Dock garbage prompts complaints
COEUR d'ALENE — A pair of upscale boathouses along the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene's Moscow Bay contrast with an unkempt, aesthetically unpleasant property between them.
Four old, decrepit docks and a withering float house are just part of the reason the parcel has generated complaints from neighbors and the attention of the Idaho Department of Lands.
Its owner, 74-year-old Shirley Freeman of Coeur d'Alene, has been repeatedly notified for her non-compliance of issues related to the property’s trash and deterioration.
Strewn across the docks is everything from a bag of diapers, weathered recliners, a torn-apart barbecue to a truck canopy atop a small boat.
This has been a concern for the last five years, per the IDL, which advised Freeman to clean up the property in August of 2011, June of 2012, December of 2013 and April of 2016, to no avail.
Sharla Arledge, IDL's public information officer, said Freeman is in violation of the state’s Lake Protection Act, which regulates encroachments on, in or above the navigable lakes in Idaho.
She also isn't in compliance with her permit.
"We have been working this year to get Ms. Freeman back into compliance," Arledge said. "However, the deadline for her to complete certain tasks has passed. IDL is exploring its options for other legal remedies."
The IDL's main concerns, Arledge said, are the unsanitary and decrepit condition of the float home and docks which can pose a danger, and debris and trash in the water which can affect water quality and navigation. The failure to maintain a dock and float home in a clean, sanitary and non-dangerous condition constitutes a violation of the lease and permit.
Various attempts to reach Freeman for comment — phone calls, Facebook messages and visits to her home — were unsuccessful.
According to the Coeur d'Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association's November 2014 meeting minutes, a picture of Freeman's deteriorating float house appeared in its 2011 summer/fall newsletter.
Freeman introduced herself to the lake association at the 2014 meeting, per the minutes, and indicated she was notified of the Lake Protection Act violation and was working to resolve the outstanding issues.
"With her personal health failing, she is pursuing family assistance in getting the matter resolved, but also welcomes any suggestions or resources CLPOA may want to offer," the minutes read.
The lakeshore property owners association’s executive director, Rand Wichman, wasn't on the board in 2014 when the issue was discussed, but he has recently seen the property.
"I wouldn't live next to it, either," Wichman said. "It's not what you'd expect for waterfront property. It's looks like it was abandoned. It looks like hell."