Three companies and nine individual landowners have asked the city of Post Falls to annex 96 acres of land at the southeast corner of state Route 41 and Prairie Avenue and to zone the property for commercial uses.


The three companies included with the annexation petition a conceptual site plan showing one way they might use their parcels.


That conceptual plan depicts three large retail structures, other buildings, and parking lots on 15 acres at the corner of SR 41 and Prairie owned by Highway 41 & Prairie Properties LLC. Representatives of that company couldnt be reached for comment, but Ken Elliott, legal counsel for Vision First LLC, of Eagle, Idaho, which owns the other two limited liability companies that sought the annexation, says the owners of the 15-acre parcel are looking for large retail users to anchor their development.


Highway 41 & Prairie Properties bought its site from Prairie Properties LLC, which owns 21 acres directly to the east, Elliott says. The third company, Tullamore Properties LLC, owns 13 acres just south of Hope Avenue, at the southern end of the proposed annexation area.


Elliott says retail and office structures and perhaps a medical building would be developed on the 21 acres owned by Prairie Properties, although it could be as long as three years before that property is developed. He says retail, office, and perhaps a sports complex likely will go in on the 13 acres owned by Tullamore Properties, which also is developing the 1,100-unit Tullamore residential development on the west side of SR 41 there.


Tammy Holmes, an administrative specialist in the citys planning and zoning department, says the companies are under no obligation to develop whats shown on the conceptual site plan.


This is an annexation proposal to bring a parcel into the city limits and zone it, she says. Were not looking at specific uses.


Collin Coles, senior planner for the city, says the zoning landowners are seeking is for whats called community commercial services, which allows for commercial and service businesses. He says residential uses also can be allowed in that zone through special-use permits.


The individual landowners who signed the annexation petition own a big block of land between Hope and Kildeer avenues and a small piece of land at the southeastern corner of the rectangular proposed annexation area. They havent submitted preliminary plans for their properties yet.


Elliott says Prairie Properties also owns 147 acres just north of Prairie and east of SR 41 that it hopes to develop for retail, light industrial, and residential purposes.


There are some indications that the development of that land could follow fairly quickly, he says.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.