Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Rathdrum OKs agreement to accept water-line easement from Ragnar Aristad Living Trust; zoning clarification to follow
Loading...
Summary
Council authorized an agreement to accept a free utility easement from the Ragnar Aristad Living Trust for a Lancaster Road water line; in exchange staff will help clarify an older zoning ordinance (Ordinance 356) about the first 500 feet of a parcel, with any rezoning or ordinance text to return to council later.
The Rathdrum City Council voted to authorize the mayor to execute an agreement with the Ragnar Aristad Living Trust that will allow a water line to be routed along Lancaster Road to serve a southern area of the city.
Under the agreement the landowner will grant the city a utility easement across the trust’s property at no cost. In exchange, the city staff agreed to work with the landowner to clarify an older ordinance (identified in the packet as Ordinance 356) that the trust says ambiguously describes the first 500 feet of the parcel as commercial. Staff explained the correction could be pursued either by drafting an amending ordinance that clarifies the prior ordinance text or by assisting the owner with a rezoning application for additional acreage; staff said that either action would return to council for formal land-use action.
City staff explained the issue arises from a discrepancy between a hand-drawn map that was incorporated into the older ordinance and the city’s current GIS-based zoning map; staff overlaid the ordinance map onto GIS and measured the commercial designation at roughly 500 feet. Staff said the easement would permit the city to install a needed water loop while avoiding larger roadway excavation and costs.
Council moved and approved authorization for the mayor to execute the agreement accepting the easement. Staff noted the timing of the landowner’s choice of options will determine when any ordinance or rezoning application would return to council; no promise of rezoning was made in the agreement. Staff also said the easement paperwork included a short deadline for the owner to provide easement materials in the near term.
Next steps: staff will coordinate easement recording and, if the landowner requests, prepare the ordinance amendment or a rezoning application for future council consideration.
