Best Hill project withdrawn again

For the second time, developers of a proposed housing subdivision on Coeur d’Alene’s Best Hill have yanked the plan right before it was to go to a public hearing.

Representatives of Halko LLC faxed the city a letter just before 5 p.m. Monday, asking to withdraw the project, which has sparked outcry from neighbors and locals who want to preserve the steep, tree-lined hillside at the end of Best Avenue. The proposal was scheduled for a public hearing before the city’s planning commission tonight. The company did likewise in September, withdrawing its proposal just hours before the public hearing.

Halko attorney Steve Wetzel didn’t return phone calls Monday. But he stated in his letter to the city that the company wants to resubmit the project with a development plan for all of its property on Best Hill, not just the 30 acres highlighted in the first phase. Company leaders would like to meet with neighbors to save the city from a prolonged hearing and “potential aggravation,” Wetzel wrote.

Halko, whose managing members are local developer Bill Radobenko, Brant Morris and Hallmark Homes’ Mike Fitzgerald, wanted to build 35 homes, most on the flat meadow by Nettleton Creek and a few on the hillside. The company also asked the city to annex the 30 acres comprising the first phase.

City Planning Director Dave Yadon said he isn’t sure how much property Halko owns. Jeff Coulter, who is leading the opposition group, Best Hill Coalition, said the company owns an adjoining 92 acres to the east.

“To (withdraw) at the last moment is so ultimately disrespectful,” Coulter said.

He said the coalition, which is made up mostly of neighbors in the Nettleton Gulch area, has spent hundreds of hours preparing a presentation, and thousands of dollars hiring professionals to show that the area is a wetland and prone to flooding.

In September, the coalition filed a lawsuit in Idaho’s 1st District Court, asking a judge to uphold protective covenants that allow only one home for every two acres, regardless of zoning laws in either the city or the county.

In 1986, the former owner of the property agreed to a protective covenant that lasts 30 years. The property at issue is one of eight included under the Nettleton Estates property owners’ contract. Recently, seven new property owners in the Nettleton Gulch area signed the agreement.

On Aug. 22, 12 of the 15 property owners covered by the covenants agreed to an amendment that calls for one home for every two acres. Halko’s initial subdivision proposal asked the city to zone the property to allow up to five homes per acre.