Canfield Mountain proposal stirs argument

Homes at the base of Canfield Mountain are a good trade-off for a 22-acre city park and a solution to Coeur d’Alene’s water pressure woes, developers told city officials Tuesday night.

Yet neighbors, many of whom are members of Canfield Mountain Alliance, argued the proposed city park is useless – too steep and with too many access problems. They presented a petition with 886 signatures in opposition and said the city’s development and zoning rules are aimed at protecting natural landmarks like Canfield Mountain, not covering them in upscale homes.

The Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission spent hours Tuesday listening to the pros and cons of the proposed 49-acre Copper Ridge development on Canfield Mountain and hadn’t made a decision by 10 p.m.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council will have the final say on Quest Development’s request for a zone change to build 52 homes on the lower 27 acres while donating the remaining 22 acres to Coeur d’Alene for a park with hiking and biking trails.

“This is the start of protecting Canfield Mountain,” Quest attorney Steve Wetzel said.

If the city approves the project, Wetzel said he hopes neighbors refocus their energy and try to raise the cash to buy the adjoining 40 acres to the east that would hook the current trails into public forest lands.

Canfield Mountain Alliance said residents who signed the petition also indicated they are willing to pay higher taxes so the city can start a program to buy open space. Spokesman Jim Pierce said they have thousands of dollars in pledges to help the city’s park foundation buy land.

The group doesn’t believe any development should occur on the 49 acres that Quest has an option to buy from the Coeur d’Alene Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Pierce said the proposed park is a nice idea, but the property is too steep and that’s why Quest is willing to give it to the city. To make it into a park, the city also would need the flatter land, where Quest proposes building homes, for parking and access.

“It’s double black-diamond skiing steep,” Pierce said.

The commission also asked many questions about how the public could get to the park, especially since Copper Ridge would be a gated community.

Many commission members aired their dislike for gated housing developments.

Wetzel told the commission that the controversy is about “private property rights versus police power” and that Quest has the right to develop the property if it meets all the city’s laws.

Pierce said that’s true, but Copper Ridge doesn’t fit the city’s current laws and that’s evident by the variances the developer wants from fewer sidewalks and narrow streets to a water tower.

Quest overhauled its proposal after the City Council rejected in June the first plan that called for building 27 homes on the lower nine acres. The remaining 40 acres would have been developed in the future, eventually putting 47 more homes on the hillside while leaving some open space.

Besides decreasing the number of homes and donating the park land, Quest also wants to build a 500,000-gallon water tank on the top of the hill in the proposed park area, which the company estimates would provide about 700 homes in the north end of Coeur d’Alene with better water pressure.

The city’s current rules prevent any building on the hillside above a 2,240-foot elevation because of water pressure problems. The water tank would help the city provide water at higher elevations.

The City Council would have to amend the current rule to allow for the Copper Ridge homes that would be above 2,240 feet.

Bruce Shadduck said his family sold the 49 acres to the Seventh-day Adventist Church to build a school and preserve the steeper hillside. The family was disappointed to find out the church is selling it to a developer, he said.

“This type of development will forever change the character of the area,” Shadduck said. “This is really not the best use.”

Church officials have said they decided to sell the property in exchange for a more central location for the new school.

Opponents fear that if Copper Ridge is approved it would open all of Canfield Mountain for development.