State: Individuals own Sanders Beach

The Idaho Department of Lands thinks it knows who owns Sanders Beach and there is no need for a legal battle.

The state contends that individual property owners between 12th and 15th streets own the beach above where Lake Coeur d’Alene laps at the sand during the summer, which is 2,128 feet. And that means the public has no right to use the popular beach as locals have for a century.

That’s the Idaho Attorney General’s recent response to a lawsuit filed by the city of Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County asking a judge to, once and for all, determine the ordinary high-water mark on Sanders Beach. The high-water mark shows where private land ends and where publicly owned waters begin.

The lawsuit, filed in October, names the Sanders Beach homeowners between 12th and 15th streets, the Sanders Beach Preservation Association and the Department of Lands – all parties that have a stake in the location of the high-water mark.

Because of the holidays, the city and county haven’t yet responded to the Dec. 16 letter from Deputy Attorney General Steven Schuster who represents the Department of Lands. Mike Haman, who represents the city, said Monday that he hopes to have a response in a couple of weeks.

But the attorney for the Sanders Beach Preservation Association, a group of locals who believe the beach is public, said the Department of Lands is breaching the public’s trust by potentially giving up 10 feet of public land. Scott Reed contends that the high-water mark is at 2,138 feet – evidence he has presented as part of the lawsuit.

“The state is abandoning any interest it has in Sanders Beach without making any determination where the ordinary high-water mark is,” Reed said.

He added that the Idaho Supreme Court has never made a decision on where the ordinary high-water mark is located.

Shuster said he disagrees with Reed and that the state is not giving up any land if it disclaims the title to the beach above 2,128 feet. He said the state already views that land as private property and that the state Land Board would just be clarifying that point.

He said it is unknown if the Land Board will take up the issue at its January meeting and that the state has other options that he declined to discuss.

Local attorney John Magnuson, who represents most of the Sanders Beach homeowners, said he agrees with the state that the high-water mark isn’t any higher than 2,128 feet. He actually thinks its lower, perhaps at 2,121, which would mean a portion of the homeowners’ land is covered by water in the summer.

“This isn’t a windfall to the private property owners,” Magnuson said, acknowledging that his clients wouldn’t gain any property if the Land Board did officially give up title to the beach. “The state never owned it anyway.”

Schuster cites a 1999 Idaho Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled that “it is presumed” the state holds title to land below 2,128 in trust for the people unless “clear and convincing evidence” proves otherwise.

Schuster represented the state in the case which consumed almost a decade. Magnuson represented the losing party which was arguing the ordinary high-water mark was at 2,121 feet.

Coeur d’Alene officials have said the lawsuit was needed to finally bring resolution to who owns the beach before somebody gets hurt.

Homeowners are often upset that the city refuses to enforce trespass laws. Beach users are often mad that the city won’t stop homeowners from attempting to kick them off the shore.

The annual fights escalated last summer when property owners, for the first time in many people’s memory, consistently and aggressively kicked people off the beach. Officials said that once the high-water mark is established, the city can enforce trespass laws.

Reed said he is curious to see what happens Saturday when hundreds of locals gather on Sanders Beach for the traditional New Year’s Day polar-bear plunge.