Kootenai County delays decision on two Elder Road zone‑change requests after hours of testimony

Kootenai County commissioners on May 8 heard more than three hours of testimony in a combined public hearing on two zone change applications for parcels along Elder Road and Highway 95 — ZON24‑0007 (Elder Road East, ~27 acres) and ZON24‑0008 (Elder Road West, ~33 acres) — and continued deliberations to a date certain of June 12 at 10 a.m.

The applications, filed by property owners Brent Ottoson and Connie Brand, seek rezoning from agricultural/rural designations to commercial. County staff, echoing the March 20 hearing examiner recommendation, urged denial. Vlad Finkel of Kootenai County Community Development summarized staff’s view that the requested rezones are susceptible to spot zoning, conflict with the county comprehensive plan’s “country” designation and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s integrated resource management plan, and would alter the area’s rural character. “The request is susceptible to spot zoning,” Finkel told the board, and staff noted the closest county commercial zoning is about a mile northeast of the parcels.

County Community Development Director David Callahan elaborated on the county’s spot‑zoning concerns, saying spot zoning is historically judged by whether a rezone “unjustly enriches one individual's property to the detriment of the community.” Callahan and other staff noted prior approvals on the parcels: separate conditional use permits (CUPs) issued about a year earlier allowed a rental/warehouse use on the parcel straddling Highway 95 and a commercial resort (an RV park) on the adjoining parcel, but staff argued those CUPs do not justify a commercial rezone with unrestricted uses.

Applicant representatives disputed staff and the hearing examiner’s conclusions. Courtney Witten, attorney for the applicants, told the board the legal standard is whether the rezones are supported by “substantial competent evidence” and argued that the existing Fighting Creek commercial complex adjacent to the parcels and the area’s present built environment justify considering commercial zoning. “The standard of review for both of these applications will be whether they are supported by substantial competent evidence,” Witten said, and she urged the board to weigh plan policies against present factual circumstances.

Engineer and applicant representative Ray Kimball described the permitted CUP uses as narrowly constrained and said the RV park and boat storage approvals, as written, leave the landowner little flexibility to operate a viable business. “But the reality is is that that’s a conditional use permit for a failed business,” Kimball said of the 19‑space RV park approval, arguing the limited CUP terms make the approved uses economically infeasible.

Owner Connie Brand told commissioners she spent years and significant money pursuing the CUPs under planning staff guidance and said she felt discouraged in early pre‑application contacts. “I was lied to for 3 years and hundreds and thousands of dollars,” Brand said, describing changes and limitations she says were not explained as the CUP process unfolded. Brand and her representatives said commercial zoning would allow small, locally appropriate businesses (a coffee stand, expanded boat services, a modest restaurant) that could serve nearby residents and lake users.

Speakers at the hearing were deeply divided. Supporters, including residents and local business owners, described the area as underserved and urged the county to allow limited commercial services close to the highway junction. Opponents included the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and numerous nearby property owners who said the comprehensive plan’s country designation, water availability and infrastructure limits, traffic and protection of rural character favor denial. Tyrell Stevenson, legislative director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, explained tribal opposition and stressed the tribe’s view that a commercial rezone would be a major change for largely undeveloped land; he also noted the tribe’s own adjacent commercial development is governed by tribal jurisdiction.

Infrastructure and groundwater were recurring concerns. Opponents described well yields that vary across the neighborhood and warned a new commercial node could stress private groundwater and septic capacity. Brand and her representatives countered that well logs submitted in the record show many nearby wells yield more than 12 gallons per minute and argued that limited commercial uses generally consume less water than irrigation or large agricultural withdrawals.

Traffic and access were also discussed. Staff noted Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and the Whirley Highway District had not objected to the rezones, and Ray Kimball said an ITD approach permit for the boat‑storage project had been approved. Staff cautioned that commercial zoning has no minimum lot size, and that rezoned parcels could be further subdivided in ways not possible under the current rural/agricultural rules.

After receiving public testimony from more than two dozen speakers on both sides, and additional online comments, the board unanimously voted to continue the matter for deliberation to June 12 at 10 a.m. The continuation leaves the hearing record open for any required additional filings or agency input ahead of the board’s scheduled deliberations.

The public hearing record includes prior community development staff reports and the hearing examiner’s recommendation of denial. Commissioners asked staff and the applicants to explore options short of a full commercial rezone — including modifying existing CUPs or negotiating a conditional zoning/development agreement that would limit uses — and to supply suggested conditions or draft language before the June 12 deliberation.

The board’s continuation sets a June 12, 2025, 10 a.m. date for deliberation. If the board ultimately approves a rezone, the change would alter what uses are permitted on the two parcels; if it denies the rezone, the previously approved CUPs remain the primary path for potential development. For now, the question stays open while staff and the parties prepare for the upcoming deliberation.