Kootenai County has no general tree-removal permit, but the distinctive Shoreline Management Area rule (County Code 8.7.111) protects trees and vegetation within 25 feet of Lake Coeur d'Alene and the rivers. Removal there is limited and mechanical disturbance needs a Shoreline Management Plan.
The county's tree-protection mechanism is the Shoreline Management Area, established 25 feet in slope distance landward of the ordinary high water mark of all recognized lakes, the Coeur d'Alene River and the Spokane River. Within it, tree removal and shrub trimming to create a view corridor are allowed only within Shoreline Management Code limits. Mechanical ground disturbances not otherwise permitted may be allowed only if the applicant demonstrates the need through a Shoreline Management Plan prepared by a design professional and Community Development finds the water-quality risk is no greater than doing the work by hand. Vegetation removal is permitted for approved wildfire-mitigation plans or noxious-weed abatement. Outside the shoreline zone, inland tree removal needs no county permit.
Unauthorized vegetation removal or ground disturbance in the Shoreline Management Area is a site-disturbance code violation; Community Development can require restoration/replanting and assess penalties.
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Kootenai County, ID
Kootenai County has no ordinance banning backyard composting; home composting of yard and food scraps is allowed. Compost must not become a nuisance (odor, v...
Kootenai County, ID
Kootenai County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating artificial turf on residential lots. Standard site rules still apply near water: replacin...
Kootenai County, ID
Kootenai County does not require or prohibit native-plant landscaping generally, but along the shoreline it actively encourages native vegetation: the county...
Kootenai County, ID
Kootenai County has no ordinance banning rain barrels. Rainwater collection in Idaho is governed by state water law: Idaho allows collecting rainwater and di...
Kootenai County, ID
Kootenai County itself sets no countywide lawn-watering schedule. Outdoor watering limits, if any, come from your city or your water/irrigation provider. Und...
Kootenai County, ID
Idaho law makes weed control mandatory: every landowner must control noxious weeds on their property at their own cost (Idaho Code 22-2407). Kootenai County'...
See how Kootenai County's tree removal permits rules stack up against other locations.
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