Kootenai County delays decision on CZDA for proposed commercial resort; commissioners set July 24 continuance

Kootenai County commissioners on Thursday continued public hearings for zoning applications ZON24-007 and ZON24-008 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 24, after lengthy discussion about how a proposed commercial zoning development agreement (CZDA) would treat subdivision, minimum lot sizes and incidental uses at a proposed commercial resort on property owned by applicant Connie Brand.

The continuance came after staff and the applicant agreed to add language to the CZDA intended to designate which parcel would contain the commercial resort and to require that any subdivided parcels outside that designated commercial parcel revert to the underlying agricultural or rural zoning, including a 10-acre minimum lot size for those parcels.

The CZDA and related code questions mattered to commissioners because, as Director Callahan explained during the hearing, a commercial resort is normally approved through a conditional use permit and is intended to be primarily for recreational activities, with retail, restaurants and other services only allowed as incidental uses. Callahan said the county lacked a clear proposed recreational program for the site, a point staff said the CZDA needs to address.

"A commercial resort is normally a CUP process... it's expressly for recreational activities," Director Callahan said. "...all of the other things like retail shops, restaurants, fuel services, hotels, camping ... are supposed to be customarily incidental to the main recreational use."

Applicant representatives said they had worked with staff to resolve issues and that the CZDA was nearly finished. Courtney Whitten, who said she represents the applicant, told the board, "We have presented solutions to all of the problems that we've been encountering from staff, and these should all be doable within the CZDA... so we're happy to keep working on this. We've presented solutions, and we think that the CZDA is close."

Owner Connie Brand also addressed the board in favor of approval, saying the development process had taken more than four years and that her intent was to operate a commercial resort — primarily an RV park and camping — with limited incidental services. "My goal has always been to have a commercial resort... I didn't want to subdivide," Brand said. She urged the board to allow the CZDA so the project could move forward.

Opposition comments came from Jillian Harmon, who identified herself as representing the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Harmon said the tribe remained opposed to development within the reservation and opposed the conditional-use permit as well. "The proposed change would be harmful to the health, welfare, economic security, and natural resources of the Coeur D'Alene Reservation," she said, and urged the county to deny the application.

Board members and staff spent substantial time on two recurring concerns: 1) whether the CZDA as drafted would allow a property owner to carve off small parcels later through family-division or other exemption processes and thereby evade the CZDA's restrictions, and 2) whether the agreement needed an explicit "replication" or ratio clause to prevent multiple commercial operations (for example, several restaurants or sales businesses) from being established in a way that would undercut the CZDA's recreational-resort intent.

Staff and a county planner (Mr. Kimball) proposed a clarifying provision. Kimball offered language to be added to section D of the CZDA: "Any subdivision allowed under this agreement shall designate which property the commercial resort is located and that all other partial shall be limited and used to those allowed in the agricultural zone." Kimball told the board that adding that caveat would preserve a 10-acre minimum lot size for parcels that revert to agricultural or rural zoning and would require designation of which parcel retains the commercial-resort rights if a subdivision occurs.

Commissioners also discussed adding a notice requirement so that the county would be informed if a non-reviewed subdivision exemption (for example, a transfer by will or trust) occurred. Several commissioners said they wanted assurances that the CZDA would run with the land and be enforceable even when ownership changed.

County counsel (Pat) said the language proposed by staff and Mr. Kimball would better address the reversion and replication concerns; commissioners asked for a short delay to review a final version. The board voted to continue the public hearing to a date certain so the applicant and staff could finalize the modified CZDA language. The motion to continue the hearings on ZON24-007 and ZON24-008 to 10 a.m. Thursday, July 24 carried with commissioners voting in the affirmative.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Continue public hearings on ZON24-007 and ZON24-008 to 10 a.m. July 24. Moved and seconded. Vote: three ayes; motion carried. (Recorded votes: Commissioner Eberline — Aye; Commissioner Duncan — Aye; Chair Metairie — Aye.)

Why it matters

Commissioners said they wanted to avoid creating regulatory "loopholes" that would allow a property owner to subdivide off parcels and undercut the recreational purpose of a commercial resort CZDA. The board emphasized the county's existing 10-acre minimum in agricultural and rural zones and sought a clear, enforceable mechanism to designate which lot would retain commercial-resort rights if subdivision took place.

What's next

The public hearing remains open for the limited purpose of accepting a modified CZDA. Staff and the applicant said they expect to submit the final language within the two-week continuance. The board set deliberations and a continuation of the public hearing for 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 24.