Several residents urged the Coeur d'Alene City Council on Dec. 16 to press pause on parts of the Courterra (Corte/Cortera) planned unit development after what they described as a contentious Planning & Zoning hearing on Dec. 9.

During the public-comment period, Mike Sims said he represents 154 residents owning 77 homes along Atlas Road between Prairie Road and Hanley and asked the council to lower the speed limit on that segment from 35 to 25 mph. Sims cited Streets and Engineering counts of about 9,000 vehicles a day and an 85th-percentile speed near 42 mph and said lower speeds would reduce emissions and noise for roughly 200 residents backing onto Atlas Road.

Multiple speakers from Indian Meadows and surrounding neighborhoods — including Carol Root, Pam Holcomb, Tom Burkey, Suzanne Knudsen and Allison Cross — said Planning & Zoning commissioners repeatedly interrupted public commenters during the Dec. 9 meeting. They told the council the interruptions left residents feeling disrespected and discouraged and questioned whether commissioners and staff were adequately considering neighborhood input on traffic and circulation.

Residents said the Phase 1 traffic-impact assumptions rely on future widening of Atlas to three lanes and that funding or a construction timeline for that widening is not confirmed. Knudsen told the council that a direction given Oct. 21 to staff to meet with Kootenai County Land Company and Indian Meadows representatives was later “circumvented,” because staff met on Dec. 3 but there was no subsequent council meeting to provide an open update. She urged council to consider Industrial Loop as the primary collector and to review the PUD process and city code that she says exclude impacted neighborhoods from full consideration.

Pam Holcomb and others asked the council to improve opportunities for meaningful public engagement, saying three-minute comment limits and interruptions made it difficult to convey complex traffic and infrastructure concerns. A written comment from Carl Krueger was read into the record describing long-term residents’ quality-of-life concerns and asking the city to limit through traffic into established neighborhoods.

Why it matters: Council action could change whether Industrial Loop becomes the main connector for future phases and whether the PUD process or code is revised to broaden the neighborhoods that must be noticed or considered during PUD review. Residents asked for clear timelines and explicit consideration of projected population and infrastructure needs rather than relying solely on narrow, phase-by-phase review.

What council did: The council received the public comments during its Dec. 16 meeting; no formal council motion or vote altering the PUD, Industrial Loop alignment or the Planning & Zoning decision was recorded in this meeting.

Next steps: Residents asked for council follow-up; councilors acknowledged the concerns and indicated the topic would likely return for further discussion or direction to staff.