Assisted living facilities planned near I-90

COEUR d'ALENE - Coeur d'Alene's City Council on Tuesday will consider zoning changes and a special-use permit to allow construction of assisted-living facilities along Interstate 90.

The owners of the property, the Lilac Glen development, are also asking the city to approve seven duplex lots and six single-family lots on the 13-acre parcel of land. Three of the single-family lots are existing residences.

The parcel is situated between I-90, the Lake Villa Apartments, East Fernan Hill Road and the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 23rd Street.

Planning commissioners in June approved the request from the Larry Fluet Revocable Trust. A handful of neighbors voiced opposition to the proposal, citing concerns about traffic, congestion and flooding of French Gulch Creek, which runs through the property.

The public will have a chance to speak at Tuesday's 6 p.m. City Council meeting before the council votes on the proposal.

In addition to a zone change and the special-use permit for the assisted-living facility, the property owners are requesting to annex 3.51 acres of the property that's currently in the county.

Dick Stauffer, representing the applicant, told planning commissioners in June that the assisted-living facility would include two buildings, with parking underneath, and have 70 beds.

The owners want to extend Lilac Lane, which is just north of Sherman Avenue, through the property and connect the street with Pennsylvania Avenue, according to reports from the city's planning department. A condition of approval would be construction of a bridge or culvert over the creek.

The three new single-family lots would be on the hillside, facing Fernan Hill Road. In approving the request, the planning commission said the property owners would have to get permission from the East Side Highway District for access to Fernan Hill Road.

Walking and biking paths through the development are included in the proposal.