COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene City Council voted Tuesday evening to move forward with a master planning process for the "Four Corners" area of the city.

Council directed city staff to seek proposals from qualified land-use planning companies and to request funding for the project from the Lake City Development Corp.

The city's Parks and Recreation Committee has held a series of public meetings on the Four Corners Project and met with dozens of stakeholder groups to get an idea of how residents would like to see that area develop, said Councilman Ron Edinger.

Edinger said the city's General Services Committee also recommended moving forward with the master planning project.

The Four Corners area is at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard, Sherman Avenue, Government Way and east Mullan Avenue. While the planning effort has been named after that intersection, the master plan will stretch nearly a mile along the Spokane River waterfront to include 29 acres of federal land.

Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management invited the city to apply for a free lease of the 29 acres which used to be a railroad corridor that serviced a number of now-defunct lumber mills in that area of the city.

In order for the lease to be approved, the city has to complete a master plan for the property to ensure that it remains open for public uses.

Janna Paronto, BLM real estate specialist for the Coeur d'Alene office, explained the proposed lease agreement to the council.

"The BLM is really glad that we can do this for the public and citizens of the city of Coeur d'Alene," she said. "What the lease entails is that as long as the city keeps this land an open park-like setting, there will be no monetary annual rental for this. It will be leased free of charge."

Once the city develops the public space in accordance to its master plan, it can approach BLM for a permanent patent on the land for $10 an acre.

"So for 29 acres it would cost $290," Paronto said, adding the property is valued at nearly $3 million.

"Is that negotiable?" Mayor Steve Widmyer joked.

"No, that is not negotiable," she said.

Paronto said once the patent is issued, the land belongs to the citizens of Coeur d'Alene, but only if it remains open public space. No commercial activity is allowed, or the land could revert back to BLM unless the city chooses to purchase it at the appraised market value.

The council had no issue with the lease agreement, but some council members said they have talked with citizens who are concerned about maintaining the historic character of Memorial Field.

Councilmen Dan Gookin and Edinger joined Mayor Widmyer to voice those concerns to interim Parks Director Bill Greenwood, who said he would make sure they are addressed in the master planning process.

Gookin was also against using LCDC money to fund the plan, saying that kind of activity is not considered economic development.

"The purpose for LCDC is economic development, and this is not economic development," Gookin said. "I really think that if we are going to do this, we should do it ourselves and we should fund it ourselves."

Councilman Woody McEvers disagreed with Gookin, saying a large part of LCDC's mission is to create public space.

"Dan I think you are right on some of that," McEvers said. "But to LCDC public space is public space. It is a big portion of what they do."

Gookin voted against asking LCDC for funding, but voted for the Four Corners master plan. LCDC funding passed 5-1, and the master plan passed unanimously.