Hauser Project Flounders County Denies Bid For 123 Manufactured Homes At Lake

Cloverleaf Park has finally run out of luck.

The Kootenai County Commission told developer J.P. Stravens that he can’t get a manufactured home park unless he does more homework.

The commission, which rarely votes against growth, was unanimous late Wednesday in denying Stravens’ plan to build 123 manufactured homes on 25 acres near Hauser Lake.

It ended a four-year effort where Stravens - himself a former county planning director - continually frustrated planners by not obtaining necessary approvals from regulatory agencies.

“Your water system is a line on a piece of legal paper. That’s hardly reassuring,” County Commissioner Dick Compton said.

“We are being asked to approve something that is conceptual,” Compton said, “and, without letters from four agencies that haven’t seen anything - but think (plans) might work.”

Stravens argued his water plan was complete and that he shouldn’t have to pay to develop detailed, preliminary plans for things such as sewage treatment systems.

“I have no idea what’s in your file, but I argue that it’s complete,” Stravens said.

The planned Cloverleaf Park, located a quarter mile north of Highway 53, wasn’t exactly a hit with neighbors, either.

In three hearings, a total of 198 people were opposed, while nine were in favor.

And that’s not counting 98 letters of opposition submitted the week prior to the Wednesday hearing.

Many neighbors signed up to speak Wednesday, but the commission saved time and denied Cloverleaf Park before taking testimony.

The vote earned a round of applause.

Commissioner Ron Rankin said the plan probably could have worked. “But what they have submitted so far didn’t go far enough and isn’t thorough.”