On Tuesday, the Coeur d'Alene City Council unanimously approved zoning for land the city plans to purchase from BNSF Railway Co.

A public hearing was held on the 9.6-acre strip of land - which runs along the Spokane River from the Mill River subdivision to the Bellerive neighborhood near Riverstone - during the council's regular meeting. There was no public opposition on the C-17 zoning requested for the railroad land that is now in the county and industrially zoned.

"It's consistent with the zoning in the area," City Attorney Warren Wilson told the council. "It's also consistent with the comprehensive plan - that area is largely viewed as a mixed-use area, with both commercial and residential development."

C-17 zoning allows as many as 17 units per acre.

Wilson added that there are multiple things that could happen with the property once it is successfully purchased from BNSF Railway. City officials hope to develop the linear corridor for public use, he said.

"And/or to potentially exchange it with a developer to get land closer to the water," Wilson continued. "If there's any proposed exchange or sale of the property, that would go through a public hearing process. But the intent now is to hopefully develop it in a way that would benefit the public."

After Wilson's comment, Councilor Dan Gookin said he wanted to clarify that the city did not plan on developing the land under the guidelines established by a C-17 zone, but that the intent was for trails and access to the Spokane River.

"And we can do that with C-17," Gookin said.

"That can be done in any zone," Wilson said. "It essentially doesn't matter at all for us. The only place it matters is in the event we exchange it with someone else."

After the meeting, Wilson told The Press that the zoning decision was the first step in formally annexing the land into the city. At next month's council meeting, the city attorney's office will present a set of findings and a draft ordinance which, if approved, will finalize the process.

The city is planning to purchase a total of 20 acres of land from BNSF Railway. Acquisition of the property is critical to the city's plan to further develop the corridor, which runs from Riverstone to Huetter Road, into a community centered around the Spokane River.

Under the purchasing agreement with BNSF, the city will pay $1,016,273 for the land not in the two Lake City Development Corp. districts. LCDC will pay $1,483,727 for the railroad property that lies in its two districts, and the purchase is expected to be completed no later than May 28.