POST FALLS — Sometimes dilemmas can turn into deals.

The City of Post Falls has been working with some property owners in the area of Black Bay Park to address encroachment issues after the city had a park boundary survey performed about a year ago.

Through working with one of the property owners, Steve Shamion, a proposed land exchange between the resident and the city is in the works that would give the city a west entrance to the park.

Under the proposal, the city would give up a half an acre of land (80 feet of Spokane River frontage) on the southwest corner of the park and $190,000 for 5 1/2 acres in the area of Ford Rock on the west side of the park.

With the exchange, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair said the city would accomplish three things.

"We would end up with a net gain of 5 acres for the park, we would resolve the encroachment issue and we would provide access to Black Bay Park for the neighborhood to the west," Fair said. "If we can work with the residents, why not? I think the public wins."

The city council will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Feb. 7 at City Hall, 408 N. Spokane St., at 6 p.m. The money for the purchase would come from impact fees. The city would not raise taxes.

Fair said if the land exchange is approved, the new access to the 59-acre park would be a trail.

Fair said access to the park from the west is needed because there have been issues with people walking through residents' properties to enter the park. The park's other entrances are North Bay Street and a trail south of Third Avenue adjacent to the basketball and tennis courts.

The city council earlier allowed staff to move to the next step of the land exchange proposal. State law also requires a public hearing for such deals.

Fair said two people — a neighboring resident and city staff member — brought the fact that more than 5 acres on the park's west side was for sale to city administrators' attention.

"Maybe it was meant to be," Fair said, adding that the proposal also stemmed from the city working with Shamion to correct the encroachment issue.

"At that point, we had discussions with Mr. Shamion to see if he would consider a trade or purchase of land," Fair said. "He was open to the concept."

Shamion, who has owned the property for about 16 years, said he believes the exchange would be a win-win as he's had the land on the market a few months. It would also allow neighbors on the west side of the park to have closer access.

"I think it will benefit all sides," said Shamion. "It will make it nice for the neighbors without having to drive (to the other access)."

He said neighbors have kept their eye on the property in case it ever went on the market.

Fair said encroachment cases arise occasionally and, in some cases, the property owners aren't even aware they're overextending their boundaries onto someone else's land. He said he believes that was the case with Shamion, whose landscaping extends just a couple feet into the park.

"How many of us survey our property?" Fair said. "And if there's no real boundary that we can see ... "

Fair said there have also been cases where the city unknowingly encroached onto residents' properties.

About eight years ago it was discovered that the city had encroached on a property owner's land near Treaty Rock Park, requiring the city to exchange land with the person to rectify the situation. The issue was discovered after many years when the property owner applied for a building permit.