Judge Reverses Cougar Bay Plans Controversial 92-Home Development Sent Back To Commissioners For Review

A judge has reversed Kootenai County’s approval of a controversial 92-home development overlooking Cougar Bay.

District Judge Craig Kosonen said county commissioners approved the project south of Coeur d’Alene along U.S. Highway 95 without adequate proof that proposed water, waste and stormwater disposal systems would work.

He sent the project back to commissioners for further review.

Project neighbors called the judge’s June 2 decision a victory.

They had sued the county, claiming the 118-acre development by McCormack Properties of Idaho, Inc., would bring too many houses and people into their rural area.

“Frankly, I think it’s a win for us, a win for the environment and a win for the whole community,” said Blackwell Hill resident Wes Hanson, who battled the project for three years.

“It means they (developers) have to go back to the planning commission and start the public hearing process over again.”

It’s unclear how much of the three-year county approval process will have to be repeated.

Developers, who already have begun clearing trees for the project, were unavailable for comment late Tuesday. McCormack attorney Dana Wetzel said she had not seen the decision and declined comment.

Commissioners granted preliminary approval to the project in January 1994 on the condition that developers find a way to supply water and dispose of stormwater and sewage.

McCormack had proposed running a water line under the Spokane River and digging a wastewater treatment lagoon on the hillside above the development.

Both require approval of several state and federal agencies, none of which have granted approval.

Attorney Marc McGregor represented the neighbors and the non-profit environmental group Rural Kootenai Organization in the suit. He argued those problems must be resolved before such approval is granted. Otherwise, he said, builders can begin carving roads and installing utilities for a subdivision that may never be completed.

Wetzel argued there was no right to sue because final approval had not even been granted. The real decisions were still pending, she said.

In his 44-page opinion, Kosonen agreed with McGregor.

Commissioners can’t allow builders to wait until after approval to determine whether important elements of their project will work, Kosonen wrote.

The judge also questioned whether the project complied with the county’s comprehensive plan, which calls for future growth to expand contiguously from existing developments or fill-in vacant pockets.

There is little development south of Cougar Bay and the city is two miles to the north.

“The finding by the board that (the project) is “to be considered an in-fill of moderate-density development between the higher-density area of Coeur d’Alene and the semi-rural character of the Cougar/Meadowbrook area is not supported,” Kosonen said.

Neighbor Virginia Johnson said she was “momentarily elated,” but hoped city leaders use the decision to block future annexations south of the river.

, DataTimes