Tribe Changes Mind On Black Rock Coeur D’Alenes Pull Backing, Want Project Denied

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe reversed its previous endorsement of a massive development near Rockford Bay during a hearing Wednesday before the Kootenai County commission.

The tribe waited until the final public hearing for The Club at Black Rock before bringing concerns forward.

The tribe’s request for denial was the only surprise at the hearing for a proposed golf course and 381-home development on 650 acres near Rockford Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

About 150 residents listened to many of the same arguments for and against the project that were relayed in January to the Kootenai County Planning Commission. That board recommended approval of everything except the placement of a convenience store.

Commissioners aren’t expected to take a final vote on Black Rock until they all visit the site on March 20.

Tiffany Allgood presented a letter at the meeting on behalf of the tribe. She said the tribe’s change of opinion has nothing to do with economics of the project - which would become the largest community between Coeur d’Alene and Moscow.

“The tribe wants to be in charge of projects such as this,” Allgood said. “The tribe wants to maintain native wildlife, fisheries and rural quality of life.”

The move frustrated developer Marshall Chesrown, who didn’t find out until Wednesday that the tribe had reversed its earlier endorsement.

“We sent them every piece of documentation we had a year ago. We have gone out of our way to involve them,” Chesrown said. “I think it shows internal problems in the tribe. But we will continue to work with them as we have with the neighbors.”

Allgood’s letter indicated that the tribe’s previous endorsement was contingent upon the project meeting all county building and zoning requirements.

“Kootenai County’s own analysis of the proposals state that all three applications are `not in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan designation for that area,”’ Allgood read. “In the tribe’s view, the impacts on the reservation environ- ment far outweigh economic benefits.”

Commissioner Ron Rankin said it appears the developers are “bending over backwards on environmental issues” and questioned why the tribal council hadn’t found the time to study the issue since endorsing it on June 4.

Allgood said the tribe has no experience with a project of this scale and needs a process to study the impacts.

Dana Wetzel, who is working for Chesrown, said the tribe would have realized their concerns were false if they had simply talked with the developers.

“It’s frustrating that they seem to change their stance at the last-minute, often on very poor information,” Wetzel said.