Post Falls City Council Meets Tuesday to Address Growth, Housing Needs

Two-thirds of Post Falls' senior renters spend more on housing than is considered affordable, a finding that has placed housing supply at the center of city planning as the community faces projections of near-doubling population growth in the next two decades.

The Post Falls City Council held its regular meeting Tuesday evening at 408 N. Spokane Street, the latest in a series of sessions addressing how a city of roughly 47,000 manages the pressures of one of Idaho's fastest-growing counties. The Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization projects Post Falls will reach 71,635 residents by 2035; city planners estimate the population could approach 100,000 by 2045 if growth continues at its historical pace.

Housing construction has not kept pace with those projections. Camoin Associates, the consultant retained by the city, delivered a Housing Needs Analysis the council adopted at its March 18, 2025 meeting. The report found nearly 2,400 new units will be needed within five years. Despite that benchmark, residential permit approvals grew only 1.6% in 2025, with roughly 300 single- and multi-family units permitted as of November 1, a total that community development officials described as on the lower end of growth over the past many years.

The council launched the most comprehensive planning effort in years on that same March date, approving an agreement to initiate the 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan Update, a 20-year land-use document structured across five phases: project management, inventory and analysis, public engagement, plan drafting, and implementation. Urban economics firm Urban3 conducted a fiscal impact workshop for the council, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, examining how development patterns shape long-term city finances.

Post Falls recorded 11.4% job growth between 2019 and 2024, more than double the 4.3% national rate, a sign of the economic momentum driving in-migration. The council also approved an ordinance at its December 16, 2024 meeting amending the Post Falls Technology Urban Renewal District through the city's Urban Renewal Agency.

Under Senate Bill 1403, the 2024 state law that revised annexation and area-of-impact rules, North Idaho cities including Post Falls were required to confirm their areas of impact with Kootenai County commissioners by the end of 2025. The council took up those boundary questions at its April 1, 2025 meeting, with decisions carrying lasting consequences for how far the city may expand its reach.

The city has also issued a scam alert warning residents and businesses about fraudulent emails soliciting application fees from Post Falls community members. Meeting agendas are posted on the city's CivicClerk portal, sessions are broadcast live on the City of Post Falls YouTube Channel, and written testimony for public hearings may be submitted through the City Council Public Hearings page on the city's website.