COEUR d'ALENE - Responding to outcry from waterfront property owners, the Kootenai County commissioners announced on Wednesday that they are scrapping a proposal to expand shoreline protection requirements.

To assuage concerns over property rights, the commissioners stated that the county will retool its proposed shoreline regulations, with the goal of allowing more flexibility for construction and improvements within and along the shoreline.

"Listening to all sides," said Commissioner Dan Green of what prompted the change. "It gives (waterfront property owners) predictability, and protects their investments and protects water quality, the goal for all the groups."

The county has recently fielded protests over its proposed Unified Land Use Code, an ongoing effort to update county development ordinances, due to the inclusion of a secondary buffer for waterfront parcels, set at a maximum 75 feet.

Currently the county's shoreline protection buffer, where only limited ground disturbance is allowed, is 25 feet from the ordinary high water mark. For subdivisions, the buffer is 45 feet.

The Coeur d'Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association had balked at the 75-foot mark, out of concern that property owners who had already developed to the 25-foot guideline would end up constrained from remodeling or landscaping.

"Do they get grandfathered in?" said Bret Bowers, CLPOA executive director, on early Wednesday afternoon. "Why should anyone be paying property taxes on property that all of a sudden has to be left in a natural vegetative state?"

The group, which met with county officials over the matter, was also concerned that proposed building restrictions on slopes over 30 percent would deter future growth.

A county press release late Wednesday afternoon expressed that the 75-foot buffer is no longer on the table.

The commissioners stated that, "as a result of citizen comments and to provide clarity" they are now directing the county's ordinance consultant, Kendig Keast Collaborative, to rework the shoreline development regulations in the ULUC draft.

The rewrite will be conducted with specific guidelines in mind, like providing more permit alternatives for activities on existing residential waterfront lots.

"It addresses two distinct processes," said Green, adding that the commissioners have met with several property owners associations on the issue. "One is how do we address people who have legally created parcels and respect their property rights, and the other issue is the creation of new lots."

The retooled regulations will also allow more flexibility for shoreline construction, according to the county press release. And requirements for new subdivisions will "promote performance and design," like allowing more homes on a shared driveway, allowing narrower private streets and encouraging water-quality oriented designs.

Some type of waterfront setback will likely remain, Green said.

Property owners "will be able to go within the 25 feet," Green added, if they use "best management practices and design services."

Roy Newton, LPOA board member, was surprised about the update on Wednesday evening.

"Wow. Good. I look forward to seeing the (updated) draft," said Newton, who has lived by Lake Coeur d'Alene for 30 years. "If they're moving toward allowing people to have their property rights, I'm OK with that."

Shoreline buffers are intended to protect water quality by restricting nutrients entering the water.

Dan Redline, regional administrator for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, couldn't confirm the amount of nutrients waterfront properties contribute.

The DEQ doesn't have a stance on what the shoreline buffer should be, Redline added, though the agency is willing to work with the county if asked.

For more information about the ULUC, visit www.kccode.com. Input can be contributed at upcoming ULUC meetings, or online at www.zoningplus.com/regs/kootenai/.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said the county has aimed all along at allowing property owners to maintain their properties freely.

"We're keeping with that goal," he said.