New plan submitted for Copper Ridge

A controversial housing development planned for Canfield Mountain is back and the land’s new owners are willing to talk to the neighbors and city about preserving a chunk of the landmark hillside for open space.

The latest proposal for Copper Ridge, which was submitted to Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday, includes 40 homes with standard-size streets, no gates and about 30 acres of open space on the steepest portion of the treed hillside.

The city denied the first two proposals for the 49 acres at the end of Shadduck Lane, which until Tuesday was owned by the Seventh-Day Adventists.

The church sold the property to Copper Ridge LLC for an undisclosed amount. The new limited liability corporation includes the two owners of Quest Development, who floated the first two failed plans for the upscale housing development. The new LLC also includes local attorney and developer Mike Newell.

“He brings some great expertise as far as development in North Idaho and also some additional financial capacity,” said attorney Steve Wetzel, who represents Copper Ridge LLC.

Wetzel said the developers are asking the city to change the zoning on the lower portion of the land where the 40 homes would go. The remaining land would remain in the current zone, which allows only one home per acre.

The Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission will have a public hearing on the proposal in January.

The new plan doesn’t include putting a water tower on that open acreage or a road, which caused controversy in the initial proposals.

Previous development plans sparked public outcry from neighbors and other local residents who want to preserve the hillside. More than 1,000 people signed a petition saying they were willing to pay higher taxes if it meant stopping the development of local landmarks such as Canfield Mountain.

In October, the City Council promised to research various funding options for buying open space in the area, including the idea of putting an open-space preservation bond on the February ballot.

The ballot already is asking voters whether to build a new $3 million downtown library and pay for $7 million in public safety needs, including a training center and new fire truck.

Canfield Mountain Alliance, which is pushing to preserve the hillside and other critical open space areas in the county, remains opposed to zone change that would allow more homes on the 49 acres off Shadduck Lane.

Member Jay Walden said he’s frustrated that the city never has followed through with discussions about how to buy open space even though the alliance made it known time was running out.

He questions if it’s even possible to get an open space preservation bond on the February ballot.

“As far as I know they haven’t done anything,” Walden said.

“We are planning on sending a letter.”

Parks Director Doug Eastwood said the city administrator just assigned one of the city planners to create an open space review team to look into acquisition and to identify funding sources.

Wetzel said the Copper Ridge owners are willing to talk to the city and neighbors about how to preserve the hillside that’s been left open in the latest plan.

He said no development could occur on that chunk without first taking it to the city for approval.

“We want to give the city and neighbors a chance to think about what they would like to do,” Wetzel said.

A previous plan offered by the developers was to put 52 homes on the lower lands and donate the remaining 22 acres of hillside to the city for the park.

The city Planning Commission rejected the idea in September, saying too many questions remained unanswered – leaving concerns about the density, access to the proposed park and plans for a service road that would have access to a 500,000-gallon water tank.