Cougar Bay Developers Get More Time But Commissioners Still Undecided On Length Of Extension For Subdivision
Cougar Bay developers will get an extension for their housing development, although the Kootenai County commissioners have not decided how long the reprieve will last.
Commissioners Ron Rankin and Dick Compton voted Wednesday to give McCormack Properties more time to build the 92-home subdivision south of Coeur d’Alene.
Commissioners are working with legal counsel to decide how much time McCormack should have to start the $2.2 million subdivision. The time limit will be made a part of the extension order, which commissioners are to sign in the next few weeks.
McCormack applied for an indefinite stay, arguing that two lawsuits leave it unable to raise money to finance construction. At a hearing before commissioners last week, McCormack’s attorney argued that the tenacity of those opposed to the development justifies an unlimited extension of time.
The Rural Kootenai Organization, which filed both lawsuits, told commissioners that the clock has more than run out on the development and that only the courts could grant an extension. The group also noted that McCormack never has put up the necessary bond for water, sewer and roads that would show it is serious about the development.
The Idaho Supreme Court is considering one of the lawsuits, and the other is pending in Kootenai County District Court.
Commissioners spent a week considering the appeal. During that time, the Kootenai County Planning Department expressed concern over an open-ended extension.
“It could be several more years before the litigation on this case is settled,” a Planning Department report said. “Time deadlines are placed to protect the county from projects which were acceptable when originally approved, but changing times, changing ordinances, new land uses and changing philosophies may make a project unacceptable to a community many years later.”
In other action, county commissioners decided to have another public hearing on the Eastside Highway District’s plans for a new shop on Mullan Trail Road. At an earlier public hearing, 17 of 23 people who attended opposed the project.
Among other things, neighbors claim that Mullan Trail Road cannot handle the heavy equipment traffic that the shop would bring and that the shop would ruin the character of the neighborhood.
A hearing examiner sided with opponents, saying the project violates the county’s comprehensive plan.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: LAWSUITS The Idaho Supreme Court is considering one of the Rural Kootenai Organization lawsuits, and the other is pending in Kootenai County District Court.