Chateau planners begin anew
The developers of a French-themed golf retreat on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene are starting over after reaching a mediated agreement with the county.
Las Vegas-based Kirk-Hughes Development will file new development plans for Chateau de Loire by March 16 and receive an expedited public hearing schedule with the hearing examiner reviewing the project by April 19.
The Kootenai County Commission likely will have a public hearing in June with a final decision perhaps in July.
“This is not a guarantee of future development, but it allows them to go through the process again,” County Attorney John Cafferty said.
In exchange, Kirk-Hughes Development will drop its appeal filed in 1st District Court in September, alleging that the commission’s denial of the Chateau de Loire project was discriminatory and unsupported.
The mediation settlement hammered out Friday and approved by the commission Tuesday also calls for the developers to mitigate the increased traffic on state Highway 97 that the gated resort would generate because of its 475 luxury homes.
That’s one of the main reason the commission rejected the initial proposal, saying the highway can’t handle more traffic and that the project doesn’t fit in with the rural area reserved for timberland.
The company has agreed to build a permanent underpass or overpass across Highway 97, which bisects the 600-acre Chateau de Loire property overlooking Moscow Bay.
The agreement also calls for all construction traffic to run at nonpeak hours as determined by the Idaho Transportation Department and for the company to contribute money for a traffic mitigation study of Highway 97.
To get approval, the company must ensure that all building sites, including those on steep slopes, and wetland disturbances comply with local, state and federal laws.
Attorney Kacey Wall, who represents Kirk-Hughes Development, said that the county’s initial denial didn’t clearly state why the commission opposed the project. This agreement clears up that uncertainty and will allow the company to craft a plan that is mindful of the county’s concerns, she said.
Interim Planning Director Cheri Howell said the county will contract with a private land-use planner to process the new Chateau de Loire application because of potential conflicts of interest.
Howell represented Kirk-Hughes Development as a private land-use consultant before she went to work for the county. Also, an employee in the county’s planning and building department is married to Gary Young, who is the company’s new project manager.
Post Falls recently fired Young as its community development director. Young was an at-will contract employee, and the City Council didn’t give any official cause for termination.