Bayview Residents Want To Preserve View, Quiet Kootenai County Asked To Create ‘Bayview Zone’ In Land-Use Plan

It seems every window in Chuck Waller’s home looks out onto Scenic Bay, a breathtaking harbor surrounded by snow-covered foothills.

Up the road from the Waller house, downtown Bayview is still - even on a Saturday afternoon.

The quiet is interrupted only by a stiff wind whipping across Lake Pend Oreille and an occasional car. The absence of any gas station in town is testimony to a decided lack of traffic.

Waller and about 200 other residents rallied this weekend to tell Kootenai County planners that Bayview’s quiet and its views must be preserved. They want the county to create a “Bayview Zone” in the comprehensive plan. Such a zone would recognize the community’s unique character and shield it from certain types of development.

“My grandparents started the Scenic Bay Resort here in 1937,” Waller said. “I share the concern that we could end up being a lot bigger than we want to be. It’d be nice to put in place some regulation to keep it from happening.”

At a town meeting on Friday, county planners heard from most of Bayview’s winter population - a little better than 200 people. Jess Goetz, a long-time resident, is spearheading a campaign to keep high-rises and big business out of Bayview.

To be sure, big development has not yet come calling. But a smattering of new homes in town - many of them grand, expensive retreats that capture views of Lake Pend Oreille - suggest growth is on the way.

Goetz and others cite Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint as examples of what could happen to Bayview as Kootenai County’s population boom stretches north.

“It’s finally sinking in that we could end up the same way Coeur d’Alene is,” Goetz said. “What if somebody came here with $5 million? They could buy the whole town. We’re trying to get something in place to prevent that.”

Bayview is not incorporated, so it relies on Kootenai County’s zoning regulations to guide development. Under existing zoning laws, Goetz said, a four-story building could be built in front of Bayview’s new community center, forever stealing its view.

But Goetz doesn’t speak for the entire town. In fact, some residents worry that a no-growth attitude will force existing businesses - which struggle this time of year - into the hands of bigger developers.

“If the town does not stay economically viable, it becomes open to predation by the most wealthy and experienced developers,” said resident David Murray. “Growth is going to occur whether the people of Bayview want it or not.”

Ed Carlin, the Scenic Bay Resort’s current owner, said some new growth could give Bayview a much-needed face lift. Many of the 25-foot-wide lots in town are home to single-wide trailers. View homes like Waller’s are out-numbered by mobile homes.

Although county planner Cheri Howell listened to Bayview residents’ concerns on Friday, the creation of a Bayview zone is just an idea so far. Some residents envision a special addendum or overlay to the county comprehensive plan that restricts building height, commercial zones, and residential density.

Resident John Cranney said a lot of folks in town are merely paranoid about growth, perhaps because they see new money trickling into town.

“But if Bayview does change,” Cranney said, “we want it to be done with sensitivity to the fact that we have a small, unique community.”

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