Development spurs debate

Building on its initial success, Black Rock Development is proposing a second luxury golf community that would put another golf course and multimillion-dollar homes and townhouses on 1,000 acres next door to the company’s first project.

The prospect has fired up some property owners in the Rockford Bay area south of Coeur d’Alene, whose worries range from putting 325 new homes in the rural area to drawing public water from Lake Coeur d’Alene for the irrigation of a second private golf course. A Kootenai County hearing examiner is holding a public hearing on the proposal Thursday.

Yet the big-picture fear is what these gigantic and exclusive golf hideaways might mean for the future of Kootenai County and Lake Coeur d’Alene. In 2004, a membership fee to The Club at Black Rock was $100,000 plus $500 a month in dues. Members also had to buy a residential lot, which started at about $200,000.

“This project is symbolic of what’s going on in this area,” said Jai Nelson, whose 20 acres borders the proposed Black Rock North project. “Do we want to be the next Sun Valley? It’s so exclusive and elitist.”

The Club at Black Rock was the first of these luxury golf resort developments in Kootenai County. The idea has caught on, and now Gozzer Ranch on the east side of the lake is under construction.

Plans for Black Rock North, which include an 18-hole and par-3 course, new clubhouse, equestrian facility and spa, only have heightened worries that this lucrative business model could forever change the character of Kootenai County.

“If there isn’t some long-term planning done fairly quickly … it will be too late to do anything,” said Carol Sebastian of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, which hasn’t yet taken a position on Black Rock North. “You will just become an urban mess. You’ll have development from the north end to the south end of the county and surrounding all the lakes.”

But not everyone is put off by these developments. In an e-mail to the Kootenai County Planning Department, Jack Heath wrote that as a Black Rock neighbor he appreciates the improvements and increased tax base for North Idaho.

“It is quality projects like this, Riverstone and many others that will continue to build and enhance the North Idaho region,” he wrote in the April 10 letter. “With resources limited and needs for the community growing, these kinds of projects provide a leap forward that would take years to occur.”

Black Rock Development President Roger Nelson wasn’t available for comment Friday. The project narrative states that Black Rock North will generate additional tax dollars for Kootenai County, providing advancement of public services, health and safety.

“The public welfare will be enhanced by the increases in quality construction jobs for several years as well as the permanent increase in service industry jobs,” the narrative reads. “This increase in jobs will provide a boost to the economy of Kootenai County.”

The staff report from the county planning department shows that Black Rock Development needs to provide more information on traffic impacts to Loff’s Bay Road. The county also wants a map that shows sensitive wetland areas on the property and clarification on what type of high-density residential is proposed, whether it’s condominiums or townhouses.

Jai Nelson, who has formed the Coalition for Positive Rural Impact at Rockford Bay and Loff’s Bay, has many additional concerns, including fears about potential ground water contamination from sewage and fertilizers and the amount of water the development would take from Lake Coeur d’Alene. The coalition is holding a neighborhood meeting Monday night at the Bellgrove Grange to prepare for the public hearing. Nelson said the Coeur d’Alene Tribe shares concerns about the lake and is expected to attend.

A tribal spokesman didn’t return phone calls Friday.

Nelson said she moved to the country for a certain lifestyle, one that developments such as Black Rock are destroying by attracting “affluent, elitist newcomers,” and worries that these developments will increase her property taxes and perhaps force her neighbors to move. She also argues that the area should remain rural and that these developments go against the county’s comprehensive plan, which is the foundation of all land-use decisions.

The 6 p.m. hearing is at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way. For more information, call (208) 446-1070.