Ruling Should Give Bureaucrats A Spine

Boats and swimmers don’t mix.

That’s the clear message of a recent Idaho Supreme Court decision that nixed a Coeur d’Alene resident’s bid to build a dock in a popular swim area.

The Idaho Department of Lands should take that ruling to heart as it handles other dock applications within the Coeur d’Alene city limits - and reject them all.

For the first time, and unanimously, the Supreme Court has declared what every local sunbather knows: The north shore is special. Special rules apply to it. Property owners don’t have the right to endanger swimmers and reduce the size of swim areas.

This ruling should strengthen the hands of timid bureaucrats and local elected officials who are in charge of protecting North Idaho waters. For too long, they have played fast and loose with the Coeur d’Alene waterfront, giving away rights of way to private parties and entertaining prospective changes from special interests. Now, they must respect public property rights, too.

Lake Coeur d’Alene, after all, belongs to all Idahoans. Not to entrepreneurs who build marinas and other commercial enterprises on it. Not to lakeshore owners who have the privilege, not the right, to build docks on it. Certainly not to individuals who’ve tried to block the public’s historic use of beaches and swim areas.

The time has come for public officials to appreciate the public’s right to enjoy its common waters and waterfront.

Clearly, the Supreme Court ruling protects public access to two of the three major Coeur d’Alene beaches and swim areas: City Beach and North Idaho College beach, both of which are located west of The Coeur d’Alene resort.

Also, the ruling should block owners of Sanders Beach, east of Tubbs Hill, from building docks between the public beaches at the end of 11th and 15th streets. DuPont attorney John F. Magnuson understood what the ruling meant when he complained that it gave the Lands Department ammunition to squelch private docks. Said he: “It’s going to give them a lot of discretion.”

The ruling should steel Mayor Steve Judy and the City Council to enforce the city’s shoreline ordinance - and, once and for all, to seek a compromise solution for public access to Sanders Beach.

Obviously, Sanders Beach owners aren’t going to donate their little piece of contested sand to the public. Equally, it’s clear they can’t build a dock off their beach.

It’s time to assess the value of the privately owned part of Sanders Beach, seek funds, and negotiate for the public to purchase either the land or an easement.

To his credit, Mayor Steve Judy tried valiantly to resolve the issue during his early days in office only to be rebuffed by Sanders Beach owners. With the Supreme Court ruling, those homeowners now realize they don’t have an absolute right to build docks. They know they live in a special spot where special rules apply. Surely, they must be tired of all the headaches that come from fighting off the public, which has used and loved Sanders Beach for many years, has no intention of giving it up but ought to pay to preserve the easement that history has established there.