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Photo by Josh Sanabria on Unsplash

Lamar Advertising of Spokane is requesting a variance in conjunction with a relocation and digitization of a two-sided 300 square foot v-build billboard; current location is 1621 Northwest Boulevard to be removed and relocated to 3119 N. 2nd Street, while addressed off of 2nd Street, the billboard would be adjacent to Government Way.

Existing billboard site

The issue of bright billboards has very quietly meandered its way through city council and law. Such a bright item may have caught the attention of concerned citizens but little news coverage occurred. Perhaps most troubling is that councilmember Christie Wood will vote to approve relocating billboards, allowing electronic billboards within city limits, and whether applicants can received a variance. She insists she has no conflict of interest regardless of her husband’s current and longtime position as an account executive at Lamar Advertising. Lamar Advertising is the applicant in today’s hearing.

Councilmembers Kiki Miller and Amy Evans recently attempted to repeal the previous decision to allow electronic billboards–perhaps taking into account input from Jeff Conway, who served on the city’s sign board for 20 years. In a public meeting, he said, “We have such density in this town already with on-premises signs, there’s no place for outdoor advertising within the city. In the county, sure. Post Falls wants to have billboards all along I-90, fine.” He also described electronic signs as “distracting and dangerous.”

The council meeting was contentious and can be viewed here.

Proposed location for the new electronic billboard.

Bill Buley reported last year, “The city has eight off-premises billboards, meaning it’s promoting a business elsewhere, within its limits. Four of them are on Northwest Boulevard, two along Interstate 90 and Seltice Way, and two on U.S. 95.” The city’s previously stated commitment to promoting dark skies is related to the placement of electronic billboards and their energy use, and their potential intrusive nature. We covered the dark-sky declarations here and here.

One of our team members traveled to Duke University for a leadership conference. He saw some ways NIC can increase tourism, training for hospitality workers, and support the service economy of Coeur d’Alene. Here is what he said:

I made a trip to North Carolina to experience a National Student Leadership Conference. This conference was focused on leadership skills and developing the basic skills of engineering. This conference was held at Duke University, and it enabled us to do things like stay in the dorms, use their food courts, and enjoy their location. This leadership conference was something that could easily be pulled off right in Coeur d’Alene. It would enable the world to witness the beauty of our city as well as develop the learning experiences that we provide for teenagers at this time. NIC could do the same thing. They often hold sports camps through the summer, and they could easily hold similar camps that are designed to increase learning and interest in certain career paths. In all, Coeur d’Alene is ready for something like this, and it would benefit the community.

Recent public comments made at a city council meeting revealed concern about residential light pollution. The concern relates to demolishing of old homes and replacing them with bigger and taller structures, the loss of trees, and the resultant light that travels from a neighboring house. The city declared “Dark-sky Week” multiple times over the past two years. We covered it here. A few city council members, Dan English and Dan Gookin voiced support for city staff to look into this issue. Mayor McEvers also verbalized support.

Pictured above, under construction, is the Thomas George building which replaces a single-story US Bank. This building was not the subject of the public comment. However, what is the feasibility of creating and enforcing an ordinance regarding residential lights shining onto neighboring properties? How much cost does it add to the design and construction process? Does this type of law exist in other Idaho communities? Councilmember Dan Gookin cited the city of Hailey, Idaho, which has one such ordinance.

Trader Joe’s opened for business. A constant stream of customers kept the parking lot and shopping lines full, and the crew kept the shelves stocked.

Murals of City Beach, Tubbs Hill, and the Coeur d’Alene Resort give Trader Joe’s its signature neighborhood local feel. While many customers have commented on the atypical large parking lot for TJ’s, it was surprisingly packed, inspiring some patrons to park down the street and walk.

Welcome to CdA, Trader Joe’s!

Besides national and state elections that CDA voters cannot impact, Coeur d’Alene voters will elect three NIC Trustees, vote on an amendment to the Idaho Constitution, (Prop 1), and a school district levy.

NIC Trustees

Voting for blocks of individuals in non-partisan races seems unwise and inappropriate. The official local Republican party, known as the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) endorsed three candidates, including incumbent Greg McKenzie. Opposing candidates Durbin, Knudtsen, and Havercroft enjoy the support of a Political Action Committee, North Idaho Republicans. The CDA News endorses Durbin, Knudtsen, and Havercroft given the dire circumstances. Ideally, a more diverse board could be elected but KCRCC-endorsed local candidates have nearly destroyed all of the public institutions they’ve touched in the last four years.

Prop 1 (Ranked choice voting)

CDA News endorses Prop 1 to make every vote count. In addition, we will elect more moderate candidates. In theory, this will lead to greater compromise and put power back in the hands of the people. Prop 1 will give power back to voters rather than a committee conducting a backroom litmus test. In addition, it appears to be a fiscally responsible proposition.

CDA News supports and endorses the school levy.

Predictions

Prop 1 will fail. The levy will narrowly pass. Knudtsen will win by a large margin due to name recognition. Durbin and Havercroft will have tighter margins and win. Barely. While we largely avoid county races, it will be interesting to see how incumbent Kootenai County Sheriff Norris will fare after he removed “inappropriate” books from the public library. Trump will win Idaho by a large margin but lose the electoral college.

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 District in 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 transition from 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 idea of 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?

Three city council members (English, Evans, and Wood) approved the return of a “party bike” tour to Coeur d’Alene. Dan Gookin communicated with neighbors and vowed to remove the item from the consent calendar–a move which prompts discussion and an additional vote specific to this issue. 

Gary Cooper, who operates a segway tour in the city proposed the pedal pub. His company will offer two different tours for 14 including a family-friendly scenic tour without alcohol or a 21+ BYOB tour. The dry tour includes stops at the Roosevelt Inn, Fort Sherman, and the Carousel. The 21+ tour is slated to traverse Coeur d’Alene’s historic and posh Sander’s beach neighborhood on Front Ave and Lakeshore Drive. The party bike tours are not new to Coeur d’Alene but received negative news coverage in other cities here, here, and here. The councilors who gave initial approval cited “city code” that paved the way for the pedal pub. The city council will vote on the beer bike tours on Tuesday, June 18th, at 6:00 pm in the city library’s community room.

You can buy your pedal pub bike. Buy here.

Cascadia Pizza recently opened a location in the former Firehouse Subs on Appleway. Now they are bringing their food truck to Independence Point. The pizza place will replace the ice cream and pretzel truck.

A four-story Residence Inn is proposed for Northwest Blvd between Emma Ave and W Davidson Ave. A public hearing will evaluate the proposal. The developer is CDA Hotel, LLC, which happens to be the same developer of the Marriott proposed on Sherman Ave.