Piles of problems

COEUR d'ALENE — Several slash and garbage piles that were left behind on a tract of land formerly used to house a trespassing transient population are still just sitting on the property.

The previously densely wooded area in Coeur d'Alene north of the Silver Lake Mall and adjacent to Target and Ross was thinned out last year when the property owner, Spokane developer Harlan Douglass of Douglass Properties, cleared it because of its history of homeless encampments.

"Literally, they destroyed a piece of private property," said Shawn Montee, owner or Shawn Montee Timber Company, which has the logging contract with Douglass. "It was a really gross job."

In an email addressed to Coeur d'Alene City Administrator Jim Hammond on Saturday, concerned citizen Richard Rockwell inquired about what is being done to clear the debris piles from this location between Government Way and U.S. Highway 95. Some of the piles are nearly 20 feet tall.

"These piles are a health hazard — breeding ground for infestation by insects and rodents — as well as being unsightly," Rockwell wrote, noting the city's code compliance form "is too unwieldy and refuses to acknowledge the location is within Cd’A boundaries."

Montee explained that he has a Forest Practice Permit with the state of Idaho that expires Nov. 30. He said the debris heaps are in the phase of drying and a different contractor will be chosen to remove the piles, whether the method is burning or mulching.

He said the whole job is an ongoing process that could have been avoided.

"Had the city of Coeur d'Alene done their job, I don't think that would have been handled that way," Montee said. "I think the code violation was letting squatters in there for eight years. I think those piles are a small part of this.

"Those trees would still be standing had those homeless not been permitted to stay in there for eight years," he continued. "I'm not one to start trouble, but the truth is the truth."

He said he feels city and private landowners should work together, not against each other, in situations like this. Although he declined to give a monetary amount, he said clearing the 18.72-acre area was expensive for the landowner, not to mention "gross" for those who had to clean up the garbage, feces and other refuse left by the squatting homeless population.

"Why did the city permit it?" Montee said. "They don't permit people to camp out in the parks and live. I think the city should bear the landowner's cost."

Douglass' assistant Deanna Malcom said no plans to sell the property are in order. She said the company has not received any complaints about the debris heaps.

"We're not planning to sell," she said. "There's nothing going on there."

City community planning director Hilary Anderson said she hasn't seen anything come through the planning department regarding this tract of land. However, it's up to the Idaho Transportation Department whether a road, specifically Wilbur Road, will run through that area, she said.

"When the state decides, that's when Wilbur will go through," Anderson said. "There's no plans for that (area) in the near future."

Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel said burning the piles would not be ideal for a handful of reasons.

"They’re just too big," he said. "The big pieces of wood in there would burn forever."

He said smoke that close to Highway 95 just wouldn't be a good idea, either.

"In the city, people don't like things burning and smoldering for a long period of time," Gabriel said. "A lot of it is letting them dry out."