COEUR d'ALENE - Five midtown residents spoke out against a mixed-used development planned to be built in their neighborhood. The comments were during the public comment portion of the Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting.

The concept for the three-story building, with retail space on the ground floor and two levels of workforce housing, is the result of a collaborative effort between the Lake City Development Corp. and The Housing Company, a Boise-based nonprofit which facilitates the development of affordable housing throughout the state.

Gregg Johnson, of the Midtown Neighborhood Association, was first to speak and told the council the reason for the comments was to raise awareness for what the association is going through in its dealings with LCDC.

"The project has been on and off again for a number of years now," Johnson said. "It's on again and it just doesn't feel right."

Johnson added that the group was looking for guidance and advice from the council in how to move forward.

Other residents echoed Johnson's thoughts on the project not being a good fit for the area.

"I can tell you that 95 percent of the neighbors we've talked to are against this project as it stands," Chip Dalvini said. "We brought all of this information to the LCDC and basically we had no effect on them whatsoever. We need you, our elected officials, to help us with LCDC. We need you to help us move midtown forward."

After the public comment period concluded, Councilman Ron Edinger asked his fellow council members, and Mayor Steve Widmyer, what the group was going to do to address the residents' concerns.

"We don't have any jurisdiction over the LCDC," Edinger said. "But I think we can stress our views to them."

"The difficult part of that though Ron, and I agree with you that we should all give our message to LCDC, is that there isn't any approval that will come to us," Widmyer responded.

After further deliberation on the topic, it was unanimously decided that a workshop will be held by the council at an undetermined date with all of the entities that have a stake in the project.