Talks open doors to open space

The newly approved Copper Ridge subdivision is getting all kinds of kudos for turning controversy into compromise, and it also might become the key to preserving open space on Canfield Mountain.

The ultimate goal of Copper Ridge’s developers is to provide a public corridor up the side of Canfield Mountain that would connect to thousands of acres of U.S. Forest Service land.

“That’s what the neighbors wanted all along,” said Greg Snyder of Quest Development.

Snyder and partner Fred LeClair hope to use the momentum, credibility and good vibes from their recent Copper Ridge success to make the public corridor leading to a recreational paradise a reality.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council approved the 40-lot Copper Ridge subdivision in March after a year of controversy that included protests, petitions and two initial rejections by the city.

Neighbors in the Shadduck Lane area at the base of the mountain didn’t want the hillside developed and pleaded with the city to find a way to buy it for open space. When that didn’t happen, the group tried to buy the property.

Quest Development feared the opposition would kill its project.

It was a classic private property rights versus neighborhood rights clash.

The standoff ended when both sides gave in and decided to talk. The result was a compromise that allowed Quest to build 40 homes and gave locals a large chunk of open space.

“They stopped demonizing each other,” said Deputy City Attorney Warren Wilson who attended some of the informal negotiation sessions. “Both sides were looking to get something they could live with.”

Quest hopes to officially donate the 24 acres of open space to the city this fall for a natural park. That property is the first piece needed for the public corridor.

The rest of the land – perhaps another 50 acres – and link to the national forest would be given to the city if Quest can get another housing development approved just east of Copper Ridge.

Snyder and LeClair have an option to buy 139 acres on the west side of Canfield Mountain from Marvin Erickson.

The steep forestland is just outside Coeur d’Alene’s city limits. Snyder and LeClair would have to get the city to annex the property so any homes built on the property could have city water and sewer service. Just last week they started working with engineers to hash out a proposal that probably won’t get to the city until fall.

Besides the open space donation, Snyder said the development would include a water tower that would help provide better water pressure to about 700 homes on the city’s north side.

Coeur d’Alene’s current rules prevent any building on the hillside above 2,240 feet because of water pressure problems.

Snyder said it’s unknown how many homes may be proposed for the 139 acres but that all of them would be over the ridge and not visible from Coeur d’Alene. The water tower also would be hidden.

Erickson and his companies currently have three proposals submitted to Kootenai County that would put 30 homes on the property. Yet he acknowledges it will be difficult to dig that many wells and find locations for that many individual septic tanks on the steep hillside.

Erickson, who built a house and carved a notorious Z-shaped road up the face of Canfield Mountain, said he plans to withdraw his three proposals if it appears Snyder and LeClair have a shot at annexation.

If they can’t get the city to approve their project, the property will remain in Erickson’s ownership.

Erickson is impressed with how Snyder and LeClair won over the neighbors, a knack he doesn’t have.

“They have a better shot than me because everyone hates me,” Erickson said.

Snyder said he learned from Copper Ridge, which began with a meeting that erupted into shouting matches when Quest first presented the plan to neighbors in May 2004. Those fights turned into protests in front of City Hall to petitions with more than 1,000 names.

“It was pretty heated,” Snyder said. “But we both came to the conclusion that we are better off sitting down and talking.”

That’s the same tactic Quest plans to take with the Erickson property. They have already had chats with some neighbors.

But they don’t have a free ticket.

“We still need to watch them,” said Jay Walden, who helped form the opposition group Canfield Mountain Alliance.

Walden said neighborhood group members finally realized they couldn’t ever get their way no matter how hard they battled or how much money they spent. He said the Copper Ridge plan is the best of both worlds because it means Quest can build homes and area residents get some open space.

Walden said he has confidence that the same thing will happen with the Erickson property.

“I don’t think the people of Coeur d’Alene realize how big of a deal this is,” he said.