RATHDRUM — The first glimpses of how Rathdrum's property on Rathdrum Mountain will be developed into recreational uses have come to life.

Conceptual plans approved by the city council show large and small shelters, a group-use site, parking for 20 cars and three buses and restrooms at the gated entry on the south end of the property.

Another Phase 1 rendering of the area north of the gated entry referred to as the "upper ridge site/overlook area" includes a short trail leading to shelters and an overlook of the Rathdrum Prairie, picnic tables, restrooms and a turnaround area with more parking for cars and and buses.

"We'll continue to work on the plans over the summer, but before work can be done on the mountain the road needs to be improved," said Leon Duce, Rathdrum's city administrator. "Until that (roadwork) is done, we can't move forward on the parking lots and shelters."

Widening and other improvements will be made to Barrett Drive, which the Post Falls Highway District two years ago validated as a county road and leads to the city's 557-acre site. The validation ended a 20-year fight between the city and some adjacent landowners on whether the city could access its property.

Duce said the city hopes to go out to bid for the road improvements later this year.

"We are waiting for the finalization of the surveying before we have any cost estimates," Duce said.

The road and other improvements will be done in stages and be funded by the city's tree harvest funds generated from the site.

"Until we determine what parts of the conceptual plan will be developed we will not know the estimated costs," Duce said.

The city budgeted $486,000 in revenue from the timber harvest. The actual amount raised was $619,000.

The county will maintain Barrett Drive once the city brings it up to standards.

The city's mountain site, which isn’t open to the public yet, includes streams, giant cedar trees and dirt Forest Service roads. Some areas offer partial views of Rathdrum and the Rathdrum Prairie. Spring Creek on the mountain feeds into City Park year-round.

The first two areas to be developed on the site only encompasses about 5 acres — a small portion of the overall site.

"For now, that is as far as we can go," Duce said. "We're not looking to do anything else up there for the time being."

The plans are based on stakeholder and citizen comments compiled by consultant JUB Engineers that support low-impact recreational uses such as hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, viewpoints and educational opportunities. High-impact uses such as hunting, ATVs/motorcycles, camping and fires will not be allowed.

How law enforcement will handle calls at the site was a question raised during the initial public input phase.

Rathdrum Police would respond to day-to-day matters and perform routine checks at the site. For more serious situations, the police would call upon the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office to respond for backup.

The site will be closed at night.