COEUR d'ALENE - The city Parks and Recreation Commission hosted an open house Monday evening to discuss the latest progress on the Four Corners project.

The meeting drew about 130 people who seemed mostly comfortable with the project during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting.

Former parks director Doug Eastwood, who is consulting on the project, said there is usually a trust issue with large projects, but he felt after the meeting that his presentation was well received.

Eastwood spoke for about 30 minutes on the details of the project and discussed what the parks commission hopes to include in a master plan they would like to complete on a 40-plus acre corridor along a one-mile stretch of the city's waterfront.

The property includes 29 acres of land the U.S. Bureau of Land Management owns within the corridor. Eastwood explained that BLM approached the city about leasing the property, but a master plan is necessary to get that done.

Eastwood told the crowd that the city completed some preliminary planning in 2002 on the Four Corners area where Northwest Boulevard turns into Sherman Avenue, and Government Way becomes west Mullan Avenue.

"We thought this was a good opportunity to expand that effort," he said, adding the planning effort now includes projects from McEuen Park to Riverstone and beyond.

Janna Paronto, a realty specialist in the Coeur d'Alene field office of BLM, was on hand to explain the project from her agency's perspective.

"We are encouraging the city to lease the property. We can't manage it," Paronto told the audience. "And we feel this is a good opportunity for the citizens and the public of North Idaho to add more outdoor recreation."

She explained the BLM has strict guidelines on the public use of the property, but she is comfortable with the direction the city is headed with the master planning process.

Parks Commission Chairman Scott Cranston said Paronto has been extremely helpful in guiding the city through the process to lease the property.

One attendee asked why the city was leasing the property instead of buying it.

"That parcel of land is probably worth $4 million," Paronto said. "I am just guessing on that, but it is a very valuable piece of property and the city doesn't have that kind of money."

She said the BLM cannot donate the land to the city without congressional approval, which could take several years to accomplish.

The 25-year lease agreement gives the city access to the property and allows time for city leaders to work with congressional representatives to permanently acquire the land through a patenting process.

"We felt this was the best way to get that land into city ownership for the people of North Idaho to use," she said.

The cost of the lease is only about $2 to $3 per acre, per year for the entire 29-acre parcel, she said.

Cranston said before the presentation that the parks commission will hear another formal presentation on the master plan at its regular meeting on Jan. 27. If they decide to move forward with it, they make a recommendation to the city's General Service Committee in February, and that committee will decide to advance the proposal to the city council or not.

If it is finally approved by the city council, Eastwood said the city will seek out qualified land-use planning consultants and call for proposals possibly by May of this year.

"We hope the master plan itself will take about six months to complete," he said, adding that would put the time line for adoption of the master plan somewhere near the end of the year.

Once the city adopts the plan and submits it to the BLM for approval Paronto said her agency could take up to a year to complete an Environmental Assessment of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act.

"But this one might not take a year," she said. "Most of the people working on this are already familiar with the property we are dealing with."

While the final approval of the BLM lease could officially take until 2016 to complete, Eastwood said some of the components of the project could get started sooner.

He said he has already sent a letter of intent for an Idaho Transportation Department grant that could be used to fund a commuter bicycle trail from Interstate 90 to downtown.

"That money could be available in 2015, and I am confident we could get started right away," Eastwood said, adding that in order to submit paperwork for the grant, BLM had to agree to let the city use the property while the lease is pending.

"They are working very closely with us on this project," he said.

Likewise, he added that many similar projects could occur outside the BLM property before final approval of the lease.