By Susan Drumheller, North Idaho Associate-
“If Mother Nature had a second home, it would be in Idaho,” touts The Idaho Club’s intro to its website.
But second-home sales are slowing down in the Idaho Panhandle, according to a recent article by Associated Press reporter Nick Geranios.
Geranios points to the bankruptcy of Sullivan Homes – The Idaho Club’s exclusive builder – as one example of how the housing slump has hurt home sales in North Idaho. While the economic slowdown isn’t good for folks in the building industry, it does take the pressure off county planning staffers who have been scrambling to lessen the negative impacts of growth.
Land use codes are the way counties and cities can plan for orderly growth while protecting lake and rivers, natural areas and quality of life.
This week, Bonner County Commissioners are expected to OK a new set of land use codes for the first time in 30 years.
Meanwhile, Kootenai County is looking to update its comprehensive plan and has scheduled public hearings on the plan the first week of December.
Just because some builders are disappearing in North Idaho doesn’t lessen the importance of good land use planning. Afterall, whether Wall Street or Main Street is healthy or hurting, people will still gravitate to North Idaho’s spectacular lakes, mountains and countryside.
