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Rezone For Lake Coeur d'Alene Dock Project Draws Criticism

Kenneth W Cook image

Plans for rezoning a parcel of property along Lake Coeur d'Alene are coming under fire from nearby residents. The proposed development could include a large dock and perhaps a building.

North Idaho Maritime owner John Condon is asking Kootenai County to rezone a half acre in Wolf Lodge Bay as commercial. It is currently zoned as restricted-residential.

Condon’s plans call for construction of a large dock to unload dock building materials. The permit application refers to it as a commercial-industrial project.

The plans aren’t sitting well with some, like Janet Torline, who sits on the board of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance.

She says the rezone would have to comply with law that says any change should meet with current and future land uses of that area, which at this time are non-commercial recreational sites, except for one commercial campground.

Also of concern, kokanee salmon habitat.

“To the west of him is very deep water with lots of salmon spawning beds, and the right of this little half acre thumbprint is shallow water, and that’s where the kokanee fry when they hatch. It’s the shallower water they go in to develop,” Torline said.

Another worry is the potential for problems with increased traffic on the narrow lake road.

“It’s on probably the most blind corner of Highway 97. It has the highest accident rate of any section of the road. In my way of thinking, having driven that road for all these years, it’s just a terrific accident waiting to happen,” she said.

The Kootenai County Commissioners are holding a public meeting to take comment on the rezoning proposal on Wednesday at 6pm at the Kootena County Adminstration Building in room one on the lower level.

Our call for comment to planner Rand Wichman, who is working on the project with North Idaho Maritime, was not returned.

 

Steve was part of the Spokane Public Radio family for many years before he came on air in 1999. His wife, Laurie, produced Radio Ethiopia in the late 1980s through the '90s, and Steve used to “lurk in the shadowy world” of Weekend SPR. Steve has done various on air shifts at the station, including nearly 15 years as the local Morning Edition host. Currently, he is the voice of local weather and news during All Things Considerd, writing, editing, producing and/or delivering newscasts and features for both KPBX and KSFC. Aside from SPR, Steve ,who lives in the country, enjoys gardening, chickens, playing and listening to music, astronomy, photography, sports cars and camping.