A Kootenai County developer is again proposing a resort - in fact, he emphasizes, a parking lot - south of Coeur d'Alene, after the commissioners denied the project in 2010 over safety concerns.

This time around, said Doug Anderson, owner of Big Rock Timber Development, LLC, more than $10,000 has been invested to change the design of the general project area, located on the east side of Gotham Bay Road and nine miles south of the Lake City.

"Everything is in place," Anderson said. "All we have to have is the final approval on this."

Anderson is requesting, on behalf of the Gotham Bay Estates Homeowners Association, that the county grant a conditional use permit to construct a private, nonprofit resort on 3.4 acres in the restricted residential zone.

The resort wouldn't be comprised of luxury homes or golf courses, actually, but a 16-space parking lot, crosswalk and access for the homeowners' 11-double-slip dock to the north, just across Highway 97.

"It has nothing to do with a resort. All it is, it will give us a safe parking area for the people who are using the slips," said Anderson, adding that the county Community Development department found the resort label best fit the proposal.

The county examiner assigned to the project was out of the office on Friday, and couldn't comment on why the resort title was used.

Although a small project, it has still seen enough issues to go through years of work and hearings.

The first time the project was proposed, Anderson said, the commissioners had concerns over the layout of the private docks and crosswalk.

The developer said he has since invested $10,000 to build a new pier, realign the docks and install both a ramp from the highway and a walkway to the pier.

"We've put it all together, exactly the way everybody wants it," Anderson said.

The proposal has also garnered protest from several vocal residents in the area, who are concerned the lot site is by a blind curve on Highway 97, and could pose risks for folks crossing the highway from the lot to the docks.

"Should approval be given and a serious traffic accident occur in spite of any new signage, the record of protester warnings in numerous public hearings will come back to haunt all of us," wrote Highway 97 resident Sylvia Lampard, in a letter to the county.

Some have also purported that the parking lot was created years ago, and the permit request is coming after the fact.

"With approval of this application, it would set a precedent that a lack of compliance and violations of the county ordinances justify permits," reads a letter to the county from the Little family, who live on East Gotham Bay Road.

But Anderson stands by the proposal, and pointed out that the lot will increase safety, by preventing future dock users from parking on the highway or Gotham Bay Road.

The acreage has already been logged, graveled and graded, he acknowledged, but those preparations were for a previously planned storage unit.

All that's needed is for the county to call the gravel spot a parking lot, Anderson said.

"It needs to be approved, so we can get on with this deal and have a simple, safe solution to the parking," he said.

Parking use would be limited to residents of Gotham Bay Estates, a 46-lot conservation design subdivision that Anderson said has about 7 homes so far.

John Pankratz, road supervisor with East Side Highway District, wrote to the county that Anderson is working with the district on a cooperative agreement to make improvements on Gotham Bay Road.

Anderson has already reconstructed nearly 2 miles of the road at his own expense, Pankratz added.

The county hearing examiner recommended approval of the project after an April hearing, and called the project consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and not posing an adverse effect on public interest.

A hearing is scheduled before the commissioners at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11 in room 1 of the county Administration Building.

Anderson said he has confidence in the proposal.

"We just want people to park in there and make it safe," he said.