COEUR d'ALENE - Signs advertising "Drive-In Theater" and "Coming Soon" have turned drivers' heads and gotten people talking on the quiet prairie.

The two bright-colored signs were staked in an open lot on Prairie Avenue a few days ago. Kootenai County's community development department fielded calls from people wondering what's happening.

Property owner Kirk Hughes couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Kootenai County Planner Mel Palmer said she spoke with Hughes Wednesday, but he didn't say what his intention was with the signs.

"I explained to Mr. Hughes (that) all signs within the county are required to meet the Kootenai County ordinance requirements and if he wishes to have a drive-in theater, he needs to make an application for it with the county," Palmer said.

The 9.5-acre lot is located east of Meyer Road and west of Daisy Lane on the north side of Prairie.

Hughes received a conditional-use permit from the county to establish a rental warehouse and mini-storage facility on the lot, located in an agricultural zone. That hasn't been established, but the permit remains good.

Rand Wichman, a land-use planning specialist based in Harrison who worked with Hughes on the permit for the storage facility, said he hadn't heard of any plans for a drive-in theater.

"I haven't talked to the owner in a while, so I don't know if he's headed in a different direction," Wichman said.

A new conditional-use permit from the county would be required for an outdoor theater, said Betsy Anderson, a planning assistant in the county's community development department.

"There's just a ton of nostalgia behind the drive-in (theater concept)," said Sara Dreher, who owns Spokane-based FunFlicks Outdoor Movies of Washington, along with her husband, Tony Dreher.

FunFlicks uses huge inflatable screens and has scheduled movie classics such as "Top Gun," "Dirty Dancing," "Footloose" and "Grease" for this summer's series, according to FunFlicks' Facebook account - Spokane Outdoor and Drive-in Movies.