Court Ruling Key To More Docks

The fate of another controversial dock on Lake Coeur d’Alene is in the hands of the Idaho Supreme Court.

Don Dupont wants a private dock off his West Lakeshore Drive property, west of City Beach and in the middle of a public swimming area.

Supreme Court justices heard the case in April, and an opinion is expected this fall. Dupont was unavailable for comment.

A favorable ruling could open the door for dock permits from numerous other lakeshore property owners.

A stack of applications sits in the Coeur d’Alene office of the Idaho Department of Lands. Two homeowners - Dupont and his next-door neighbor - want docks near City Beach. Five more people want dock permits on Sanders Beach.

“We could probably move forward on these pending applications,” said IDL’s Carl Washburn, adding that some people don’t necessarily want to build docks immediately.

Washburn said it’s likely more people would apply for new docks off private property, too. “The faces are changing on that end of the lake,” he said. “Those properties are really expensive and part of the price is the riparian rights.”

Those are the rights that extend out into the water.

But Nancy Stricklin, deputy city attorney for Coeur d’Alene, said it’s too early to speculate on the outcome of the Supreme Court case.

“I won’t know what precedent will be set until we see what the decision says,” Stricklin said.

She said the Dupont case is “totally dissimilar” from a recent application from Jerry Jaeger to build a 94-foot dock off his property at the edge of Sanders Beach. The Jaeger dock is outside city limits and away from regular swimming areas.

The Idaho Department of Lands approved a dock permit for Dupont in 1992, but later revoked it after an appeal from local residents, the city and Kootenai County. He sued and won a lower court ruling.

The city appealed to the Supreme Court.