Councilman Dan English announced his forthcoming resignation from the igniteCDA board. He also disclosed his conversation with future mayor Woody McEvers in which he suggested councilmember Kiki Miller take his place. He cited her work for attainable housing over the last several years. Urban renewal has often been a source of disdain for other council members (i.e. Dan Gookin) due to the frequent result of housing and other opportunities for the wealthy and part-time residents of the city.
Coeur d’Alene city council members exercise power with well-intentioned political stunt.
Normally, if a property owner wishes to change the zoning for their property they have to petition the city’s planning commission and ultimately the city council. Not tomorrow, much to the chagrin of state-elected officials and at least one NIC trustee, who voiced opposition at an August city council meeting. The council will vote on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, to impose a new zoning overlay on land owned by North Idaho College (NIC) in the form of a University District. The stated intention is to protect the land from private development and transformation of NIC into what some call a “Christian nationalist college.” The worries stem from the threatened loss of accreditation. However, “much of NIC’s main campus sits on a tract of land donated to Kootenai County by the Winton Lumber Company for the purpose of developing a public park, public hospital or public educational institution…. “The county conveyed the land to the North Idaho Junior College Districtin August 1941. The property is deed-restricted and must be used for public education or a public hospital. It cannot be used for commercial purposes.” In addition the the city’s recently updated comprehensive plan designates much if not all NIC land for civic use. Thirty-two of the 50+ acres, the heart of NIC, all land west of Hubbard, North of Lakeshore, and south of River is zoned R-17. R-17 zoning allowances are listed in the table below.
The proposed imposition risks legal challenges and brings additional pitfalls. NIC did not request any action. Is it legal? Perhaps the biggest concern is that the new District intensifies the land use. Changing the zoning from R-17 to U-District gives the landowner very broad guidelines, few restrictions, and minimizes influence citizens may have on future proposals. The following vague uses will be permitted by right:
Business Supply Retail Sales
Cell phone towers
Convenience Sales
Convenience Services
Faculty Housing
What does this mean? A Maverick on NIC’s campus? A hotel? A special use permit will allow construction of hotel(s)/motel(s) “when integral to Community Education.” A city that relies so heavily on tourism could easily justify the need for a hotel at NIC. Essex University located in Colchester, England, Britain’s first city, has an on-campus hotel run by university students. Maybe NIC will follow suit to train future hospitality leaders. Or, maybe retirees will again embrace university studies to live on the beautiful campus. It already happens across the country.
At best, this is an example of one stakeholder attempting to protect an institution from polarizing political influences and cement the institution’s destiny. Perhaps they are following leadership from Kootenai Health, which gave up taxing authority to transitionfrom a community to a non-profit hospital, simultaneously minimizing extreme political influence. Ulterior motives could be at play as council member Christie Wood floated the ideaof working with [NIC] to create workforce housing. Why not let NIC determine what happens with its land? Ultimately, the timing is terrible. Accreditors will make a final visit to the college in October to reduce sanctions or revoke accreditation and require a teach-out. Ultimately, city council members will express a damning vote of no-confidence in NIC at a critical time and despite improvements in enrollment and governance.
November will bring new Trustees to NIC, governance will improve, and accreditation will remain in place. If so, will not this action have been an exercise in futility?