White House is history; townhomes headed this way

A famous plot of land is one step closer to disappearing into Coeur d’Alene’s history books.

The city’s Planning Commission approved a five-lot subdivision request Tuesday evening at 810 E. Lakeside, where the back half of the J.C. White House once sat.

The house had sat vacant as ownership mulled developing its land. But in a deal with the city and the Museum of North Idaho, the historic house — one of the last remaining original homes built in the city’s infancy — was moved, ever so carefully, to its new home along the base of Tubbs Hill in November 2019.

“The plan is to make a residential subdivision real similar to … those Sherman Five East and West,” Russ Helgeson, civil engineer for the firm Frame & Smetana, told the commission. “Same sized lots, almost identical, 30-foot wide kinda townhouse look.”

The new subdivision, an R-17 dubbed “Measom Addition,” will effectively — though not technically — sit on the corner of Lakeside Avenue and 8th Street. That corner is blocked off, as eastbound traffic curves south to join Sherman Avenue, rather than continue east.

That break in traffic was one of the features developers believe will make the property more appealing to prospective home buyers, as the lot is unusually pedestrian-friendly.

“The property is very close to the downtown core, as well,” senior planner Sean Holm told the committee. “So it lends itself nicely to walkability, as well as bikeability to services and parks you can find downtown, as well as [North Idaho College].”

The property had originally been primed for three single-family homes, but developers increased the density within the plans to five townhouse-style homes. That inspired letters of opposition from the community despite the fact the five new units would not exceed the R-17 parameters. Those letters gave commissioner Lynn Fleming pause.

“We’ve creeped development that doesn’t really belong on a residential street,” Fleming said. “We’ve allowed to flip it off of a very busy Sherman onto a residential — almost a cul-de-sac — lifestyle. I’m a big advocate of townhomes here. I’m a big advocate of condominiums. I like alternative ways of living. But I do not like when you up-turn the neighborhood. Yes, we checked all the boxes. Agreeable. But you just heard an outstanding response from the neighborhood that said, ‘We don’t want this.’”

Under the developer’s plans, the new homes will also access an all-but-abandoned alleyway. That alleyway will be shared by the adjacent property on Sherman Avenue.

The approval passed by a 3-2 vote. Fleming voted against the measure along with fellow commissioner Peter Luttropp. Commissioners Brinnon Mandel, Lewis Rumpler and Jon Ingalls voted to approve the request.