A First District Court judge has ordered that the approval of a protested luxury resort at Neachen Bay be remanded back to the Kootenai County commissioners, to weigh new information.

Judge John Luster's order, issued on Jan. 30, requires the commissioners hold another public hearing on the Gozzer Bay Resort project to consider additional evidence, now that a county hearing examiner has rescinded the developer's site disturbance permit.

That might not be enough to change the commissioners' minds on approving the project, said Scott Brown, land consultant representing the Harrison couple who appealed the site disturbance permit and then petitioned the court to augment the record.

"We knew it would be remanded, but this is not the entire case," said Brown, representing Tom and Connie Fudge who live near the project site. "This is one small portion."

The Fudges' petition is what resulted in Luster's order.

Discovery Squaw Bay Land, LLC requested a condominium plat for a lakeside 15-guest cabin resort last spring.

The resort proposal, which included multi-million dollar units ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 square feet with multiple stories, garnered opposition from neighbors concerned about compatibility and whether the project was a residential use proposed in a commercial zone.

"Residential uses of this magnitude are not allowed in commercial zones," Brown insisted.

The county's Community Development Department approved a site disturbance permit for the project, and the commissioners approved the plat 2-1 last August.

But Examiner Lisa Key rescinded the project's site disturbance permit in November, following an appeal by the Fudges.

In her findings, Key stated that the application was incomplete, as calculations for the site disturbance only included the resort's driveway and parking area, not the guest cabins.

That could be a significant factor in the plat approval, Brown said.

"(The commissioners) were making their approval based on the assumption that the developers had an approved site disturbance permit for the entire project," said Brown, with Hometown Development Services.

In light of the examiner's decision, Luster wrote in his order, the commissioners should hold another hearing on the project and issue a final decision.

But they can only consider information related to the site disturbance permit, he stipulated.

That's a pretty limited scope to re-examine the case, Brown noted.

"This is really a smaller instance in a bigger pattern," he said.

Commissioner Dan Green said the elected officials are prepared to follow the court's order.

"We respect the court's wishes," he said. "I'll do my job."

The order's condition to only consider the site disturbance permit will "keep the discussion very focused," Green said.

A hearing before the commissioners has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 in room 1 of the Kootenai County Administration Building.

Discovery Squaw Bay Land is associated with Discovery Land Company, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. The developer is also known for its Gozzer Ranch golf and lake club project in Coeur d'Alene, and for proposing a land swap with the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts to take ownership of Camp Easton at Gotham Bay.

Sandy Young with Verdis planning and landscape architect firm, representing Discovery, noted that the project was found in compliance of county code by both the commissioners and the county Community Development Department.

"Discovery Squaw Bay Land, LLC is hopeful that the board (of commissioners) will reaffirm their original decision and back their Community Development director's decision," Young stated.