Neighbors Stage Battle To Save Haven Of Trees City Wants To Sell 2.8 Acre Parcel For Building Or Apartments

City leaders want to sell a tree-lined triangle of forgotten ground, purchased 43 years ago for $6,000.

The 2.8-acre haven of pine trees and fallen needles at Kathleen Avenue and Fourth Street is worth about $95,000 as land for apartments and townhouses, said Mayor Al Hassell.

It serves no real purpose as is - unless you live next door.

“This is an oasis,” neighboring resident Ed Eichwald, 67, said as he surveyed the dense green-on-brown landscape. “If they sell it, it’ll be a desert.”

Neighbors who share his sentiment are circulating a petition to stop the proposal to auction the land. The City Council will make a decision April 18.

As Coeur d’Alene grew, city land was sold over the years to raise money for street construction and other projects.

This particular piece is one of the city’s few remaining vacant tracts, not already planned for a park or expansion of a public service, Hassell said.

“Most of the rest have been sold or traded away,” he said. The traded land is typically used to gain rights-of-way for new roads.

With each such sale or trade, Kathleen Avenue-area residents said, another piece of the city’s culture is lost. This is just the latest example.

“Is Coeur d’Alene a beautiful city because of all the new houses or because of its natural look?” asked neighbor John Bushfield.

When Kootenai County sold it to the city in 1952, it was to be used for the public, Bushfield said. Selling it for cash just isn’t smart.

“If they sell that land they’ll get a piddlin’ amount compared to what the city needs for roads,” said neighbor Al Rambosek, 81. “Ninety-five thousand isn’t enough to do the design work on a project these days.”

Bushfield, 71, moved across the street from Montana in 1973, thinking the public land would always offer him a buffer. In 20 years, plans for the land have ranged from a cemetery to soccer fields, he said.

Now the retired forester is willing to cut, thin and preserve the trees to keep the area natural, he said.

It’s the best choice, he says. The acreage is small, and therefore easy to maintain. Neighboring streets are already too busy to handle the up to 24 rental units zoning would allow.

But the size and busy streets are precisely why the city is thinking of selling, Hassell said.

“It’s not big enough for a park,” he said. Plus, “there are three busy streets on all three sides. It’s not a place for kids to play.”

Hassell said the city could decide to change the zoning before auction or simply kill the sale. It could also agree to go ahead.

“It’s too big to just let it sit there at taxpayer expense,” he said.