Coeur d’Alene has a rich history that began with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe (Schitsu’umsh) and its stewardship of the land and lake since time immemorial, followed by early contact, missions and treaties in the 1700s and 1800s, and establishment of the Fort and early townsite between 1878 and 1900. Cd'A was incorporated as a city in 1887.

Cd'A has seen rapid growth throughout our history, with significant population changes between 1990 and 2010 with an increase of 55%, and a 24% increase in population since the 2010 census. Sometimes it seems like everything Coeur d’Alene was built on is being replaced. Some of the changes make sense, others are sad. And the longer you’ve lived here, the sadder you may be to see historic buildings replaced with new modern buildings and pieces of Cd'A’s history erased.

Coeur d’Alene has already seen some great success in holding onto structures of our past. Thoughtful restoration and 21st century technology have revitalized some amazing downtown buildings as well as homes in Cd'A’s oldest neighborhoods. Another huge win was saving the home of J.C. White from demolition to be relocated for the future North Idaho Museum. And the Hamilton House, currently on its way to the National Register of Historic Places. But we have also lost some of the jewels of Cd'A. The question is how many other remnants of Cd'A’s past can we preserve? How or what can Cd'A do to retain our rich history?

The City of Coeur d’Alene created a new historic preservation commission in 2019 and worked closely with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to become a Certified Local Government (CLG).

Leading up to that, Robert Singletary and other local history buffs had approached city leadership for several years to encourage the formation of a commission to preserve Cd'A’s unique history. Pete L’Orange with SHPO also approached the City a few times in 2019 to ask the City to consider forming a historic preservation commission and becoming a CLG community.

Mayor Steve Widmyer and council member Kiki Miller were supportive and helped pave the way for a new commission to be formed in coordination with SHPO. These individuals had the foresight to address this issue and established the City of Coeur d’Alene Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) with a new historic preservation code being formally adopted by the Cd'A City Council in December 2019. The city became a CLG community on Dec. 13, 2019. Becoming a CLG community means Cd'A receives technical assistance, training and can apply for grant funding for historic preservation efforts.

The commission is tasked with 16 duties. Some of the major roles for the commission are to advise the mayor and council on matters of historic preservation, oversee historic preservation efforts in Cd'A, assist the Planning Department with grant writing and historic preservation studies, and conduct surveys of local historic properties. One of the first and most important duties for a new commission and a CLG community is to develop a Historic Preservation Plan to function as a planning tool, identify historic resources, strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats, and provide a clear framework for historic preservation efforts and priorities for the city and HPC.

The City of Coeur d’Alene applied for a $15,000 CLG grant at the end of 2019 to prepare a historic preservation plan for the community. The grant was awarded in 2020 and the city entered into a grant agreement with SHPO in August 2020.

With twenty years of resources available, the HPC culled out the most successful and similar examples of HPPs from communities across America as a starting point then crafted a request for proposals for a consultant to prepare a historic preservation plan for CdA. Northwest Vernacular was selected as the consultant to prepare the plan with support and participation from the commission members and public. Based in the Northwest, they have worked with cities of various sizes, including Wallace, Idaho.

In February 2021, NWV began gathering and organizing information to create a draft of what would become the City of Cd'A Historic Preservation Plan (HPP). Their work was extensive, reaching out to numerous stakeholders including the City of Cd'A, the Museum of North Idaho, SHPO, The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Cd'A business leaders, neighborhood associations of Fort Grounds, Garden District and East Mullan and other vested interests. The scope of work for the HPP was based on Cd'A’s history, current historic preservation efforts and needs, best practices, consultant experience, as well as guidance from SHPO.

The HPC sought input from local citizens and promoted our open meetings and online surveys. Recently, commission members spent Street Fair weekend with people and inviting them to attend a virtual public presentation of the final draft of the HPP. Citizens tuned in to learn about the HPP with opportunities for comment and questions. Many stayed for the regular commission meeting which followed. The HPC has been grateful for public input and the positive response.

Because the plan is grant funded, the final HPP gets submitted to SHPO to ensure it is in accordance with state and nationwide policies and standards, and meets all of the grant requirements. Only then will it be presented to council for discussion and recommended changes, with dialogue with the HPC.

The goals of the City of Cd’A’s HPP is to reflect the interests and values of Cd'A residents and their desire to preserve its rich history and the unique atmosphere the charm and character of its structures created. One benefit of the HPP is the education to newcomers (as well as long-time homeowners) of the importance of Cd'A older homes and buildings and ways the owners and the community can become involved.

One vision for the HPP is connecting property owners to funding and/or grants based on how much of the original structure is retained. Another goal is assisting structures, neighborhoods or other historic entities if they want to apply for historic recognition. It also gives the city a tool for planning, considering how much does any future development “fit in” with its surroundings.

The plan is almost 150 pages and is a fascinating read that includes mapped, categorized and organized data of structures built before 1960. You can read it at the City of Cd'A website (link below). The plan can inform the decision making process of the comprehensive plan, work in conjunction with the Arts Commission, Parks and Rec. Commission as well as planning and zoning to education and introduce growth options that keep preserving history at the forefront. Historic districts can guide ordinance nuances that focus on preservation as well as give citizens more input and education regarding their neighborhoods.

The HPP’s Executive Summary does a nice job of stating the purpose. “A historic preservation plan is a city planning document intended to analyze the present state of the city’s historic preservation program and provide guidance on next steps to guide the program forward. The plan is the result of a collaborative process to identify a vision, goals, and action plan for historic preservation in Coeur d’Alene.” In addition to documenting Cd'A’s history, the document outlines incentives and tools, as well as goals, policies and recommended proposals for implementation of historic preservation in Cd'A.

So, who’s paying for this, you ask. Not your taxes. There are nine commission members and through their volunteer hours, staff time and a National historic grant program, it allowed the city to have a unique HPP developed for Cd'A. NWV was paid from these grant funds. The HPC runs as a part of the City, is considered a local government entity, and abides by open meeting rules. The commission is supported by the city’s Planning Department.

The final HPP was scheduled for adoption Tuesday at the city council meeting. With the adoption of the HPP there remain more options that can be executed such as expansion of a historic district, a voluntary local registry and ongoing assistance supporting property owners’ desires to preserve their structures.

The Commission is also seeking a new member. If you are interested, please contact Hilary Anderson, community planning director, at handerson@cdaid.org.

Co-contributors: Dave Walker (Chair) and Sandy Emerson (member of the Historic Preservation Commission)

Links:

• The city of Coeur d'Alene's Historic Preservation Plan: https://www.cdaid.org/5754/departments/planning/historic-preservation-commission

• How Historic Preservation Shaped the Early United States