Hayden Lake dock project approved

COEUR d'ALENE - More boats will be calling Hayden Lake home this summer.

Which has some happier than others.

Last Friday, the Idaho Department of Lands approved a controversial 46-boat dock proposed for the northwest shore of the lake.

The encroachment permit granted to the Falls at Hayden Lake Homeowners' Association will allow construction of a 23-slip dock, with room for two boats at each slip. The slips will correspond with units at the Falls at Hayden Lake development, slated for construction this year.

"We're obviously thrilled it got passed through," said Todd Stam, one of the principals behind the project. "It was a huge benefit to our development, having docks."

According to the hearing coordinator report that recommended approval, the community dock complies with IDL standards.

The structure won't create an obstacle for vessels on the water, the document read, and the compact design provides for less impact to fish and wildlife along the shoreline.

The report also addressed concerns about water quality that had been brought up at a public hearing in early January.

A proposed dock only need comply with standards for non-polluting construction materials, it said.

"Individual dock applications are not the best way to address water quality," the document read. "The navigational necessity of the proposed encroachment outweighs any potential water quality impacts."

Public concerns about increased boat traffic also wasn't reason enough to deny the application, the document read, adding that water crafts aren't managed by the IDL.

"IDL understands the proposed dock will increase boat traffic on the lake, but every new dock encroachment does so as well," the hearing coordinator wrote. "The question of boat traffic and maritime safety on a lake cannot be addressed on an ad hoc basis through the permitting of individual docks, or by denying an encroachment permit to parties with littoral rights."

The community docks will also have less impact on wildlife and sport fishing than a series of single family docks along the same property, according to the document.

Stam said the homeowners' association put a great deal of effort into the application.

"We think (the docks are) environmentally friendly. We think it's a great plan," Stam said.

Some have doubts about the project, however.

Diane Kosewic said she and her husband have seen a lot of changes since they moved to the east shore of Hayden Lake 38 years ago, including the development of Camp MiVoden on the opposite shore.

She's worried the new docks will bring even more of the noise and boat traffic they already endure from the summer camp, she said.

"Between the boats and the noise, we kind of hide all summer," Kosewic said. "My poor husband almost got run over a few times by a jet ski."

Terry Harris, executive director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, said he was disappointed the IDL approved the project without attaching any restrictions or conditions.

"I think the IDL is abdicating a bunch of responsibility here," Harris said. "They say they don't have responsibility for boat traffic, and they don't have responsibility for water quality. They say this is better than a whole bunch of individual docks, but that wasn't what was proposed."

He worries the docks will establish a precedent encouraging other developers to install large facilities on the lake, he added.

"If the Department of Lands isn't going to regulate this resource, then the resource is going to be over-used," he said.

IDL staff was gone for the day for training on Tuesday and unavailable to comment.

Stam promised the Falls of Hayden Lake Homeowners' Association will continue to be receptive to locals' concerns about the development.

"We believe in the project. We're optimistic that the market is going to allow us to move through the project like we think," Stam said. "We think it's probably a three- to five-year project, so we're not in a big hurry. We're going to take our time and do it right."