Making waves

COEUR d'ALENE - A homeowners association's proposed community dock project near Lake Coeur d'Alene's Black Rock Bay is generating a lot of opposition.

"This is a major concern for all property owners on lakes," said Glenn McDonald, of Greenacres, Wash., who owns property near the proposed docks. "This could set a precedent where there are these types of things popping up all over."

The developers, called the Lewis Dock Homeowners Association, are proposing two docks totaling 2,500 square feet and 12 boat slips, according to the application. The slips are 12 feet by 30 feet.

Robbie Dennie, whose father built a neighboring A-frame, said the docks will decrease safety for swimmers, kayakers and others because of the increased boat traffic.

"We are fighting all of this," Dennie said. "Everybody is outraged, everybody feels sick."

Roger Johnson, a resource specialist for the Idaho Department of Lands in Coeur d'Alene, said his office heard from multiple people contesting the docks before the application for them had even been submitted.

A public hearing now is scheduled for April 24. Public comment about encroachments on adjacent property, effects on property values or water quality and other topics will be accepted at the hearing, and Sid Anderson of the department's Boise office will have 30 days to produce a written decision.

McDonald said the docks and potential boat traffic would generate congestion and traffic that doesn't currently exist.

"It's not consistent with what exists in the neighborhood," he said. He said existing docks in the area have one, sometimes two slips, and are used for smaller boats.

"This is, in essence, creating a private marina," McDonald said.

Coeur d'Alene attorney John Magnuson represents the family that owns the property and is seeking to build the docks.

"There is nothing atypical about these docks," he said.

Four different members of Roger Anderson's family own the four lots tied to the proposed project, he said. Anderson is a real estate developer and founder of The Sundance Co. in Meridian.

Jim Brady, resource supervisor for the Department of Lands, said in a Dec. 11 email to other department staff that the project started with the Andersons buying the Lewis family estate of approximately 23 acres with 150 feet of lake frontage.

"Since then, they have acquired another parcel and have done a deed split or two and there are now 4 parcels, according to them," Brady wrote. "Technically, there are only two parcels that have been done in accordance with subdivision ordinances."

Magnuson said each of the four lots can have a 700-square-foot dock without a public hearing. Instead of 2,800 square feet of dock space, the proposal is only seeking 2,500 square feet, he said.

He also said the docks are farther away from neighbors than they have to be.

Ownership in the four lots, which will be marketed, will give buyers membership in the homeowners association.

Three of the lots will have single owners, Magnuson said, and each will be entitled to a boat slip. The fourth lot, with approximately 20, will have up to nine owners, he said. Each will get a boat slip and be able to use a new, luxury cabana built on the property near the lakeshore.

He called the cabana an "accessory unit" to the run-down old cabin just behind it.

Moritz Kundig, who owns neighboring property on Turquoise Drive, is among the concerned neighbors.

"I am concerned that the speed at which this project is proceeding has meant that a full consideration of all relevant facts has not occurred, and that the community's due process rights have been ignored," Kundig wrote in a letter to Johnson.

Jefferys and AliciaBaily, whose property is 300 feet from the proposed project, said in a letter to Johnson that the proposed docks "would serve large noisy boats which would result in heavy traffic along our shoreline and cause serious erosion to it."

Dave and PattiPetersen, neighbors of the proposed project, wrote in a February letter to Johnson that having "what constitutes a 'marina'" nearby will negatively affect the value of their property.

"What right does one individual, looking for financial gain, have to disrupt the privacy, tranquility and way of life of the many long-standing homeowners in the area?" the Petersens wrote.

Multiple others submitted comments opposing the docks, citing the safety of recreators, beach erosion, water quality, boat traffic, increased vehicle traffic on a narrow gravel road to the property and other concerns.

The public hearing on April 24 will be conducted at the Department of Lands office in the Sundance Conference room at 3284 W. Industrial Loop in Coeur d'Alene.