Coeur D'Alene "has developed in such a way that the working class white folks who grew up there aren't going to be able to raise their kids in the very community they grew up in," Benjamin says. The culprit is not necessarily individual discrimination, but structural and institutional momentum, with zoning and real estate policies often implemented by wealthy newcomers. "It's not just a natural fact of life, how resources are mobilized on behalf of the rich," Benjamin says. "The real estate industry has lobbied the (Coeur D'Alene) local government in such a way that you can only zone property on a one-acre lot. "The stated reason of one-acre lot rules is to control 'congestion' and to keep 'low density.' In reality, by requiring a one acre lot, the locality ensures only wealthy people move in -- how many poor people/renters do we know who can afford a one-acre lot?/Rob Baedecker, Special to SF Gate. More here.

Question: I'd like to think Richard Benjamin was misquoted here. I've lived in Coeur d'Alene for most of my 25 years in town. The only one-acre requirement placed by a municipal government is in Dalton Gardens. Wonder where Benjamin and/or the writer here came up with that idea?