Preserving the Point

Joanne Nielson teared up as she flipped through the photo album.

On the top of a page was a black-and-white image of Joanne and her sisters as little girls, romping on the shores of Hayden Lake at Henry Point. Just below was a photo of her grandchildren, doing the same.

“You have generations of people who have come out here over the years, and doing the same thing we did,” Joanne said, standing in the home she owns at Henry Point. “We love it here because of the fact the family has been out here for all these years.”

Family vacations at Henry Point go way back.

About six decades, in fact.

It was in 1946 that Randall Henry, Joanne’s father, and his brothers claimed the shoreline on northeast Hayden Lake for their namesake and invested in a large parcel.

Henry intended the wooded parcel as a safe, quiet refuge for his family to recreate.

His descendants have done just that, Joanne said.

Now 74, she has vacationed at the beach with her family since she was 8 months old, when it was still a public beach. Since her father purchased the property, the spot has lured her aunts, uncles, cousins and all of their children each year to spend time together and engage in good, clean fun.

“The reason it was purchased was after World War II, we wanted a safe place for the children to come,” Joanne remembered.

“There were no issues with drugs or alcohol, we could go to anybody’s home back and forth.”

Now, the family wants to preserve the vacation spot for good.

Nielson Ventures LLC, managed by Joanne’s son Jeff Nielson, is seeking a conditional-use permit through Kootenai County to establish a private, family-owned resort on an undeveloped 50 acres on Henry Point.

The proposal would allow Henry’s descendants to build up to 28 new homes and cabins in the area over the next 30 years, as well a community dock.

Intended to preserve the land as well as the tradition of family vacationing, the resort will be used by Henry’s descendants only, Jeff wrote in an e-mail.

“To say that Henry Point is important to us is an enormous understatement,” wrote Jeff, who remembers vacationing there since he was a boy. “Throughout the years, we have enjoyed spending time there whether it’s summer or winter. This was considered a special place for all of us.”

The family owns more than 20 cabins and homes on 12 acres at Henry Point. Jeff reported that extended family visits throughout the year to water-ski, swim, hike and play games.

Some share cabins, others pitch tents. Roughly 100 relatives make it out for the Fourth of July, he added.

It can get crowded, said Joanne, who lives there year-round. The new cabins could provide more living space.

“In the summer months, I have 22 in this home,” she said of her children and grandchildren.

The proposed number of homes is intended mainly for later generations, Joanne added. She only expects one or two cabins to be built in the next several years.

“The number of lots they requested they don’t anticipate building now, but their children building there eventually,” she said.

Jeff wrote that the family intends to protect the wildlife corridor running through Henry Point. The family requested permission for a resort instead of a subdivision to minimize impacts.

“We don’t want a development. It would change the complexion,” Joanne said, adding that she would hate to see paved roads there.

The resort would not be for profit, Jeff wrote.

“We simply wish to live on the land our grandparents set aside for us,” he wrote.

Henry Point was previously known as Elmore Beach, according to the permit application, and was a popular retreat in the early 1900s.

Jeff expects the boat slips at the resort will be built per cabin.

Water will be provided by well, and sewage disposal by individual septic and drainfield. Each structure will be required to obtain approval from Panhandle Health District before and after construction.

The resort application states that each residence will contain parking that meets ordinance requirements.

The county examiner will hold a hearing on the proposed resort at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21 in meeting room 1 of the Kootenai County Administration Building.

Nielson Ventures, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a family-owned LLC formed exclusively for the land on Hayden Lake and owns no other significant asset, Jeff said.

“There is a lot of heritage out there,” he wrote. “We have been out there our entire lives and have enjoyed it immensely. We would like to continue that tradition for our own children.”