Council delays Marriott appeal hearing

COEUR d’ALENE — An appeal hearing on the Marriott hotel slated to be built downtown was unanimously tabled by the Coeur d’Alene City Council on Tuesday.

The move will give the council time to consider changing its code that prevented public comment on the project at Sixth Street and Sherman Avenue. The matter is expected to be discussed and voted on at a future council meeting.

“An ordinance change is not on the agenda. We can’t vote on that tonight,” said City Attorney Randy Adams.

The city had stated prior to the meeting no public comment would be allowed on the project, but a crowd filled the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Community Room and many wanted to offer input. Most left grumbling when the council tabled the matter more than two hours into the meeting.

A motion by City Councilman Dan Gookin at the beginning of the meeting to allow people to comment on the proposed Marriott hotel approved in January by the Design Review Commission was voted down.

“I think the public is here to speak. I want to let them speak,” Gookin said, then asked if the rest of the council felt the same way.

Gookin said the council should suspend the rule so the people could have their say.

Adams, however, expressed doubts about Gookin’s request.

He previously wrote that pursuant to Municipal Code 17.09.340(C) “only the appellant and applicant, and their representatives, and city staff may present argument to the City Council on an appeal from the decision of the Design Review Commission."

Adams wrote, "Therefore, no Public Comment will be accepted tonight regarding the Marriott Hotel Project. Public Comment on the subject of the appeal would taint the appeal process and deny the parties a fair hearing.”

“I’m not sure this is a rule to be suspended. This is an ordinance,” Adams said. “I don’t think the council can just suspend an ordinance.”

He said the code would have to be amended.

“That means we can just change the rule?” Woody McEvers asked. 

“You can amend any code,” Adams said.

Gookin and Christie Wood voted to allow input on the issue during the meeting’s public comment period. McEvers, Dan English and Amy Evans voted no. Councilwoman Kiki Miller was not present.

English later made the motion that the Marriott appeal hearing be tabled to give the council time to consider changing the ordinance so the public could then comment.

“For tonight, hit the pause,” he said.

English suggested it be tabled for 60 or 90 days, but no hard date was determined.

"There's no crucial timeline I can sense on this," he said.

Mayor Jim Hammond asked about the impacts of delaying the appeal hearing.

“If we’re going to change the rules, does that affect both the applicant and the appellant who have already gone through a process?” he asked.

Adams said there should be consideration of significant delays that could affect the applicant who wants the project to move forward.

Developers have said construction could begin this summer and take about two years to complete.

Downtown resident Joan Woodard previously requested an appeal hearing of the DRC's January decision approving the six-story Marriott hotel. It would have 131 rooms, 130 parking spaces, three stories of underground parking, a fitness center, a rooftop bar and an outdoor patio. 

She previously told The Press the public was not given sufficient notice and information about the project until it was too late, and the hotel was given a green light despite what she sees as conflicts with the principles of the city’s comprehensive plan.

    Gookin