Don't miss riverfront preservation opportunity

Some great opportunities only come once. To miss them means forever living with the results.

Such an opportunity for Cd'A is on the table right now. On June 18 the Coeur d'Alene City Council voted to annex the old Atlas Mill site that fronts the Spokane River abutting Mill River, and to assign it a lucrative high-density zoning for housing and commercial development.

Included in the 22-acre parcel is a big swath of frontage on the Spokane River - some of the last remaining wooded, natural frontage on the river. Of the total 22 acres, the 7-acre strip between the old railroad right-of-way and the river offers an opportunity to preserve a natural waterfront area with open space and public access via walking/biking trails. Unfortunately, the Council approved an R-12 zoning (12 residences per acre) for this strip. That could potentially cram 84 dwellings onto this rare riverfront parcel.

Cities are often approached with requests for annexation and zoning of property. In this case the request is from a bank/owner (Washington Trust) with high-density development in mind. When considering such requests, city leaders must ask, "What's in it for our city? The public? The taxpayer?" especially since the property, when developed with commercial and housing units, will demand city services such as fire and police protection, sewers, water, street maintenance, street lighting, and other public services. (Not to mention the environmental impacts of traffic, air pollution, lighting, noise and the loss of riparian habitat, open space and a unique viewscape of the river.) Of course, the city will collect some development fees and the property will produce some long-term property tax income (hopefully enough to cover the cost of the future city services), but how else might a city benefit from agreeing to annex and "up-zone" this property?

Well, on a unique riverfront property like this, one thing the City could require is the preservation of a continuous, natural riverfront strip or parkway (i.e., no building) with guaranteed public access via an easement for biking and walking trails.

But since our City Council has missed the first opportunity to take a strong "preservationist" stand, what opportunity remains? Well, a formal Annexation Agreement must now be drawn up, which will require any future development to be in accordance with a customized Development Agreement, subject to the City's review and approval. At that time, public hearings will be held and it will be important that the public weigh in on what they'd like to see on this property. I hope there will be a loud and clear message to our Council that we expect the City to preserve this final stretch of riverfront area.

Luckily, City policies and ordinances are already in place to justify and require such preservation:

* The City's Comprehensive Plan includes this area as part of the Spokane River District "transition" area, and recognizes that big changes (transitions) are likely to occur on these vacated old mill sites. But the Plan also is very clear in dictating that future characteristics of this land should include ". . . open space, parks, pedestrian and bicycle connections and other public spaces, especially adjacent to the Spokane River."

* The City's existing "Shoreline Regulations" states that "Construction within forty feet (40') of the shoreline shall be prohibited . . ."

So maybe all the City has to do is require any development to comply with these existing directives. Hopefully they'll do the right thing, and not give in to developer pressure for "trade-offs" that might allow building within the 40-foot "setback" area in exchange for only a small public access site.

But in addition to the Atlas Mill property there's one more important piece to this riverfront puzzle. It will also be important that similar riverfront preservation requirements be applied to the other adjacent old mill site (Stimson?) property, yet to be developed. This would fill the gap, allowing for a continuous riverfront public easement and parkway system to become a reality, and providing an opportunity to create a scenic riverfront trail system extending from Riverstone to Mill River. The Mill River area would then have a connection to the Centennial Trail system and to bicycle routes to NIC and the central City area.

I hope that stakeholder groups like the Kootenai Environmental Alliance (KEA), the Centennial Trail Foundation, the Mill River Home Owners Association, walkers and joggers, anglers, bird watchers and nature lovers of all types will see the benefits of a riverfront preservation plan, and will work together with the City Parks Department to ensure that the City takes full advantage of this great opportunity.

It's now or never.

Roger D. Smith is a part-time resident of Coeur d'Alene.