Agency Lets Marina Move Into Channel Neighbors, Fish And Game Oppose Relocation

The Arrow Point Marina can move to the choppy waters of the Lake Coeur d’Alene channel, the state Department of Lands has decided.

The agency issued the opinion despite opposition from several Arrow Point condominium owners who use the marina, and advocates for unimpeded navigation of the crowded lake.

“It’s going to be a navigational problem,” warned neighbor Pat Stroud, who is contemplating an appeal of the agency’s decision. “It’s absurd.”

Some condominium owners wrote the agency with concerns that, in the channel, the marina will be subject to damage from the weather, drifting debris and choppy waters.

The 82-slip marina and boardwalk now occupies a quiet bay on the east side of Arrow Point. Roger Stewart of Arrow Point Development Company Inc., applied to move it.

When moved to the west shore, the marina will jut 350 feet out into the channel along 400 feet of shoreline. That will reduce the width of the channel by about 10 percent.

But Will Pitman, Department of Lands administrator of the Lake Protection Act, noted in his opinion that the resulting channel width of 3,150 feet “is not considered a narrow channel,” so the marina would not be in the way of boats. The opinion was written last week.

“It’s going to interfere with navigation 350 feet out there,” responded attorney Scott Reed, who represented Stroud and other opponents at a public hearing on the issue. “As it’s presently situated, it doesn’t interfere with any navigation.”

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game opposed the move, too, saying it would interfere with anglers trolling the shoreline. But the Coeur d’Alene Angler Association and owners of Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop told Pitman that they had no objections to the move.

“It is a non-issue,” Jeff and Steve Smith of Fins and Feathers wrote to Pitman.

Stewart, who was unavailable for comment Tuesday, applied to move the marina in July. His justification was that the move could help solve pending litigation.

In later testimony, he said the new location would fit better with development plans.

Stewart’s development company is engaged in a lawsuit with Arrow Point Joint Venture, which owns the Arrow Point Bar and Grill.

The development company purchased the bar and grill in 1994, but defaulted on the contract and it was repurchased by Tom Robb, Barbara Renner and Larry Schwenke of Arrow Point Joint Ventures.

The three partners claim that Stewart’s development company owes them money. While the development company claims to own the docks, they’re tied up to property that’s in dispute.

Meanwhile, an interim decision by District Judge Craig Kosonen stated that Robb and his partners can pursue ownership of the marina as collateral in the case. Until the case is settled, Reed suggested that the marina should stay where it is.

Pitman based his decision on testimony that the marina would help protect the west shore from speeding boaters and wave action, that it would not adversely affect fish, and that it serves the public interest because it’s a first-come, first-serve facility.

At the same time, Pitman’s opinion states that “the current marina location is a superior location…and the majority of the responding public prefer the current location.

”(But) the applicant’s apparent lack of riparian rights at the current location precludes the marina from remaining at this location.”

, DataTimes