COEUR d’ALENE — The Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Commission gave the green light Thursday to the biggest proposed rezone in county history.

Under the proposed rezone, about 25,000 acres located within the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s reservation boundaries that are currently zoned rural would be designated agricultural.

Commissioners voted 6-1 to recommend rezoning the proposed area with no exceptions. John Malloy cast the dissenting vote.

The proposal will go before county commissioners, who will make the final decision.

“These are complicated issues with many conflicting views and it isn’t easy, but we only have one chance to do what is best for our community and this precious land we call home,” said Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan. “I am grateful to each of the Planning and Zoning commissioners for their careful consideration of the issues before them and for ultimately making the decision to join with us in preserving the lands and resources in the southern end of the county for future generations.”

Affected parcels are all 20 acres in size or larger, currently zoned as rural, within the boundaries of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation and had a recorded agricultural or timber tax exemption within the past two years.

Subdivisions are currently permitted in rural zones, with a minimum lot size of 5 acres. If the parcels within the Tribe’s boundaries are rezoned, subdivisions will no longer be allowed.

The county has contacted more than 1,000 property owners who could be affected by rezoning. Just eight spoke in opposition to the proposed rezone.

Malloy compared the proposal, which has been in progress since 2021, to a “train recklessly rolling down the tracks.” He said he’s concerned that the switch from rural to agricultural would deprive people of their property rights.

“Now every private property owner has had hundreds of thousands of dollars, in some cases, taken from them,” he said.

Malloy said the concept of zoning is a relatively recent invention. Planning and zoning regulations went into effect in 1973, when the Idaho Local Planning Act was created. Before that, anything built on a piece of property followed no set of standards.

“Now all of a sudden people have to come to us to ask permission what they can do with their property,” Malloy said. “To me, 1972 or 1973 doesn’t seem that long ago, but that’s when zoning took away property rights.”

“The problem with that historical analysis is, if you go farther back, the Tribe had all the property rights,” Leander James noted.

David Levine said the matter is complicated, but ultimately boils down to a simple question.

“Does the Tribe have the right to determine the health, safety and general welfare of the land within its borders?” he said. “If you believe they do have that right, then it’s a simple answer to me, which is you honor their request. If you don’t believe that — and that’s legitimate and I respect anybody who doesn’t — then you deny the request.”

A hearing before county commissioners has not yet been scheduled.