Decisions expected on Coeur Terre, STRs
An overhead view of the proposed Coeur Terre development.
Artist rendering courtesy City of Coeur d'Alene
COEUR d’ALENE — Two key issues will go before the Coeur d’Alene City Council on Tuesday.
The meeting will be moved up one hour, to 5 p.m. in the Library Community Room, from its usual time.
The council is expected to make a decision on Coeur Terre, a proposed major development on the western city limits.
At its Feb. 7 meeting, which stretched for nearly six hours, the council deferred a decision on a development agreement regarding Kootenai County Land Company’s proposed 442-acre annexation and zoning change.
The project calls for about 2,000 housing units, businesses, shops and restaurants, 18 acres of parks, a greenbelt with water features, four miles of trails and land for two public schools.
The vacant land is zoned agriculture-suburban. The request is for it to be annexed into city limits with a mix of residential and commercial zoning designations.
Residents in Indian Meadows to the east have objected to plans that call for roads in their quiet neighborhoods to be used as connectors to the development.
Developers said at the Feb. 7 meeting they were agreeable to that request.
Coeur Terre received unanimous approval from the Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission in October.
Another debated issue, short-term rentals, will be considered by the council.
The Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to recommend the City Council repeal the code that allows a 14-day exemption for STR permits; amend penalties for operating an STR without a permit from $100 to $1,000 for the first offense, $2,000 for the second and $5,000 for the third.
The council will also consider a moratorium on new STR permits for a year, from March to March 2024.
A fee increase of $84 for an STR annual renewal, bringing it to $180, will also be considered.
Since last year, the city has discussed ways to get a handle on the rise of STRs accused of adversely affecting neighborhoods.
The city has issued 564 STR permits in its current calendar year, many of those recently, compared to 160 in 2018-19.
It is estimated there are hundreds operating without permits, and that downtown areas have a heavy concentration of STRs.
Many in the property businesses, owners and managers, have objected to the cap on new permits.
They said STRs were being picked on, there was little data to indicate they were a problem, said STRs provide economic benefits to the community.