COEUR d'ALENE - The proposed Eastlake Village Marina at Bennett Bay hit a snag.

Rand Wichman, who is representing the owner-applicant of the marina project, said the Idaho Department of Lands deemed the marina application incomplete and sent it back. As a result, the application with Kootenai County is on hold, Wichman said.

"The proponents are evaluating the next steps in the process," said Wichman, of Rand Wichman Planning LLC in Harrison.

Applicant Jillian Cooper, of Australia, applied to the department for a 74-slip commercial marina and community dock on Bennett Bay.

The marina plan includes a small convenience store located on the dock, but it wouldn't include gasoline sales.

Adrienne Cronebaugh, of Kootenai Environmental Alliance, said she learned of a problem concerning the upland ownership which is necessary to establish the littoral rights.

She said it will probably require District Court action to settle the ownership question.

If a new application is received by the department, notices will be sent out and published.

Jim Brady, a lands and waterways resource supervisor for the Department of Lands, confirmed the application has been returned to the applicant as incomplete. He said the littoral rights ownership question must be answered first.

Wichman said there is greater demand for boat slips on the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

The Bennett Bay location is well suited for a marina because there are few other lake encroachments, and it fits the existing commercial zoning, Wichman said.

Parking for the marina, if developed, would be located in an expanded lot on Cooper's property to the northeast of Tony's restaurant, Wichman said.

That parking lot, he said, would contain the required number of spaces for the marina and meet county requirements for landscaping, buffering and stormwater management.

Opponents of the project say there would be too great a risk to water quality because of the additional boats, a floating convenience store and sewage pump-out station.

Residents who oppose the marina also say they are concerned because they rely on the bay for domestic water.