County has new land-use category

COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County has a new land-use designation for resort lodges, conference centers and guest ranches.

Following a four-hour meeting on Monday night, commissioners, on a 2-1 vote, approved a new conditional-use permit designation for such uses.

Commissioner David Stewart, who voted for the proposal along with Marc Eberlein, said the decision pleased some residents and upset others.

"I believe I decided what is right for the community," Stewart said. "This was needed."

Roughly 50 people attended the hearing — the second one on the topic held by commissioners — and about 15 folks testified.

The new land-use classification will be allowed in commercial zones, meaning that applications in such zones do not need to go through the conditional-use permit process. Applications for such uses in agricultural, agricultural suburban, rural and restricted residential zones would need to go through the conditional-use process.

Those who opposed the proposal expressed concerns about more regulations handed down by government.

Under the new designation, the minimum acreage needed to receive a conditional-use permit is 20 acres. Commissioner Dan Green said the only reason he voted against the proposal was that he believed the minimum acreage should be 40 acres.

"Otherwise I agreed with Marc and Dave on the other points," Green said.

A member of the property owner's family must reside on the property or, if the property is owned by an entity such as a corporation or limited liability company, a member of the corporation holding at least 20 percent interest in the corporation must reside on the property.

If someone has been operating such a facility before the adoption of the CUP, they will be grandfathered in and considered conforming.

Commissioners said wedding venues, which were once considered in the proposal, will be dealt with separately.

"There is nothing drafted at this time and we do not have a timeline for a draft being presented for consideration," Green said.

David Callahan, the county's community development director, said that based on direction from recent Planning Commission workshops for the new proposed development code, the county has clarified in the proposed code that weddings and wedding receptions can be allowed at churches and fraternal or similar facilities.

"That said, we still have the problem that we have always had," he said. "There is no current way to accommodate a private facility that hosts weddings or wedding receptions. If the board (of commissioners) decides to address this matter, then we’ll need to handle this separately as was done for the resort lodges, retreat centers or guest ranches."

Stewart said he believes weddings need to be handled separately from the other land uses. He said weddings were a major concern expressed by residents because they can present congestion, alcohol, parking and access issues.

Stacey Bonilla, who lives on Hayden Lake, said she had concerns that when the land-use matter was proposed it was not in tune with the county's comprehensive plan, which is a planning guide aimed at preserving the rural nature of the area.

"We need to keep that small-town feel," she said.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Oct. 15, then voted on Oct. 22 to forward the proposal to county commissioners with no recommendation. The commissioners held a public hearing on Dec. 10 then decided last month to re-open the public hearing on Monday.