Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council tables Mullen Avenue annexation, directs staff to negotiate zoning outcome
Summary
Council tabled the Mullen Avenue annexation (ANNX-257) after lengthy deliberation about whether to restrict future multifamily development. Council asked staff to work with the applicant on a zoning option that limits high-density residential and returns with a re-noticed proposal.
Post Falls City Council voted to table further action on the Mullen Avenue annexation (ANNX-257) on May 19 and directed staff to work with the applicant to seek an acceptable zoning solution.
Planning manager John Manley summarized the proposal: the North Idaho Surge Hospital ownership group requested annexation and CCS (community commercial services) zoning for about 4.39 acres near Seringa and Mullen Avenue. Council members raised compatibility concerns about allowing large-scale multifamily (R3) at that location and noted that the city currently lacks a commercial-only zone to offer a clean alternative to applicants who want purely commercial entitlements.
Council discussed options including denying annexation, redoing the motion without development-agreement conditions, or tabling to negotiate terms. Several councilmembers proposed alternative zoning that would allow lower-density residential (R2) or limited commercial to balance commercial use with neighborhood impacts. The applicant’s ownership group had earlier objected to a development-agreement condition prohibiting multifamily, arguing that CCS allows multifamily through the special-use process and that compatibility should instead be addressed during site-specific review.
On an informal poll and subsequent motion, the council voted to table the item and direct staff to work with the applicant to identify a zone or development-agreement language that avoids permitting 100% R3 multifamily by special use. The meeting record notes that staff would re-notice the item if substantial amendments are made and that fee/filing implications apply if the applicant re-submits.
