Beachfront homeowners draw the line

Sanders Beach is going naked this holiday weekend.

Except for a white chalk line that a property owner drew across the sand Friday, there is nothing to indicate the line where private property ends and public land begins.

Property owner Dick Barclay, whose land is just east of the 12th Street public entrance, also staked a “no trespassing” sign on his side of the makeshift mark. The bottom of the placard instructs people with questions to call Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem, and it lists her office number. The chalk line stretches from Barclay’s property east to about Taylor Street. The other Sanders Beach properties remained unmarked.

Barclay allegedly chalked the beach to indicate the court-declared high water mark, which is at 2,130 feet above sea level, after learning the city wasn’t able to do it for the July Fourth weekend.

Coeur d’Alene officials had hoped to erect some type of physical barrier before the busy beach-going holiday. Yet officials learned this week that they need an encroachment permit from the Idaho Department of Lands to pound stakes every 150 feet to designate the high-water mark. The line would give the public a clear indicator of which sand is for public use and help police mediate disputes and enforce trespassing laws.

It’s likely the permit process will take at least 30 days and perhaps include either a public hearing or comment period, said Carl Washburn of the Lands Department. That means Coeur d’Alene couldn’t start marking the beach until August.

Local attorney John Magnuson, who represents the majority of Sanders Beach property owners, including Barclay, said he has no problem with his clients chalking the 2,130-foot line, given that the city seems unwilling to defend the private property of Sanders Beach homeowners.

“I think he has the right to protect his property, and if he wants to make his position known, well that’s his prerogative,” Magnuson said.

Coeur d’Alene officials demanded Friday that Barclay remove the sign, claiming it violates the city’s shoreline ordinance that prohibits the erection of any structures on the beach.

City Attorney Mike Gridley said the city also got calls from residents who complained that homeowner Jerry Frank was attempting to kick people off the beach near the 15th Street public entrance.

Gridley reiterated that Sanders Beach is open to the public below the elevation of 2,130 feet. That’s the court-declared high-water mark.

“This is a public beach,” Gridley said, adding that city police will attempt to enforce city park rules, such as no dogs, no alcohol and no night swimming, for the public portion of beach.

Gridley said the city is trying to determine whether Barclay’s line is accurate.

Most of the nearly 100 beach-goers Friday afternoon stayed on the water side of the chalk line, which gives the public just enough sand to spread out a beach towel.

Malinda Bryant sunbathed a few feet from the no-trespassing sign while her two children splashed in the lake. She said the chalk and the sign won’t dissuade her from using the beach that’s been a favorite summer retreat for 15 years.

“Rules are rules,” she said. “It just makes it real crowded.”

Until the recent court ruling, the boundary was unknown, sparking heated confrontations among Sanders Beach property owners and the public.

Magnuson said his clients have no objection to the encroachment permit. He added that he doesn’t think Barclay’s no-trespassing sign violates the city’s shoreline ordinance because it’s staked into the ground. If it’s in violation, then the markers the city plans to use will likely violate the ordinance because they would also be staked into the ground. He assumes the city will have to grant itself a variance so it doesn’t violate the shoreline ordinance.

The lack of marking for this weekend caused Magnuson to write the city earlier in the week, questioning how the city planned to enforce his clients’ property rights.

He doubts city police have had any special training or education in the rules that govern Sanders Beach this summer.

“It would represent but another effort by the City to turn a blind eye towards the rights of Sanders Beach homeowners,” Magnuson wrote.

Earlier this month, 1st District Court Judge James Judd rejected the city’s request not to enforce the boundary until the Idaho Supreme Court makes a final decision on the location of the high-water mark. The high court has scheduled an August hearing, and a ruling is likely sometime in spring 2007.

The city wanted Judd, as he did last summer, to declare that anything below the Sanders Beach seawalls is open to the public until the high court makes a ruling as an assured way to keep the peace this summer.

The 2,130-foot mark isn’t obvious. Only one seawall is at that elevation, while the locations of others vary.