COEUR d'ALENE - While the community has been riled and the media abuzz, Silverwood Theme Park has remained silent publicly on zone-change controversy over a neighboring 34-acre parcel.

At a public hearing March 12 at North Idaho College conducted by the Kootenai County board of commissioners and attended by hundreds, some commenters relayed quotes they said came from officials at the theme park. But nobody who spoke at the hearing was an actual Silverwood representative.

On Thursday, Silverwood officials decided to break the silence.

"Our position at Silverwood is neutral," said Mark Robitaille, a spokesman for the theme park near Athol.

A developer wants to get the parcel zoned "restricted residential" from its current status as "rural" so a subdivision with more than 80 homes can be built. The 34-acre parcel is just south of Silverwood, on the east side of U.S. 95.

Another public hearing will be conducted before the county commissioners decide on the zone-change request.

The landowner is Dennis Swartout of Spokane, and Mort Construction of Coeur d'Alene is seeking to build the subdivision.

Robitaille noted that the developer has said there is a growing demand for affordable housing for employees of Silverwood.

Paul Norton, Silverwood's general manager, said the theme park has no affiliation with the proposed zone-change request.

"Nor have we expressed the need for affordable housing to accommodate our employees," Norton said Thursday. "We also understand the capacity for free enterprise and progress."

He added, "Silverwood is respectful of its neighbors and surrounding communities, but to reiterate, we are not associated with this project request."

The second hearing on the zone-change request is tentatively set for May 21 at NIC in Boswell Hall's Shuler Performing Arts Center.

A hearing examiner contracted by the county has recommended approval of both the zone-change request and the subdivision, along with a related wastewater treatment plant.