Edit: Proceed With Caution

In a Coeur d’Alene Press editorial today, Editor Mike Patrick opines that any changes to Independence Point parking lot should provide greater access to the handicapped — not less — to Lake Coeur d’Alene. Also, he cautioned: “Any proposed, significant change is likely to be met with calls for public advisory votes, which was at the heart of much anxiety over McEuen Park. Coeur d’Alene’s elected officials will have to determine if that option, public hearings or both will best assess the will of Coeur d’Alene residents and, to a lesser degree, those who don’t live or own property in the city. We should all learn from McEuen’s lessons without letting the long shadow of that multi-year controversy distort new proposals. Independence Point is not McEuen, and it must be recognized as its own entity.” More here.

Question: How can Mayor Steve Widmyer and the City Council avoid repeating the mistakes made at McEuen Park as they press ahead with a possible makeover of Independence Point?