COEUR d’ALENE — Following more than an hour of sometimes heated debate and allegations of a manipulated process, the Coeur d’Alene City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to reopen the public hearing to consider new information regarding the proposed Coeur Terre annexation and development agreement.

Councilman Dan Gookin said the proposal was radically different from what was previously presented. He argued that because of material changes, there must be another public hearing per Idaho code.

“They’ve completely changed the plan,” he said, noting that the R-3 designation was added. “They’ve changed the zoning.”

“That is a substantial, significant change,” Gookin added.

Councilwoman Christie Wood said she had concerns about the process.

She said Coeur Terre, 442 acres on the western edge of the city, is the largest development to come before the City Council in decades. She said there was no hurry to make a decision.

“I think it’s incredibly important there’s integrity in the process,” Wood said.

The Kootenai County Land Company is planning Coeur Terre, which calls for more than 2,000 housing units, businesses, shops and restaurants, 18 acres of parks, a greenbelt, 4 miles of trails and land for two public schools.

The property is north of Interstate 90, south of the future West Hanley Avenue extension and east of North Huetter Road.

The vacant land is zoned agriculture-suburban.

Buildout is expected to be over 20 to 30 years.

Two weeks ago, the City Council voted 6-0 to defer a decision on Coeur Terre and consider it at its Feb. 21 meeting. The public hearing was closed.

That gave council members time to share their concerns about the project with city staff, which in turn shared those concerns with developers.

A few key changes were made in response. They included the addition of a 200-foot R-3, lower-density designation buffer to the eastern edge of the development covering nearly 50 acres between neighboring Indian Meadows. It would have single-family residences only, with a height limit of 32 feet.

It also proposed Appaloosa and Nez Perce roads would be the only connectors to Atlas Road.

It said the maximum number of residential units would be 2,800.

Gookin said the changes made after the public hearing was closed made it legally necessary to reopen the hearing and argued the city could be sued if it moved forward.

"I’m not going to be party to an illegal act,” he said.

At one point, Gookin said “this process has been manipulated behind the scenes.”

“I’d rather not do that,” he said.

City Attorney Randy Adams said in his view, there was no change in evidence.

“There is a change in the development agreement but that does not require a new public hearing,” he said.

The council initially deadlocked 3-3 to deny the request without prejudice, with Gookin, Wood and Kiki Miller voting yes, and Dan English, Woody McEvers and Amy Evans voting no. Mayor Jim Hammond broke the tie with a no vote.

Hammond and Evans emphasized they wanted to see a Coeur Terre design that would funnel traffic west to Huetter and away from the east connectors through Indian Meadows.

Evans at one point motioned to approve the annexation and development agreement without prejudice, but withdrew it after more discussion and at the request of Hammond.

Miller also said she was concerned with the process and suggested the city take more time to go through it.

“This is an extremely large decision,” she said.

McEvers was surprised by some of the comments.

“I didn’t realize it was political. I didn’t realize there were hassles going on,” he said.

He questioned if the council waited to make a decision whether it would hear anything different.

"Will anything change?" he asked.

English said it was a tough decision, but didn’t think the council had anything to gain by waiting.

He said Coeur Terre was years out, well planned and will have eyes on it.

"Everything considered, I think it’s fair and makes sense," he said.

The next public hearing will be held in about two weeks after proper public legal notices are given.