Plan for marina near Dover scaled back

A marina proposed for Dover, Idaho, has been reconfigured to take up less of the Pend Oreille River.

Developer Ralph Sletegar’s initial plan called for a 13-acre marina, extending nearly one-third of the way across the river’s channel. The width of the project raised concerns about boat passage and congestion.

Sletegar is now proposing a narrower, more compact design.

His permit application calls for a 274-slip marina that would occupy less than 10 acres of the river.

Sletegar also clipped 143 feet off the marina’s width, so it would extend only 430 feet from the shoreline.

“He’s modified it to address those concerns. He’s making an honest effort,” said Jim Brady, navigable waters specialist with the Department of Lands.

The Department of Lands will make a decision on the marina after its public comment period closes on Dec. 1.

To build the marina, Sletegar also needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Since the marina would be built along a stretch of the river with bull trout habitat, and within ¼ mile of a bald eagle’s nest, the agency is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the project, said Gregg Rayner, the corps’ environmental resource specialist.

The corps will make a decision on the permit after the consultation is finished, Rayner said.

The Kalispel Tribe also raised concerns about archeological sites in the wetlands near the proposed marina. Rayner said he’s been working with the tribe and the developer on a plan to protect the shoreline from erosion, which will help preserve the archeological sites.

The marina is part of Dover Bay, a 535-unit proposed residential development. Both the marina and the homes will change the scale of Dover, a tiny burg of less than 400 people that straddles U.S. Highway 2.

“It’s too big and intrusive,” Mark Kubiak, who lives along a bay east of the proposed marina, wrote in a letter to the Idaho Department of Lands earlier this year.

“This marina, as proposed, will not only pollute the lake and the river view shed, it will be the source of a great deal of added noise pollution,” he said.

Dover resident Patrick Rotchford also wrote a letter of opposition.

“This place is rare and precious,” he said. “Does it matter that there are fewer and fewer places where there is no development?”

Others, however, support the idea of more public access to the water.

Few stretches of the Pend Oreille River are open to the public between Sandpoint and Priest River, George Eskridge wrote in a letter to the state. Eskridge, a state legislator, sells real estate in the Dover area.

The proposed marina includes a public boat ramp, fuel dock, parking and retail store.