To prevent state Route 41 in Kootenai County from becoming a commercial strip, the city of Post Falls is seeking a consultant to draft a master plan that would govern future development of the highway and adjacent property.


Post Falls received a $100,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration to develop the master plan, and has issued a request for proposals from consultants, says Gary Young, the citys planning director.


Unlike previous efforts at guiding the future development of State Route 41, the new master plan will address how changes made to the highway, which heads north out of Post Falls onto the Rathdrum prairie, will impact adjacent landowners, the community, the environment, and the economy, he says.


The crux of the project is to look at the effects of highway preservation and land use on the community, he says.


By highway preservation, Young says he means maintaining (the north-south routes) integrity as a traffic mover and a highway as opposed to turning it into a commercial strip much like old U.S. 10 did, which we all know as Seltice Way.


Restricting highway access is one method of accomplishing that, but restricted access can negatively impact landowners who have property along the highway, he says.


Through the master plan, Well want to know what options those properties will have to mitigate that impact, Young says. The master plan also will detail potential funding sources for whatever recommendations it comes up with, he says.


Once its finished, the master plan will act as a framework, guiding policy decisions on everything from land use to road construction, he says.