COEUR d'ALENE - The Port of Hope was granted a two-year special use permit Tuesday night to continue operations until they can find a suitable location to relocate.

That is if they no longer house sex offenders, agree to relocate by March 1, 2016, and track their clientele to ensure they come nowhere close to Fernan Elementary School until they move.

Jake Danible, controller for the Port of Hope, testified at a public hearing before the City Council to appeal a unanimous ruling by the City's Planing and Zoning Commission, which denied a special use permit on Aug. 13.

He said during those Planning Commission meetings it became clear that the community and the Coeur d'Alene School District were primarily concerned that the criminal transition facility's residential re-entry service for federal offenders included sex offenders.

"The evidence that was presented really wasn't anything against the Port of Hope except for the concern about sex offenders," he said. "That is why we feel we were denied because there was a big concern that there could be sex offenders in the building."

Danible said the Port worked with some of the concerned citizens and the school district to resolve that issue.

"No sex offenders will be housed. We do not currently have sex offenders housed at Port of Hope. We have relocated anybody that has been and we will not accept sex offenders at the location as part of our community outreach," he said.

As a result of the meetings with the school district the Port also agreed to limit their facility to a maximum of 43 beds, limit the amount of time an inmate can stay at the facility to 365 days, and to create exclusion zones where none of the offenders are allowed to enter mainly around Fernan Elementary.

"We do have GPS units on people in the facility who are on home confinement," Danible said, explaining that the Port can track the inmate wherever they are 24 hours a day and audibly warn the offenders if they enter an exclusion zone.

The Port has also agreed to make sure that no offenders are allowed to walk to a City Link Bus stop unsupervised during school hours.

And most importantly, he said they have agreed to find a new location that is more suitable by March 1, 2016. They chose that date to align themselves with current contracts they are engaged in.

"For us we don't have be there, per se," Danible said. "We could locate anywhere."

They are currently looking into a zone change that would allow the facility to be located in a light industrial area where no schools or residences exists.

"That request is coming," he told the council. "That is why we are asking for this time to transition."

Danible said if the Port was denied the special use permit, they would have no way to generate the revenue necessary to make the move, so they would simply have to go out of business.

Earlier in the meeting, Danible said that the offenders they treat and transition back into society would still show up in Coeur d'Alene, the only difference is they would have no support system.

School district Chief Operating Officer Wendell Wardell, testified that the school district has decided to withdraw its objection to the Port's special use permit provided they follow through with the conditions they agreed to.

"The school district has objected to this on a consistent basis based on one single thing - federal sex offenders near our school," he said. "It's been an interesting journey, at 3 p.m. (Tuesday) senior leadership decided that we have the assurances we needed and we are withdrawing our objection contingent on the stipulations they set forth in their presentation tonight."

Until the district was comfortable with the conditions the Port agreed to, Wardell said the school district had to object to protect students and defend the parents of the school.

"If the council agrees to their stipulations and decides to issue their special use permit - including the sunset clause - the district will not object," Wardell said.

Several other community members, neighbors and Port of Hope employees testified in favor of the Port as well. There were also others who signed in to oppose the permit.

There were also those who felt that the Port's service was necessary in the community, but not at the location it is currently located.

Councilman Ron Edinger said, while he didn't like the idea of the Port being located near a school, at least the Port was keeping the felons confined to one location.

"I just think it is better to have one location than to have them spread all over town," he said, after making the motion to approve the permit with all of the conditions that were agreed to.

Councilman Mike Kennedy said he was concerned the facility was importing federal inmates from other states.

"You know, if you build it they will come," Kennedy said.

Port officials assured Kennedy that the residents in the program are from Idaho or have a connection to Idaho, and are not being brought in from other places.

"The thing that is most important to me is that these aren't people from Mississippi, Florida, Georgia or California," he said, adding that is the biggest criticism he hears when discussing the issue with constituents.

Kennedy seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.