Coeur d'Alene council moves to protect history
COEUR d’ALENE — John Swallow grew up in Coeur d’Alene and worries it’s going to “become somewhere else.”
He’s not wild about the rise of everything new and the disappearance of the old.
“I’m deeply concerned about the loss of our history or identity,” said Swallow, who recently received the city's Heart of History award.
While he supports private property rights, Swallow said he also supported a temporary moratorium on demolition of historic structures, as it could help provide a way to save an old building rather than tear it down.
“I do think we need to hit the pause button a little bit,” Swallow said.
The City Council agreed.
On Tuesday, by a 5-1 vote, it passed a resolution that set a 182-day moratorium "on demolition and moving permits and building permits for significant exterior alterations, for buildings, excluding residential, located in the Downtown Core Zoning District, and Downtown Overlay, Northside, and Downtown Overlay, Eastside, Districts and buildings listed on National Historic Register.”
“I trust that this gives us at least some hope at preservation,” Councilwoman Kiki Miller said.
Councilman Woody McEvers voted against the moratorium. He said he had concerns about how it could change what someone could do with their own property.
“I’m having a hard time with that part of it,” he said.
The moratorium has been a goal of the Historic Preservation Commission, particularly since the recent demolition of the East Lakeshore Drive 1925 home of the late Dr. E.R.W. "Ted" Fox and the historic Roosevelt Inn possibly facing the same fate.
Efforts to preserve the inn have resulted in an online petition that has garnered more than 5,000 signatures. Efforts are also underway to find a buyer for the inn and former school so it will avoid the wrecking ball.
Other historic structures could also fall victim to Coeur d'Alene’s growth.
“We don’t have any protections in place,” said Hilary Patterson, community planning director.
Walter Burns, HPC chairman, said the moratorium will give it time to develop a review process when historic properties are targeted for removal or major changes.
The HPC was formed in 2019.
“We’ve had some catching up to do,” Burns said. “We've worked very hard to do so.”
Deb Mitchell, who volunteers at the Museum of North Idaho and has studied the area’s history, turned to the Bible as she encouraged the council to approve the moratorium.
She cited First Corinthians, which says: “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’ — but not everything is good for you."
“Even though we have the right to tear our homes or buildings down, is it beneficial to our neighbors? Is it benefit to our community?” Mitchell said.
Patterson said Idaho Code allows for a moratorium on selected classes of permits “if council finds an imminent peril to the public health, safety or welfare exists."
Patterson said the demise of historic structures can affect mental health through grief, loss of belonging, isolation and alienation.
Idaho Code also “recognizes the importance of historic, archaeological and cultural heritage of the state, and provides for a comprehensive program of historic preservation.”
In Coeur d’Alene, buildings subject to the moratorium include City Hall, the Masonic Temple, First United Methodist Church, Fort Sherman buildings and St. Thomas Catholic Church.
Exclusions include outbuildings like a garage, dangerous buildings, buildings less than 50 years old, residential structures, interior demolitions and historic districts such as Fort Grounds and the Garden District.
Patterson cited several justifications for the moratorium, including that demolition permits with the city have no review process, that significant properties are at risk and the potential loss of downtown Coeur d’Alene’s history.
She said a group, including Councilman Dan Gookin, is focused on reviewing and proposing amendments to development standards and design guidelines. She said other Idaho communities have implemented temporary moratoriums to protect historic resources.
“Coeur d’Alene would not be the first,” she said.
McEvers
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