Council approves easement swap to reshape Atlas Waterfront Area 13 and add park amenities

Coeur d'Alene — The City Council on Monday approved Resolution 25-049 to replace a 2023 public-access easement on Atlas Waterfront Area 13 with a new configuration that preserves fire and stormwater access on Area 13 while moving the pedestrian promenade and several public amenities into the adjacent Atlas Waterfront Park.

City staff told the council the change will allow Chase Mixes (the buyer of Area 13) to provide emergency access and develop the parcel in a way the city and developer consider more workable while funding park-side pedestrian improvements. Parks and Recreation Director Bill Greenwood said the developer will build shade structures, seating, screening plantings, bike racks and low-level path lighting and that those improvements were previously unfunded in the Atlas plan.

The substitute easement replaces a perpetual 30-foot strip recorded in December 2023 that had allowed a pedestrian promenade on Area 13. Under the approved agreement, the perpetual easement on Area 13 will retain nonexclusive fire access and stormwater maintenance rights but will no longer include the pedestrian promenade; a separate nonexclusive construction easement in city parkland will allow the developer to build the new promenade and landscaping. City staff said the developer will pay all construction costs and the change creates no new ongoing cost to the city.

Why it matters: moving the pedestrian route into parkland and buffering the driveway with plantings and ‘grass‑grate’ surfacing is intended to separate pedestrians from vehicle and emergency access while allowing the developer to build 23 residential units and active retail/restaurant frontage facing the waterfront trail. Staff said the design also hides below‑grade parking and provides a direct public access point from the park to a future retail area.

Details and constraints: City staff noted the city previously conveyed 7,760 square feet (0.178 acres) on Area 13 in 2023 to facilitate development; that property later sold to Chase Mixes. The substitute easement removes the pedestrian component from that strip and attaches the concept plan as exhibit to the new parks easement. Parks staff said the developer will be required to adjust irrigation lines on the park edge and to follow the city’s specifications for capping and preserving the remainder of the park irrigation system.

“From the parks perspective, I think this is a very good deal,” Parks and Recreation Director Bill Greenwood said during the presentation.

Developer Dean Pappe, representing Chase Mixes, said the plan creates a softer buffer between the park and private development, adds a planned public access point to retail space, and uses landscaping to screen below‑grade parking. “We feel this is a better use of the land,” Pappe said.

Council action and vote: Councilmember Gookin made the motion to approve the resolution; the motion carried on a roll call vote with Miller, Gookin, Wood and Evans voting yes. The council approved the substitute grant of easement and the new parks easement as presented.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the easement documents for recordation and the developer will coordinate construction of the promenade and landscaping per the concept exhibit attached to the parks easement.