrum residents and a local gravel‑mining leaseholder asked for opt‑out options for rural parcels and for assurances that inclusion on an AOI would not automatically change land use or trigger immediate annexation.

During deliberations, commissioners acknowledged the public’s concerns and the compressed timeline created by the state law change. One commissioner proposed — and colleagues accepted — limiting AOIs to one‑eighth of a mile outside city boundaries and ensuring the maps do not split parcels. Commissioners said that approach would provide cities the minimum boundary needed to continue annexation work already underway while reserving additional decisions about regulations and opt‑outs for later narrative‑setting hearings.

The board’s action was framed as procedural: without AOI boundaries in place, county staff and cities warned some pending annexations would be held up. Commissioners said the opt‑out process and accompanying narrative would be subject to future public hearings; staff were asked to consult legal and stakeholders before proposing the formal opt‑out procedure.

The board approved the motion and adjourned the meeting.

What’s next: staff will prepare narratives and an opt‑out process for the adopted AOI boundaries, to be presented in a future public hearing. Pending annexation applications that are contiguous to city limits may proceed, subject to each city’s annexation process and any future county narrative changes.