Neighbors Appealing Subdivision Suit Claims Zoning Ordinances Violated In Cougar Bay Decision

The opponents of a planned subdivision overlooking Cougar Bay have appealed the Kootenai County Commission’s decision to approve the development.

In a lawsuit filed last Thursday in 1st District Court, the Rural Kootenai Organization says commissioners should not have approved The Ridge at Cougar Bay last month. The group had 28 days to appeal the commissioners’ decision, said Jan Gera, with the Kootenai County Planning office.

The plan calls for 92 homes on 118 acres overlooking the largely undeveloped area of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Neighbors have battled the project for seven years, taking the case all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court.

At issue was whether developer Mike McCormack could use a strip of federal Bureau of Land Management property as open space.

Last December, the Supreme Court ruled county commissioners must reconsider the development without allowing 80 acres of submerged public land to be used as open space.

In their suit, the neighbors say the commissioners violated county zoning ordinances when they approved the subdivision.

Chuck Sheroke, the group’s attorney, said they have concerns about the commissioners’ procedures for approving the development.

He said their time to voice concerns at the meeting was limited, but the developer’s time was not. He said that the group was also not able to look at the plans.

“We had no opportunity to review it,” Sheroke said.

McCormack said he believes the appeal is just another attempt to stall the development.

“Honestly, it’s just a delay,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t go ahead.”

McCormack said he hopes to begin groundwork within the next six months.

“They’re harassing us is what it is. I feel sorry for any other applicants who have to go through the process.”