City and county consider plans for growth

It is no secret the city of Idaho Falls is growing. Elected officials from both the city and Bonneville County held a special joint meeting on Wednesday morning to talk about the area of impact.

The area of impact is something that is required by the local planning act, which is an agreement between the city and the county. Elected officials discuss where the city intends to grow.

This is the city’s first request since 2001.

Over the past two years, the city of Idaho Falls Planning and Zoning Division has been making recommendations, which includes an area-of-impact map boundary and a policy agreement between the city and county leaders.

The city and county met to follow through with what the law requires next.

“Once Planning and Zoning makes their recommendations, the elected officials then have to consider those recommendations, and if they agree, then we’ll proceed with adopting those ordinances,” said Brad Cramer, the director of community services. “If the two bodies disagree, we’ll keep working to try and come to an agreement, or there’s some processes in place that are set up when the two entities can’t agree.”

Cramer says that Wednesday’s morning’s discussion was positive.

There will be at least two more meetings before anything is finalized.