How high a building gets could reach new lows.

On Tuesday, members of a working group tasked with reviewing construction policies agreed on a proposal that, if eventually passed by City Council, revises building height limits in certain sections of downtown’s core.

“It’s a long time coming,” Coeur d'Alene Senior Planner Sean Holm said. “We’ve been at this for a little over two years now.”

All of Coeur d’Alene’s downtown core right now allows buildings to legally reach a 220-foot maximum height with provided bonuses, such as creating space for additional affordable housing units or retail options.

In 2024, ongoing public concerns over this building height maximum triggered creation of the downtown core working group, which is made up of members of the city’s planning and zoning, design review and historic preservation commissions.

Following a series of workshops, city council check-ins and even a community survey, the working group now recommends reducing the current 220-foot building height limit to 110 feet in certain downtown core areas. They’re also calling to nix developer bonus options.

The recommendations and proposed code amendments will now move through a public hearing process.

“I think this is probably the kindest to all parties and the kindest to our city,” Planning and Zoning Commissioner Lynn Fleming said, who also expressed infrastructure concerns over the current code. “Our sewer can’t handle it, our streets can’t handle it, and at some point, you just say, ‘Let’s just bring it down.'”

Downtown Coeur d’Alene’s skyline is currently furnished with seven buildings that reach about 100 feet or higher, the majority of which are on Sherman Avenue. Two buildings, Coeur d’Alene Resort and Parkside Tower, are over 200 feet in height.

The working group’s recommendation establishes the 110-foot tower height on Front Avenue, between Sixth and Eighth streets on Sherman Avenue, as well as from Sixth to Eighth streets on Lakeside Avenue and anything west of Fifth Street on Coeur d’Alene Avenue.

Meanwhile, a 45-foot building height limit is proposed to be set for new construction in Sherman Avenue’s historic district between Second and Sixth streets. 

The 45-foot limitation will also be applied to anything west of Sixth Street on Lakeside Avenue and, potentially, Indiana Avenue, if city officials decide to leave the street in the downtown core.

It is also recommended that tower spacing between itself and neighboring buildings be increased from 50 feet to 80, while stepback distances increase from 10 feet to 20.

“I think we hit the sweet spot,” Design Review Commission Member Kevin Jester said, adding, “I feel more comfortable with where we’re heading.”

The very first high-rise built in downtown Coeur d’Alene was, standing at about 100 feet and 10 stories high, the Lake Tower Apartments in 1975. According to the work group, the first wave of public height concerns came when The Coeur d’Alene Resort, standing at 218 feet and 18 stories high, was built in 1986.

The city in 2006 adopted the 220-foot building height maximum, and since then five additional high rises have been built or are currently in the works in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

“The feeling that I get from the neighborhoods, it’s the people who are living there,” Historic Preservation Commission Members Doug Harro said. “It’s the part-timers … There’s a lot of animosity of people coming in and buying these million-dollar condos.”

Choosing these recommendations also took discussions centered on striking a balance between downtown’s historic character while promoting modern-day facades, shadow factors, view protection, walkability and parking standards. 

“It’s not easy. There is not a simple, straight forward answer to this,” Community Planning Director Hilary Patterson said. “We have really been studying communities in the region, across Idaho, across the U.S. and into Canada. We have been seeking input from community members of all different perspectives, from property owners and developers, and trying to come up with what makes sense for Coeur d'Alene moving forward.” 

    The new Marriott A/C Hotel, left, being built next to the Parkside Tower in Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday.