Imagine the Coeur d’Alene Resort without its boardwalk, a semipublic breakwater that gives landlubbers access to Lake Coeur d’Alene almost year-round.

Planning and compromise between the city of Coeur d’Alene and businessman Duane Hagadone were important as the Lake City visionary transformed the old North Shore Hotel into his famous resort. Hagadone not only received permission to far exceed the height restrictions mandated by city ordinances, but he expanded the view of the lake by building the floating boardwalk and removing an old restaurant between the resort and Independence Point.

Now, motorists and pedestrians are treated to a magnificent view of Lake Coeur d’Alene at the western entrance to Coeur d’Alene’s downtown.

In the mid-1980s, city officials had the courage and foresight to press Hagadone Hospitality for public amenities and to compromise in areas such as height limits. That same fortitude and vision is needed today as developers push to cash in on the Coeur d’Alene building boom by constructing upscale high-rises downtown. Mayor Sandi Bloem and other elected officials should work with the developers to make the high-rises possible. But they should also set limits on tall buildings to prevent wall-to-wall, 200-foot monstrosities from destroying priceless views of the water and mountains.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council must take a long view to the building pressure it feels now – one that envisions the waterfront 100 years from now.

The high-rises permitted now should be still standing in the year 2100, a testimony for good or bad to the foresight shown by this generation of public officials. The mistakes allowed now in areas such as height, design, building footprint and upper-floor setbacks will haunt downtown businesses, workers and shoppers for decades. A good example of poor planning is aging Coeur d’Alene North, across from City Park, which greets visitors with a solid wall of beige and balconies, jutting several stories from the concrete sidewalk. A taller building featuring open space, trees and other greenery would have been nicer.

Some Coeur d’Alene residents, of course, consider any structure over four stories, the average building height along Sherman Avenue, to be too tall. Some developers consider any restrictions to be too limiting. City officials are left to find a middle ground. The high-rises are important to achieve a longtime goal of Bloem and others who have led the charge to re-energize the downtown business core. They will house year-round residents who will shop and dine at downtown businesses. Eventually, they will spawn a second generation of condos and apartments, along Third or Fourth streets, for middle-income individuals and business owners who want to be closer to Coeur d’Alene’s picturesque waterfront.

Too much is at stake for Coeur d’Alene to allow high-rise development to continue under outdated city building rules. The high-rises are important for downtown. But they could destroy it, too. Future generations will praise or curse current council members if they fail to regulate downtown buildings.