Already built parking approved

After a lengthy tug of war over legal and safety concerns at a public hearing on Thursday, the Kootenai County commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a parking area south of Coeur d'Alene that has garnered public concern.

"We're pleased they decided to approve it," said Rand Wichman, a professional planner representing applicant Doug Anderson.

The commissioners pointed out several frustrations with the proposal for a 16-space lot off Highway 97 near Gotham Bay Road, which would provide parking for private docks across the highway.

Commissioner Dan Green voted against the project.

He considered it inappropriate, he said, that the parking area was proposed as a private resort, as the county has no official use designation for a parking lot in a residential zone.

"I'm struggling that somebody picked that this was the closest one," Green said. "Close, in my book, doesn't count."

It would have been more fitting, Green added, if the lot had been proposed at the same time as the development Gotham Bay Estates, which the docks and lot are intended for.

"It's frustrating that it all couldn't happen at the same time," he said.

Commissioner Jai Nelson was irked that the lot seemed to be completed already.

Anderson, owner of Big Rock Timber Development, LLC, has already made the gravel lot, she pointed out, which was previously intended for a storage facility.

He has also obtained a state permit and installed signage for a crosswalk from the lot to the docks.

"It's really like a slap in the face, that this is all done," she said. "I don't appreciate being backed into a corner."

But there is no way to prohibit folks from parking there now, she pointed out.

Commissioner Todd Tondee agreed with neighbors' worries that the lot is near a risky curve in the road for traffic.

But if folks can't use the lot, they'll park on the highway, he pointed out.

"I think this is a better situation than parking on the road," Tondee said.

Harrison resident Bev Twillmann, who testified that accidents might occur because of the parking lot's pedestrians, was upset by the commissioners' approval.

"This is a precedent," she said. "Do what you want and ask for forgiveness."

Anderson and his spokesperson preferred not to comment further.

Thursday's hearing was continued from another held earlier in the month, following a site visit.

Conditions were tacked onto the approval, requiring county approval for any major changes to the site. The lot must also remain private, and the streamline buffer zone be marked.

Tondee said there were fewer safety issues in Anderson's proposal than in an earlier proposal, which was rejected by the previous board of commissioners.

"I think the applicant has addressed some of the concerns from the last hearing," Tondee said.