POST FALLS, Idaho — StanCraft, the new owner of Templins and Marina 33 in Post Falls, has made waves with residents concerning its application that includes an expansion of its commercial marina and a new, larger ship store on the Spokane River.
The expansion would add an additional 127 slips to the current moorage of 168, bringing the total to 295. Opponents to the expansion that would further encroach into the navigable waterway on the river attended an evidentiary hearing on December 19 to express their concerns about the proposal. Administrative Law Judge Merritt Dublin with the Office of Administrative Hearings presided over the hearing.
Those who testified spoke directly to specific policy that requires the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) to consider navigation, protection of property, fish and wildlife habitat, aquatic life, recreation, and water quality.
Susan Stiger, a licensed civil engineer with a background in water, was one of many to testify in opposition to the approval of the encroachment application.
Stiger and her husband have owned property on the Spokane River in Post Falls for over 30 years and have resided on their property full-time for over 20 years. “We did not launch our boat this year because conditions on the river are so unsafe,” she stated. “When you talk to the marine deputies for Kootenai County, they agree that this summer the conditions were insane.”
She described how the quantity of boats on the river are negatively impacting navigability. “So many big boats…making big wakes, you can not safely navigate on the river after 10 o’clock in the morning until dark.”
During her testimony, Stiger said she’s been compiling data for the past five years and doing cooperative work with the University of Idaho. “I’ve been taking data on boat census, water quality, boat types [and] boat wakes on the Spokane River and I have shared this with the Department of Environmental Quality.”
Stinger focused her data collection on turbidity, which is a key test of both water clarity and water quality. “Bigger boats cause much more stirring up of sediments…the biggest boats are already at Templin’s Marina,” she testified. “So expanding their capability is just going to make it easier for larger boats to be on a very narrow, very shallow river that really can not accommodate those boats.”
Rick Sloane, who has lived on the impacted part of the river for more than 30 years said he’s worried about safety more than anything and also has major concerns about the integrity of the shoreline with the increased traffic, especially due to the size of wakes created by the larger boats. He spoke about having to convert a floating dock for the sake of safety.
Bill and Lori Nienau submitted written testimony addressing the increased footprint to Marina 33 should the proposal be accepted. “The developers have submitted plans for their marina expansion to include the navigable waterway between the current marina dock footprint to the log boom,” the couple wrote. “This would not be staying within their current permitted footprint; the log boom has been in place prior to any marina and was used for logging purposes. Additionally, the developers are encroaching on the east and west sides as well…which is another example of them not maintaining their existing (permitted) footprint as they claim.”
IDL admitted at the hearing that it disputes the applicant’s claim that “the reconfigured commercial marina with some private moorage will fit within the ‘overall footprint’ of the existing commercial marina.”
Residents Scott and Sheryl Scofield, who live across the river from Marina 33, petitioned for the hearing. In her oral testimony, Sheryl said the applicant is seeking to turn two acres of public water into private commercial usage. “The developers engulfing this amount of navigable water and recreation space will not benefit (sic) the citizens of Idaho,” Scofield said in a written statement submitted after the hearing. “We would argue that it violates IDAPA 20.03.04.012. Policy. (01.)”
In a written testimony submitted after the hearing and after a site visit, Scott Scofield highlighted the choke point on the narrow section of the river. “The applicant is planning to extend the current marina on the east and south sides which will create a 320 ft potential navigation choke point,” he wrote. “We pointed out on the site walk-thru how close the shoreline point of the private residence across the river is from the CURRENT gas station/ship store. The plans to move the gas station/ship store east and south will drastically cut the entrance/exit between the river and no-wake zone to 320 feet for boats to navigate! We also pointed out that with such a narrow passage, it will be even more of a choke point and congestion with boats ranging in size from 20’–90’ navigating and waiting in line to get fuel on the east side.”
Other residents also expressed frustration that the congestion on the river makes it “nearly impossible” to navigate at present conditions and were quick to condemn local agencies who received notice of the application for encroachment but did not respond to IDL with feedback.
Kootenai Journal spoke with representatives from two Kootenai County agencies, both of which said it was general practice not to respond to such notices. Sgt. Ryan Miller, who leads the Sheriff’s Marine Division said his unit is responsible for enforcement, but has no control over how many vessels are allowed to be on the river or lake at one time. “That part of the river is within the jurisdiction of the City of Post Falls,” stated Miller. “We patrol under a Memorandum of Understanding.” Although unaware that the application increased the number of slips, Miller said the Sheriff’s Office would continue to provide enforcement with emphasis on boater safety.
February 14 is the deadline for the final order.
